Two new flagpoles were installed in front of city hall, and will fly the flags of the Tseshaht and Hupacasath First Nations.
The flags were raised simultaneously yesterday as part of National Indigenous Peoples Day.
The recognition of local First Nations governments is one of 27 recommendation made by the city’s reconciliation committee.
Tseshaht Chief Councillor Ken Watts says the flag raising is a step in the right direction towards reconciliation and healing.
“The past few weeks have been pretty tough for Tseshaht and many Nuu-chah-nulth after what happened in T’Kumluups at the former residential school, so I think it’s needed right now, I think it’s a step in the right direction, but I think there’s a lot more work to do,” he said.
Watts said Tseshaht Council meets regularly with the City of Port Alberni’s mayor and council, and are working on multiple economic development initiatives at Harbour Quay and Clutesi Marina
Mid-Island / Pacific-Rim MLA Josie Osborne said while this day is usually one of celebration, this year’s events require deeper reflection.
“Today is also about a call to action of the greatest kind,” she said. “As we honour and celebrate Indigenous communities today we must recognize the systemic racism, discrimination and intergenerational trauma that Indigenous peoples have experienced and continue to experience. These harms are a daily and lived reality for Indigenous peoples, so today is a day of reflection.”
Osborne said non-Native British Columbians have a responsibility to learn from the past and work towards a better future.
“It is time for settlers to be unsettled,” she said. “It is time for us to listen, to learn, to live with discomfort and to take a deep and hard look at our own history. It is my responsibility as a settler on these lands to understand my own colonial history and that of this province and that of this country. We have a lot of work to do.”
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