Before reconciliation can happen in a meaningful way, Canadians must first acknowledge the truth about Indigenous peoples鈥� history, says Semiahmoo First Nation Chief Harley Chappell.

One of the truths that he feels has not been accepted not only by the government, but also settlers, is that the majority of land that people live and work on is unceded.

鈥淲hen we speak of unceded, these are our lands and they鈥檙e occupied. The Canadian and provincial governments have been able to build land tenures that we don鈥檛 really agree with,鈥� said Chappell, speaking ahead of Canada鈥檚 third annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

What is now called British Columbia is actually 95 per cent unceded land of M茅tis, Inuit and First Nations people.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an undiscussed discussion on title and ownership of land. Who is the rightful owner? And there鈥檚 going to be lots of different opinions on it. This is a very contentious subject because Canadians have purchased that land from the government when, truly, if it鈥檚 unceded lands, how is the Canadian government able to sell those lands?鈥� he asked.

鈥淔or us as Semiahmoo, there鈥檚 little to no Crown land within our traditional territory. We鈥檙e working hard to access what little Crown lands there are and bring those back to reserve and back to Indigenous communities.鈥�

Chappell said that the topic of land ownership is one he has not officially had with the federal government, but it will be coming soon.

The chief also shared his memories of past years鈥� events for Truth and Reconciliation Day, also known colloquially as Orange Shirt Day.

鈥淭hat event was hard, it was challenging. A lot of the public really had a real will and want to come together and mourn and acknowledge some of the wrongs that have been done in the past,鈥� Chappell said, recalling the first event held in 2021.

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Thousands of residents and visitors took to the traditional, unceded territories of the Semiahmoo First Nation and the broader territory of the Coast Salish People that Sept. 30.

On the heels of the discovery of unmarked graves of children who were taken to residential schools in Kamloops, the first year was emotional for many. Since then, investigations have led to the uncovering of thousands of unmarked graves, with searches still ongoing throughout Canada.

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鈥淟ast year, I asked people to walk with the intent of healing. Let鈥檚 walk together, let鈥檚 support one another, let鈥檚 acknowledge where we were the year before and see if we can walk together to begin our healing process,鈥� Chappell recalled.

He said this year is about spotlighting those who will take over the work in the future, with his daughter set to share a presentation on Saturday.

鈥淭rue reconciliation, true relationships and building relationships with government and citizens, it鈥檒l take a long time. Our children and grandchildren will take over this work, as well as non-Indigenous children and grandchildren.鈥�

Although there are multiple days throughout the year to honour Indigenous history and for the public to educate themselves as settlers, Chappell said that hate and ignorance is 鈥渁live and well.鈥�

鈥淥ne of the falsities I hear is that (residential school) is an old problem, it鈥檚 an old issue. And in my daughter鈥檚 presentation, she says 鈥楳y grandma attended St. Mary鈥檚 residential school鈥�. I鈥檓 talking of my nine-year-old daughter and her 60-something-year-old grandmother.

鈥淭his is not something so far away that I can鈥檛 feel it. I need our communities and our public to know that.鈥�

In the system, which was funded through the government and administered by Christian churches for more than 150 years, Indigenous children were removed from their families and forced to attend schools, where many were abused, in order to assimilate them into Canadian society.

鈥淭here are some really challenging and difficult truths that we all need to acknowledge. Once we acknowledge those atrocities and those truths, then we鈥檙e able to move towards healing,鈥� Chappell said.

鈥淚ndigenous people aren鈥檛 meant to be here anymore. We鈥檙e not supposed to be here, we鈥檙e not supposed to do the things that we do. Through the perseverance and strength of our ancestors and elders, we鈥檙e able to continue on. That to me, is a fantastic message.鈥�

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