FIRST NATIONS STORIES CAN’T ‘BE BURIED WITH US’
Price Paid: The Fight for First Nations Survival
Bev Sellars
Talonbooks
Aboriginal author and former chief of the Xat’sull First Nation Bev Sellars, who wrote They Called Me Number One, has a new book out that aims to clarify misconceptions about First Nations people. Sellars was first elected chief of the Williams Lake-area First Nation in 1987 and served for two decades.
Q Tell us about your book.
A My book begins with the many contributions that aboriginal people in the North, Central and South Americas have given to the world. It examines the clash of cultures and the eventual tilting of powers from aboriginal people to the newcomers because of disease and racist laws. It then follows the human rights struggle of aboriginal people, which had to go underground until 1951. Finally, it examines the continuous fight of aboriginal people to get to where we are today, and the tilting of powers back to aboriginal people.
Q Price Paid is based on your popular speech, which was told to treaty-makers, politicians, policy-makers and educators. Why did you decide to turn the speech into a book?
A It was a PowerPoint presentation of history from an aboriginal point of view. It was needed because many government employees who were negotiating treaties had no idea of why there was the need to negotiate. They were just mouthing the government’s position. I thought if I put the PowerPoint together, they would at least have an idea of why it was important to negotiate a just treaty. I never was allowed to do my presentation for the negotiators. I turned it into a book because Canadians in general need to know this history. There are many younger aboriginal people who also do not know this history either. People need to understand the real journey of this country, especially the parts that are not desirable to talk about.
Q Your book lists common misconceptions about First Nations in Canada. What are
some examples of these, which are discussed further in your book?
A The misconceptions that Indians do not pay taxes, that Indians are all the same and that Indians get everything for free.
Q You also describe foods, medicines and cultural practices North America’s indigenous peoples have contributed to the rest of the world. Can you share a few examples?
A Many people don’t know that the United States Constitution is based on the Iroquois Confederacy. Much of how governments operate today came from aboriginal tribes. Transportation in canoes, kayaks and snowshoes on trails were all gifts that made the newcomers’ task of travel easier than the wooden rowboats they brought from Europe. The newcomers already had the Americas laid out for them in the form of pre-existing trails, and they had aboriginal people to guide them to where they wanted to go.
Q Your book offers a distinctly First Nations perspective on Canada’s history, all the way up to the 21st century. What are some historical facts that stood out for you as important to include in your book?
A The fact that our fight for our human rights struggle had to go underground for decades, and that aboriginal people were once thrown in jail for crimes that only Indians could be charged with — but Indians could not hire lawyers to defend their human rights.
We are still today fighting for our rightful place in society. All of these facts are important for Canadians to know, and they are discussed in my book.
Q You discuss in your book current efforts to re-establish indigenous land and resource rights. What do you feel still needs to be done?
A Aboriginal people need to have a real say in their tribal lands. They took care of it before the newcomers got here so that it would sustain them for seven generations ahead. The way the land is used needs to change. Right now money is the main factor resources are measured by, and that is so destructive. The economy that sustained aboriginal people for thousands of years needs to be factored into the monetary economy. Aboriginal people are not just fighting for our grandchildren — we are fighting for everyone’s grandchildren.
Q How can we ensure that more accounts of Canadian history are told from a First Nations perspective?
A Whenever I go out to speak to aboriginal audiences, I encourage them to write their stories. Aboriginal people need to write, even if it is just for their children or grandchildren. Our stories cannot be buried with us. Now that children are not being taken from their families and prevented from naturally developing, we are seeing more and more aboriginal students excelling in their chosen field. If the older generations tell their stories, then maybe the younger ones can write them.
Q What’s next for you? Are you planning your next book?
A People mistake me for a writer, but it is still a struggle for me. I am still recovering from this book. I hope my husband, Bill Wilson, will write a book, and if he does, I will help him. He has been part of every major aboriginal political event since 1970 and has a wealth of history that needs to be shared.
That is the book everyone is waiting for, the one that needs to be done first. There are other historical books that need to be written. I will start to gather material for them, and in a few years will hopefully publish others.