Pacific Peoples' Partnership

Connecting Indigenous and Pacific Peoples

10th Annual One Wave Gathering

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By all measures, the 2017 One Wave Gathering was a resounding success. All participants, be they local, Nuu-chah-nulth, Kwakwaka’wakw or South Pacific Islanders, were extremely pleased with the participatory, inclusive and educational proceedings. A number of elders were moved to tears and speechlessness by the unprecedented and historical importance of this event.

– April Ingham, Executive Director of Pacific Peoples’ Partnership

As an annual event hosted by PPP, One Wave has celebrated international Pacific community, arts and culture in Victoria, British Columbia since 2008. In 2017, motivated by ongoing steps towards First Nations reconciliation and global Indigenous movements, PPP presented an enriched and expanded One Wave Gathering.

This year’s theme, “healing through celebration,” permeated every aspect of the event creating a supportive village atmosphere while celebrating and honouring all those in attendance.

To all that have made this vision a reality: hay’sxʷqa. Read our full acknowledgement here.

The Longhouse Project saw the raising of four longhouse structures designed by youth artists on the BC Legislature lawn.

This event was unprecedented: a gathering of many communities from across the North and South Pacific. Guided by their unique customs, protocols and histories, they came together on the British Columbia Legislature lawns as a village. Through this Gathering, thousands of members of the Victoria public, including political leaders from various levels of government, had the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with one another in authentic spaces.

Thanks to the BC Legislature invitation for the Gathering to use the lawns overlooking Victoria’s Inner Harbour, it was the first time in many generations that four longhouses stood on this former traditional Lekwungen village site.

One of four longhouse structures raised at the BC Legislature.

This year, One Wave Gathering was marked by a unique symbolic installation: the Longhouse Project. Under the direction of Nuu-chah-nulth artist Hjalmer Wenstob, and with the active support of the BC Legislature, four First Nations and Maori youth were selected to design art for the façades of the temporary longhouses. The houses were created in the styles of the Coast Salish, Kwakwaka’wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth, and South Pacific Islands respectively. Inside each longhouse, community members from each area had full rein in creating welcoming and educational interactive spaces for the public throughout the day.

Longhouse designs were created by Sarah Jim (Coast Salish), A.J. Boersen (Nuu-chah-nulth), Juliana Speier (Kwak’waka’wakw), Jazzlyn Markowsky (Maori) and a phenomenal dance curtain, later gifted to Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, was created by James Goldsmith-Brown (Esquimalt Nation). The journey of youth, participating artists and community members who produced and programmed within the longhouses was captured in a documentary to be showcased at PPP’s upcoming AGM and Holiday Feast on December 10.

What we wanted to do was bring people into our homes, truly and honestly do it. Bring people into our homes and share. Share a meal, conversation and story, and learn a little bit about each other and the history and how we can move forward together.

– Hjalmer Wenstob (Lead Artist, Nuu-chah-nulth)

Esquimalt Nation Chief Andy Thomas addressing the One Wave crowd

Hosted on Lekwungen territory, the Gathering’s organizers worked respectfully with Songhees and Esquimalt Nations to ensure the event was meaningful to both Nations. This led to a second unprecedented aspect of One Wave Gathering: all materials and signage on site were produced in both English and Lekwungen.

Chief Ron Sam of Songhees Nation, Chief Andy Thomas of Esquimalt Nation and Joan Morris of Songhees Nation opened the event by speaking to the Indigenous history of the Inner Harbour area, including customary place-names and sites of significance. They also spoke about the impact of colonization on the area.

South Pacific community delegation before conducting protocol with local First Nations

Two Lekwungen dance groups (Lekwungen Dancers & Esquimalt Singers and Dancers), two Polynesian dance groups (Pearls of the South Pacific and Tusitala Polynesian Dancers), one Kwak’waka’wakw dance group (Kwakiutl Dancers) and one Nuu-chah-nulth dance group (Ahousaht Dance Group) presented on the main stage. The dance presentations ended with a participatory dance for all the public led by the Kwakiutl Dance Group.

A big part for me was that everyone came together and that we all celebrated as one race, the human race; I hope that eventually more and more people come each year and that soon racism and stereotypes end for everyone. 

