Language initiative takes centre stage

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On National Aboriginal Day the chief and members of the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation met with provincial officials at Whey-ah-Wichen (also known as Cates Park), to make a joint announcement about a new initiative to promote Aboriginal place names around the province.

Chief Maureen Thomas along with Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Treaty Negotiations Geoff Plant and Minister of Sustainable Resource Development George Abbott met on the morning of June 21. They released a poster and bookmark on the theme Honouring our Past to raise public awareness about an existing place name program. The announcement was intended to activate community interest in suggesting Aboriginal language place names that will celebrate the history and culture of British Columbia's first peoples.

Several steps occurred to bring about this collaboration. In September 2003, the chiefs of the First Nations Summit and the province signed a protocol that listed topics the two bodies wanted to work on together, especially in areas requiring reconciliation. The protocol aims to foster better relationships between First Nations and others in British Columbia by recognizing and respecting Aboriginal culture, history and aspirations. Implementing a plan to reintroduce Aboriginal place names is just one way of working towards greater mutual respect.

They also agreed to work to include First Nations in federal-provincial agreements affecting the First Nations; to implement tripartite educational improvements set out in a memorandum of understanding a year ago, and to ensure that First Nations share in benefits generated by the 2010 Olympics.

Last November, the province released a progress report on areas of joint accomplishments and agreements, which is now online at www.prov.gov.bc.ca/tno.