PM says sorry to Tsilhqot’in for executions in 1860s
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has apologized to the Tsilhqot’in people for the hanging of six chiefs more than 150 years ago, during an emotional ceremony Friday that one chief says brought an end to a “difficult journey.”
Speaking to hundreds of the First Nation’s members in the central Interior, Trudeau said the colonial officials of the day erred in inviting the chiefs for peacekeeping talks, where they were instead arrested, tried and hanged. He said the chiefs must be considered fully because they were acting as one independent nation engaged in war with another when they attacked a colonial road crew that intruded on their territory.
“These are mistakes that our government profoundly regrets and are determined to set right,” Trudeau said of the incident during the so-called Chilcotin War.
Chief Joe Alphonse, tribal chairman of the Tsilhqot’in nation, said the apology was significant not only because it was the first time that a prime minister visited his nation’s title lands, but because it was made directly to community members.
Trudeau made a “statement of exoneration” in the House of Commons in March and agreed to visit the title lands then.
“For me as chief last March it was a very emotional journey, a spiritual one. It took its toll physically, mentally. So I’ve been through that, I’ve gone through that,” Alphonse said.
“Today it’s about our membership, and our membership all these years not believing that a prime minister would acknowledge that. So it’s a powerful day.”
Trudeau rode into the valley on a black horse, symbolizing the one the historic chiefs rode into what they believed were peace talks. The day also included a smudging ceremony and Trudeau was given a buckskin jacket matching the one his father Pierre Trudeau once wore.
The Tsilhqot’in have long disputed the government’s authority to execute the six chiefs as criminals, describing the confrontation as an altercation between warring nations.
When Trudeau read the statement in the Commons, members of Parliament broke into applause, prompting the Tsilhqot’in chiefs to hold up eagle feathers in salute. Trudeau told MPs the chiefs acted in accordance with their laws and traditions and that they are well regarded as heroes of their people.
The deadly confrontation began when a white road-building crew entered Tsilhqot’in territory without permission in 1864.
Five chiefs were hanged after they travelled to the supposed peace talks at the invitation of colonial representatives. A sixth chief was executed the following year in New Westminster.
The B.C. government apologized in 1993 for the executions and installed a commemorative plaque at the site of the hangings.
For me as chief ... it was a very emotional journey, a spiritual one. It took its toll physically, mentally.