– A.J. Boersen (Nuu-chah-nulth), Longhouse Project Youth

During the day, the City of Victoria’s Indigenous artist-in-residence Lindsay Delaronde facilitated a corn-husk doll-making activity with public participation, and partnered with Tlingit artist Nahaan to produce a theatre piece called Remembering. Nuu-chah-nulth elder Moy Sutherland Sr. guided the public in games of slahal, a traditional bone game that in years past was an important fixture of the local economy.

At the end of the day, Pacific Peoples’ Partnership was pleased to partner with the Moose Hide Campaign for a public feast featuring both local and international foods.

All on-site signage was translated into Lekwungen.

One Wave 2017 was an outstanding program with a wide range of community impacts, and we are still actively consulting the community around how to move the program forward. Were you at One Wave Gathering, and do you have an idea to share? We would love to hear from you.

Feel free to email deputy@archive.pacificpeoplespartnership.org with your comments and feedback, or get involved next year!

View more photos in our Facebook album.

Please donate today so that we can continue to produce One Wave Gathering.

The reality of climate impacts in the South Pacific

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Women at a village feast in Toukou, Fiji.

Reflections from our Executive Director and Board President

Dearest PPP Friends and Family,

This past summer hundreds of wildfires scorched Canada from coast to coast, with the majority burning in British Columbia and Alberta. An iceberg the size of Prince Edward Island in Canada (roughly 5,660 km²) broke off Antarctica. The extreme unseasonable and devastating effects of climate change are now impacting us in every corner of our world.

And yet, our South Pacific friends living in some of the most affected nations of the world strongly remind us: “We are not drowning, we are fighting.” And so must we, as this is a matter of not only climate justice but our very survival globally. These passionate words were shared by Pacific 360 Warrior Mikaele Maiava live from Samoa during PPP’s Livestream event “Pacific Streams: Community Narratives on Climate Change” (sponsored by our long-time partner CAPI – Centre for Asia Pacific Initiatives.) Watch it here:

PPP is serious about addressing climate change. This past summer I had the opportunity to participate in the Climate Reality Project Climate Leadership Corps Training with Former US Vice President Al Gore in Bellevue, Washington. Over 800 delegates inspired to be Climate Leaders attended, in fact this the 35th cohort was one of the largest to date. This was encouraging, as the fight in the USA against climate change has taken such a disastrous turn under the current US administration.

Despite that administration’s decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement on Climate Change, the very future of our world depends on our solidarity, so what an inspiration it was to participate alongside youth, scientists, Indigenous leaders, activists, inventors, teachers, retirees, and countless volunteers impassioned to take a stand and make a difference. We represented so many walks of life, and together we will unite in the fight against climate change.

Tokou Village house and boat, May 2017

Earlier this year I visited the Fijian town of Toukou on Ovalau Island. Here I was reminded of the continuing risk and ongoing climate devastation faced by those most vulnerable geographically. I was there to represent PPP and our donors who are providing support through our Pacific Resilience Fund to assist with the recovery efforts at the Loreto Catholic School which was nearly leveled last year.

My tour took place during unsettled tropical weather that alternated between continual rain deluges and wind storms. This made it even more difficult to bear witness to the damage from both 2015 and 2016 cyclones on this small historic island.

It was heartbreaking to consider that the community could be hit by yet another cyclone before they can recover from the last, especially since so many families have had to leave the island to pursue employment and find accommodations and education on the main island due to this accumulated damage.

Students of Loreto School in Toukou, Fiji.

With this realization, the fight can seem hopeless, but it is not hopeless if we take action now. Pacific peoples are strong and resilient. They advocate for “1.5 to just survive” and are counting on us all to do our part. In Bonn Germany, Fiji just hosted the UN Climate Change Conference (COP23). They brought a traditional Fijian canoe or drua, which serves as a powerful symbol of resilience and unity. This also serves to remind us that “The whole world is in the same canoe.”

“We need COP23 to accelerate climate action,” says Nick Nuttall, Spokesperson for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. “The meeting is a staging post on our irreversible path to a low-carbon future, a path that we need to go on further, faster, together.”

In response to our shared climate crisis PPP has been developing a three year climate action response that includes knowledge sharing components, including two conferences. The first is Red Tide, our International Indigenous Climate Action Summit (May 2018 in Aotearoa) in followed by a youth climate summit in 2020 in British Columbia.

We are also embarking on a research program in partnership with the Indigenous Governance program at the University of Victoria to inform future policy and program development, and hosting public engagement activities such as our annual One Wave Gathering and our educational program FrancOcean Pacifique. Also in design is a Pacific Eco Youth Alliance, and a growing media hub.

