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The Love For Land
By: Ryder Oliver-Green
T
he North Shore has been said to have a soul, a soul that has been silenced for seventy years. Like humans, one’s soul, one’s true essence, does not change throughout your life. Many believe we are just a floating soul, placed into a shell of a living being, changed by perception, altered by paradigm. The soul of the shore is unlike many others. A woven tapestry of patient forest, wise cliffs, and welcoming shores, all teeming with life. For a millennium, humans have co-existed with this soul, sharing life, shelter, and the joys of living with the land. As times changed so did the connection that supported the life of the area. It wasn’t until the post WWII era that this relationship had ventured through a fundamental change leaving residents of the North Shore deprived of the history of where they had settled, leaving behind a legacy of disconnection to the place that they called home. Today, to change our relationship with this landscape, we have to change how we understand it.
Life before settlement was fundamentally different than what we know today. The occupants of this area are known as the Coast Salish peoples, consisting of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, and səlilwətaɬ nations. The environment was just as much a part of them as they were of it. Traditionally they used its plentiful resources to feed their families, build homes, and celebrate. Life was said to be simple, enjoyable, and full. The common belief of the time was to do everything with six generations in mind. This meant leaving enough food, not catching too much fish, and making sure that when they passed on, the area they lived in was as healthy as when they were born. The body of water that we know as the Burrard Inlet was the səlilwətaɬ nation’s main source of food. Before colonization, the shores and waters were rich with sea life, providing plenty of food to live and provide for all of the people of the area.
19th century, as well as the reservation system, the First Peoples of Canada
were being torn from their identity, both metaphorically and physically. This timeless connection to ancestors and Mother Nature was broken in areas such as the North Shore. The western relationship to land was much different than that of the Indigenous Peoples. Values of wealth, independence, and ownership dragged across the seas
were being torn from their identity, both metaphorically and physically. This timeless connection to ancestors and Mother Nature was broken in areas such as the North Shore. The western relationship to land was much different than that of the Indigenous Peoples. Values of wealth, independence, and ownership dragged across the seas
This relationship to land was not unique to the indigenous on the North Shore. This respect for the natural world is something that is seen throughout communities worldwide. This love for nature is
The relationship to the land traditionally was one of respect, gratitude and community. The indigenous peoples believe the natural world provides and cares for them, making it rudimentary for it to be the same the other way around. The term “Mother Earth” was traditionally foundation of their relationship with the natural world. Like a mother, they see the environment as a caretaker, someone to protect them and maintain the beauty of life. They have a cultural, social, and traditional connection to the land. Nature provided for them, and all that came before them, influencing a spiritual connection to the area where they resided.
“The landscape is infused with knowledge, story, and history.”
with the first Europeans, leading to an ignorant and costly relationship with the encountered land. On the North Shore, the timber industry quickly grew when colonizers began to discover ancient forests of the area.
something that should never be broken, but like many other places, the prosperity of connection was shattered, leaving behind a twisted trail of broken identity and loss.
The concept of Terra Nulius stated that if the people in a area didn’t “own” it, then it was acceptable to claim it as their own. This was a law that justified the Europeans coming to foreign areas and developing land to claim as their own. Since First Nations did not believe in land ownership, colonization took much of the area that they resided in. As years went by and the land for the indigenous peoples of Canada became smaller and smaller, new laws and systems were put in place to continue developing the landscape. On the North Shore, it wasn't until the late 1800s that this historic relationship truly began to change. In 1862, T.W. Graham and George Scrimgeor acquired a 194-hectare piece of land in what is now known as North Vancouver. This would be the start of a pivotal change of the North Shore identity and would alter how we relate to the environment today. What was once a provider, untouched by greed, profit, or development, soon transformed into a resource. After the start of residential schools in the late
The concept of Terra Nulius stated that if the people in a area didn’t “own” it, then it was acceptable to claim it as their own. This was a law that justified the Europeans coming to foreign areas and developing land to claim as their own. Since First Nations did not believe in land ownership, colonization took much of the area that they resided in. As years went by and the land for the indigenous peoples of Canada became smaller and smaller, new laws and systems were put in place to continue developing the landscape. On the North Shore, it wasn't until the late 1800s that this historic relationship truly began to change. In 1862, T.W. Graham and George Scrimgeor acquired a 194-hectare piece of land in what is now known as North Vancouver. This would be the start of a pivotal change of the North Shore identity and would alter how we relate to the environment today. What was once a provider, untouched by greed, profit, or development, soon transformed into a resource. After the start of residential schools in the late
The abundant tree population in the area, leading to a slow and steady annihilation of the the forests. These were the forests that allowed the Coast Salish to travel great distances on canoes, the forest whose bark would cover a newborn baby to keep them from getting too cold. These forests were the pillars that held up the Indigenous Peoples, allowing them to live and thrive. As time moved on, the gaping mountains and beautiful waters were also discovered by the residents living on the other side of the burrard in Vancouver. After the war, the rise of the suburbs lead to a rapid influx of population on the fresh and naked landscape of the North Shore. The idea of land ownership spread like a plague in these times, and by the sixties, communities had formed throughout the area. Soon, the waters that were once abundant with life, became polluted by frequent exports and imports of goods
to the new materialist and consumer world just outside of the wise mountains and patient forest, forests that were now orphaned as they watch their parents slowly erode in the mindless town at their toes. The North Shore became a town just like any other, a lost history stumbled upon by greed, and changed by perception.
