Essential reading for all British Columbians
James (Nexw’Kalus-Xwalacktun) Harry and Lauren Brevner created this powerful imagery as part of the Vancouver Mural Festival during the anti-racist upsurge in 2020. “The concept of this mural design is centered around community and solidarity with two female figures standing back to back clothed in a Salish blanket. The image as a whole is referencing the design of traditional Salish blankets to speak to an ongoing series of our works called “Weaving Culture, Weaving Spirit’.” (Artists’ statement, Facebook).
DREAM WEAVER (2020) – location: 1000 Eveleigh St, Vancouver, BC V7M 1M3 – with @laurenbrevner
This month I am here to encourage you to read Challenging Racist “British Columbia”: 150 years and counting. Published in 2021 and based on work that began as a research project at the University of Victoria titled: Asian Canadians on Vancouver Island: Race, Indigeneity and the Transpacific (ACVI). The author list, collaboration, and inclusion are all impressive. Grounded firmly in well documented research this work is as powerful as it is eye-opening. From personal stories of pain and (sometimes eventual) triumph to laws that brought about devastation and heartbreak to so many people and families.
A timely, multi-faceted, accessible assessment of the complexity of racism in this province. It is an excellent step, as voiced in the introduction, “in the development of inclusive, intersectional analyses to support decolonization”.
–Sherri Kajiwara, Director|Curator, Nikkei National Museum
The history shared is challenging to face. Face it we must. And together bring about change that does not permit systematic racism to continue to prevail. Learn from the past to make a better future for our children.
At a time in our history when we have seen unprecedented changes in society, this book provides the foundational knowledge and justification for the need to drastically challenge the deep-rooted racism in so-called “British Columbia.” This book beautifully represents the resistance movements currently underway that seriously challenge another 150 years of racist “British Columbia.”
– Sleydo (Molly Wickham), spokesperson for Gidimt’en Checkpoint, Wet’suwet’en territory.
Thank you for following along. See you next month when I review a book!