PPP is contributing to many networks and community engagement projects both domestically and internationally, ultimately building solidarity and resolve together within our global community.

For Pacific… Peace… In Solidarity,

April Ingham, Executive Director & Mua Va’a, President

Please donate today to help Pacific Peoples’ Partnership take action on climate change.

Supreme Court rules to destroy largest collection of residential school documents

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Canada’s largest collection of residential school records will be destroyed in 15 years

This spring, Pacific Peoples’ Partnership staff provided communications support to the Coalition for the Preservation of Truth. Many Pacific Peoples’ Partnership supporters helped spread the word and generously donated to the #StandForTruth campaign to fund their Supreme Court challenge.

On May 29th, 2017, the Coalition appeared as interveners in the Supreme Court of Canada to challenge the impending destruction of over 38,000 residential school records. The Coalition was a broad alliance of residential school survivors and intergenerational survivors that recognizes the ongoing impact of residential school trauma, and that formed to advocate for the preservation of these documents, while respecting individuals rights to privacy. 

On October 6th, 2017, the Supreme Court ruled that the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) had intended for the IAP process to be a confidential and private process and as such, all IAP documents will be destroyed after 15 years. This outcome has the potential to impact efforts to reconcile survivors and intergenerational survivors with Canada for years to come.

The Independent Assessment Process (‘IAP’) was created by the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement in 2007. Through the IAP, victims of serious physical and sexual abuse in the residential school system accessed a second level of compensation from the Government of Canada. Thousands of documents were generated in this process and as a result, the IAP files represent the single largest collection of residential school records.

The Coalition had argued that the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement was akin to a treaty with Indigenous peoples. This was not accepted by the Supreme Court, who narrowly interpreted the Settlement Agreement as a contract.

The Coalition is disturbed by this ruling. Although there will be a mechanism for living survivors to consent to have their records destroyed, what about the many more survivors who have already passed away? The ruling does not distinguish between different types of records. What about procedural documents? How will the IAP ever be examined and held to account if there is no record of the process?

The court ruled that disclosure of IAP records would be a greater injustice than the destruction of records, arguing that most participants in the IAP never expected the information to be shared. Privacy and archival legislation, which have many mechanisms to protect the individual privacy rights of survivors, were not given any weight.

The trauma of residential school has and will continue to ripple through communities across Canada. We share a responsibility to ensure current and future intergenerational survivors can access specific knowledge about what led to their broken communities, fragmented families and loss of language and culture. In the same way that future generations have the right to clean air and water, the Coalition continues to believe that future generations have the right to know their historical record through the content of these documents.

Neither the Supreme Court decision nor the IAP process itself was consistent with Indigenous laws, which are rich, textured, and full of space to hold differences of opinion. Indigenous teachings hold that we can just as truly dishonor our ancestors and future generations as we can our living family. The Coalition believes that this decision is a demonstration of why sensitive cultural differences of opinion cannot be resolved in a colonial arena.

To continue following this important issue, please visit Stand For Truth on Facebook.

Pacific Peoples’ Partnership has been a strong advocate for truth and reconciliation movements across the Pacific, including in East Timor and the Solomon Islands. We continue to support peace efforts amidst 30 years of ongoing genocide in West Papua.

Featured Partner: Moose Hide Campaign

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On September 16 2017, Pacific Peoples’ Partnership joined forces with the Moose Hide Campaign to deliver a feast at the Songhees Wellness Centre just outside Victoria. The evening was an opportunity to reflect as a community on a day of impactful programming, including our own One Wave Gathering and Moose Hide Campaign’s Regional Gathering. We are grateful for Moose Hide Campaign’s hospitality, and for the opportunity to deliberate on the Moose Hide message together.

The Moose Hide Campaign is a growing movement of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people committed to ending violence against women and girls. Supporters of the campaign demonstrate their commitment to a better future by wearing a small Moose Hide badge. In addition, Moose Hide Campaign delivers ongoing community engagement projects aimed at creating culturally informed supports and accountability mechanisms for men. To date, over 300,000 Moose Hide badges have been distributed across Canada.

According to Statistics Canada, one woman is killed every five days in a domestic homicide. 6,000 women are living in emergency shelters on any given day. Indigenous women are three times more likely to experience violence than non-Indigenous women in Canada.

