“How would you like to see heritage defined to include reconciliation?”

This was one of the three table questions asked during the sixth session of the Reconciliation Dialogues series organised by the City Family and City of Victoria City Staff in Lekwungen Territory, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The Victoria Reconciliation Dialogues is a series of conversations that enables the community to participate in reconciliation on Lekwungen Territory. Indigenous-led and informed by the City Family—members of Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, along with urban Indigenous guests to the territory—the Dialogues provide opportunities for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to engage in meaningful exchange and explore how to raise awareness and educate settlers and visitors about local Indigenous culture, history, and modern realities.

On July 11, 2022, at the Victoria Conference Centre, attendees were engaged in a discussion around the theme “Rethinking Heritage in the Context of Reconciliation.” Guided by the members of the City Family, the City Staff, and special guests, Songhees Nation Councillors Karen Tunkara and Garry Sam, the conversation revolved around how local First Nations’ cultural heritage can be honoured, reawakened, and woven into the City’s colonial-era architecture and urban plan.

The City of Victoria has often been described as exuding an English “charm” with its colonial architecture and garden landscapes. The City even has an award-winning conservation program aimed at restoring and conserving buildings. However, when these buildings and areas were developed, existing Indigenous cultural heritage was also dismantled and erased. As the City continues to work towards reconciliation, it recognises that the decolonization and reclaiming of these spaces is not only important but also necessary in acknowledging and reviving local First Nations’ cultural heritage and traditional ways of being and doing. Karen Tunkara says, “There is a history that supersedes what is there right now.” This challenging work requires concrete actions to honour and preserve čǝléŋǝn (chi-lay-nun), or pre-contact heritage.

Dialogue presenter Angie Bain of the First Peoples’ Cultural Council underscored the fact that “the right to access and enjoy cultural heritage is a basic human right.” To make it accessible, Angie Bain believes that “only local communities can share their stories, place names, and describe their connections, understanding, and responsibilities to the land and resources.” This is where the collaborative work of the City Family is valuable. With a Lekwungen-led and trauma-informed approach, the decolonization of spaces becomes more authentic and inclusive.

In its early stages, the Government Street Refresh is an example of the decolonizing and reclamation work that has begun in the region. It aims to weave in local Nations’ cultural heritage through a wayfinding project along a very colonial and prominent street in Victoria. It is designed to incorporate čǝléŋǝn in the physical spaces and place names so when people describe and tell stories about the place, it tells stories of two cultures woven together. Karen Tunkara explains a powerful message behind the project: “Our goal is not to erase anything. We’ve experienced that. We don’t need it again, and we’re not looking to do that to anybody else. We know the impacts of that and we’re living that. Having to walk in two worlds for a very, very long time, we saw this as an opportunity. There is a privilege that comes with living here in this country, in this province, and in this city, and this is a wonderful way to demonstrate that.”

The project is in its conceptualisation stage, and those involved look forward to seeing the fruits of this collaborative work. Garry Sam encapsulates these efforts by saying, “As our territorial acknowledgements evolve, so do our actions,” and this project seems to be a good step towards reconciliation with the original and ongoing stewards of Lekwungen Territory. •

A few of the other placemaking initiatives:

Trutch Street to səʔit (Su’it) Street
The renaming of the street to Su’it (pronounced say-EET) is one of the recent initiatives that the City worked on with the members of the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations to reclaim the spaces in their territory. Su’it translates to “truth” in the Lekwungen language. The street was originally named after Joseph Trutch, BC’s first lieutenant governor. According to the City of Victoria, Trutch’s legacy of racist policies and refusal to acknowledge treaties and titles caused significant harm to Indigenous groups in BC.

Míqәn
One of the seven unique site markers that designate culturally significant sites to the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations along the Inner Harbour and surrounding areas is Míqәn—pronounced MEE-qan—which means “warmed by the sun.” It can be found in Beacon Hill Park in a camas field that used to be a Lekwungen village site. Burial cairns were once located here, and the camas were harvested by the Lekwungen-speaking peoples for medicinal purposes and trade with other nations.