Today, the waves on our shores project the ripples influenced by this area's past.
Today, the waves on our shores project the ripples influenced by this area's past.
This also means providing the First Peoples with ecological governance, trusting that their knowledge of the area is more than ours. Putting efforts towards connecting people to nature in an educational, non-recreational way, will also reconnect the true identity of the land. To do this, we can't just change our approach, we must also change our passed on paradigms of unequal perception.
The essence of the land has been suppressed by systemic disconnect, but the wisdom of the past is still alive. After all these years of mistreatment, the forest will still care for you, entertain you, and connect you to a deeper sense of belonging. To change this relationship we have to change the implanted western view that we are better than the environment and that we own land. We have to change how we teach in these areas, by sharing the true history of the land. We have to learn how to live with the land and
Silenced by systems of oppression, the protectors of the land, the caretakers, were only met with discrimination and dehumanization for not fitting into a colonial way of life. The disconnection to land, led by western values had destroyed the knowledge, identity, and culture that made up the Coast Salish Peoples.
how to take care of the land. Those actions may seem simple but they are not attainable without systemic changes. These changes can’t just be added initiatives. Indigenous education will have to be valued the same as our current euro-centric teachings. If we can’t change how we live then we can at least change what we learn. To change the identity of the North Shore, we also need to express the suppressed past through mediums such as art or infrastructure. Most importantly though, we need to care for the land. In today's society, that probably won’t mean ditching houses but putting time forward and supporting biodiversity, or placing stronger conservation laws for certain geographical areas.
For the settlers of the communities in this area, land had provided, it had cared for them, and it had allowed them to express themselves and their identity with freedom. However, this relationship was destructive.
As the North Shore identity was built through stories of rugged hiking, and “trips down the Arm”, a new perception of the land was formed. Much like the sun bleaching a child’s painting, western society white-washed the connection to the area.
Divisions between the First Nations community and settlers were backed by a division of land and generations of Eurocentric education within schools. The relationship with the land became one of tourism, adventures, and of “getting away from it all”. Deep cove had become a place of wealth and water adventure. The young forests became a place of exploration and recreation. The mountains that had watched over these forests were seen as undeveloped, or raw to the settlers of the area, influencing the creation of Mount Seymour and Grouse mountain. The land is a relationship between the past and the present. The development of this area had led to an ignorance of that relationship, leaving settlers with an ignorance of the history of where they lived. This separate path that development had taken from the traditional relationship to land, has led the North Shore down a false path.
The fear that drove the explorers, the fear that drove colonization, and the fear that drove expansion into the boundaries of civilization, was a fear of failure, fear of insignificance. The fear that has driven these events perhaps could have been avoided if we just understood the wisdom of the land, the knowledge of the wind, and the logic of the sky above. If we just listened to the order, to the balance of life, and if we just trusted that there is a reason that nothing has outlived the land itself. The land’s soul has been silenced, and it is our job to give it a voice.
Works Cited:
Artibise, Alan F.j. et al. "North Vancouver". The Canadian Encyclopedia, 06 January 2020, Historica Canada. www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/north-vancouver. Accessed 28 April 2022.
“150 Years of Canadian Education, Part 2: The Last 75 Years.” 1 Million Teachers, 4 July 2017, https://www.1millionteachers.com/150-years-of-canadian-education-part-2-the-last-75-years/.
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Turner, Angie. “Honouring Earth.” Assembly of First Nations, https://www.afn.ca/honoring-earth/.
“150 Years of Canadian Education, Part 2: The Last 75 Years.” 1 Million Teachers, 4 July 2017, https://www.1millionteachers.com/150-years-of-canadian-education-part-2-the-last-75-years/.
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Jaffer, Taslim. “First Person | We All Have Privilege to Some Degree. What We Do with It Matters | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 14 Mar. 2021, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/we-all-have-privilege-to-some-degree-what-we-do-with-it-matters-1.5936771.
“Learning from the Land.” CASS, https://cass.ab.ca/indigenous-education/learning-from-the-land/.
Meaning of Land to Aboriginal People - Creative Spirits. https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/land/meaning-of-land-to-aboriginal-people.
Seyd, Jane. “North Van District Principal to Take on Provincial Role in Indigenous Education.” North Shore News, North Shore News, 26 Nov. 2021, https://www.nsnews.com/local-news/north-van-district-principal-to-take-on-provincial-role-in-indigenous-education-4800556.
Stéen, Farrah. “Vancouver's North Shore.” Loki Creative, 20 Nov. 2020, https://www.weareloki.com/portfolio/vancouvers-north-shore/.
Wilson, Kory, and Jane Henderson . “First Peoples: A Guide for Newcomers - Vancouver.” City of Vancouver , 2014, https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/First-Peoples-A-Guide-for-Newcomers.pdf.
Tsleil-Waututh Nation. “New Interactive Map of Burrard Inlet.” TsleilWaututh Nation, https://twnation.ca/new-interactive-map-of-burrard-inlet/.
Turner, Angie. “Honouring Earth.” Assembly of First Nations, https://www.afn.ca/honoring-earth/.