The Moose Hide Campaign was inspired by a hunting trip taken by founders Paul and Raven Lacerte just off of British Columbia’s Highway 16. The highway is popularly known as the ‘Highway of Tears’ for the high number of women and girls, mainly of Indigenous descent, who have been murdered or disappeared between Prince Rupert and Prince George.

What can you do?

We are all responsible for promoting gender equity, healthy relationships and positive ideas of masculinity. Learn about the impact of violence around you, and question how your own attitudes and behaviours may perpetuate this violence. Seek and offer support.

On February 15 2018, the Moose Hide Campaign will meet for the 8th consecutive year in Victoria, British Columbia. Thousands of men from across the province will take part in a fast to reaffirm their commitment to ending violence against women, and access a range of supports. To get involved, visit moosehidecampaign.ca.

Pacific Resilience Fund in Toukou

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Photo by April Ingham

In February of 2016, the strongest and costliest cyclone in the history of the South Pacific swept across Queensland, Tonga, Vanuatu, Niue, and Fiji. Tropical Cyclone Winston illustrated the widespread damage an extreme climate event can inflict upon island nations and its communities.

For Tokou village, on the Fijian island of Ovalau, the cyclone resulted in the loss of many local residences and the destruction of the Loreto Catholic School.

One school building, rushed by storm surges of up to seven meters high, floated off its foundations before coming to rest across the schoolyard. That same building began to serve as a temporary schoolhouse and meeting space for the community at its unanticipated new location.

The entire Tokou village, including the site of Loreto school, had been previously marked by the Fijian government for relocation. But in the aftermath of Cyclone Winston the Fijian government began reconstruction in the exact location Loreto was destroyed: adjacent to a steep hillside, flanked by road, river and ocean.

Disasters such as cyclones can reveal poorly informed and supported foundational frameworks—whether in architecture or in the disaster relief system.

In the aftermath of Cyclone Winston, international support channelled through the Fijian government provided funding for temporary classroom tent structures. These classroom tents baked in the tropical heat and became soaked from the ground up in the rain.

Pacific Peoples’ Partnership became involved with rebuilding a more resilient Loreto School in this shifting landscape. We had pinpointed Loreto School as a strong candidate for support through consultations with hereditary Fijian leaders living in Victoria, BC. This oversight proved to be critical, as  a strong understanding of the community was needed to navigate multiple sources of funding rushing in to support insufficient temporary infrastructure in the community. 

Together with a variety of donors—including the local Pacific Islander community of the Victoria area—Pacific Peoples’ Partnership raised $15,000 for rebuilding Loreto Catholic School. The funding was channelled through the Pacific Resilience Fund, a flexible funding mechanism designed to promote medium term climate resiliency programming in communities as a supplement to the short term disaster relief system.

In 2017, Executive Director April Ingham travelled to Tokou Village to determine the full scope of Loreto School’s needs. Through consultations with elders, teachers and the broader community, April determined that PPP funding would be most useful to support the ongoing repairs, materials and labour needed to repair the Headteacher’s house. The school’s structural issues were being addressed by the Fijian government, and the Headteacher’s house proved to be a central meeting and community space for the school and village. Any additional funds would support the associated costs of a seawall to protect the school, incorporating recommendations of restoring coastal mangroves to protect against storm surge.

The Pacific Islands region is among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Geographic isolation, small size, and narrow resource base—coupled with the increasing magnitude and impact of existing natural hazards—threaten the lives and livelihoods of Pacific Island countries and territories.

The clear overlap between risks related to climate change and disaster management inspired the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific: An Integrated Approach to Address Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management (FRDP). The FRDP provides guidance and critical insights for community stakeholders, from grassroots to government initiatives, to private interest investment.  The shift from a vulnerability based framework to a resiliency based framework is an important recognition of the leadership and strength of Island communities.

Through the efforts of local leaders and collaboration between community stakeholders, Pacific Islanders have the opportunity to develop more resilient communities and a stronger climate and disaster response framework. Extreme weather events will only continue to increase in frequency and severity. We need not wait for the next disaster to begin addressing the underlying causes of vulnerability, predominantly poverty, resource scarcity, ecological degradation, and land loss.

Please donate today to grow our Pacific Resilience Fund for communities in the South Pacific.

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For 45 years, Pacific Peoples’ Partnership has supported the aspirations of South Pacific Islanders and Indigenous peoples for peace, environmental sustainability, social justice and community development.

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