Walker Hook is a Sacred Place
Walker
Hook is Syuhe'mun, a sacred place to Coast Salish First Nations.
Syuhe'mun means "place to catch up" in the Hul'q'umi'num'
language. Hul'q'umi'num' is the language spoken by many Coast
Salish people living in the Gulf Islands and Fraser Valley.
Six separate
groups of Mustimuhw ("the People") have come together
to form the Hul'qumi'num
Treaty Group (HTG): the Cowichan, Halalt, Penelakut, Lake
Cowichan, Chemainus, and Lyackson. Syuhe'mun is an important
place for all of these Coast Salish people. Penelakut Elders,
many of whom now live just north of Walker Hook on Kuper Island
remember Syuhe'mun as an ancient village site and sacred place
of their ancestors, as well as a place to fish and hunt and
gather. Elders recall gathering clams and hunting deer and
waterfowl at Walker Hook and remember certain ways they showed
their respect for this sacred resting place of their ancestors,
such as not carrying game across the tombolo, only being allowed
to play on the beach, and always keeping fires below the tide
line.
In 2003, hatchery well and pipeline construction by Sablefin
Hatcheries, Ltd. disturbed the ancient midden. Eleven burials
were found in the initial construction. Based on this density,
it is estimated that as many as 740 people may be buried at
Walker Hook.1 As written by Robert
Morales, Chief Negotiator for the Hul'qumi'num Treaty
Group:
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It is a plain fact that Syuhe'mun
is the burial place of many of our Coast Salish Ancestors
on Salt Spring Island. The archaeological site at Syuhe'mun
(DfRu-002) represents physical evidence of a substantial
ancient settlement built by past populations over millennia,
which holds great heritage significance for our Hul'qumi'num
people today. Our Hul'qumi'num people continue to use
Syuhe'mun as an important resource harvesting location
for marine and intertidal resources. These are uncontested
facts and thereby, we submit, are strong evidence of
our aboriginal rights . . . Honour and respect for one's
family Ancestors is at the root of all Hul'qumi'num
family and ceremonial life, social organization and
customary law. Respecting the Dead is fundamental to
the social status, health and spiritual well-being of
families, who are obligated to care for and maintain
relations with their deceased Ancestors . . . As the
Dead can inflict powerful harm upon the Living for any
disrespectful deed, the physical unearthing of a burial
site and its skeletal remains is considered an unspeakable
act of desecration that threatens the very balance of
relations between the Living and their Ancestors. It
is our customary law that the Dead are respected and
their burial grounds are not physically disturbed. This
customary law represents the continuity of spiritual
and ceremonial practices that maintain our relationship
with our Coast Salish people and our Ancestors throughout
our traditional territory.
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This was written as part of a letter from the Hul'qumi'num
Treaty Group entreating the Waste Management Branch of the
Ministry of Water Land and Air Protection to uphold the Honour
of the Crown (as outlined by the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC)
in its recent decisions of Haida Nation and Taku-Tlingit),
and deny Sablefin Hatcheries Ltd.'s permit application allowing
them to discharge effluent into the ancient village and burial
ground at Syuhe'mun. According to Morales, "The Crown
has a legal duty (reinforced by the SCC) to consult and accommodate
First Nations in decisions that may infringe upon aboriginal
rights in Canada. The Crown's duty arises when it has knowledge,
real or constructive, of the potential existence of aboriginal
title and rights that may be adversely affected by government
action. As such, the Crown 'cannot cavalierly run roughshod'
over First Nations interests, but must reconcile aboriginal
title and rights in good-faith through fair negotiated dealings.
The Supreme Court of Canada affirms that the very 'Honour'
of the Crown is at stake in its duty to reconcile aboriginal
rights and title in all land and resource management decisions
prior to treaty settlement."
In December 2004, the Waste Management Branch of the Ministry
of Water, Land, and Air Protection did not follow the customary
law of the Coast Salish regarding the cultural and religious
significance of Syuhe'mun. It appears that they did not take
into consideration that Sablefin Hatcheries' operation may
be interpreted as an infringement on the
constitutional rights of the Coast Salish people. Neither
did this Ministry follow their own provincial guidelines as
outlined in the Sensitive Ecosystem Conservation Manual
(SEI CM)2 (still no Environmental Impact Assessment
has been completed). They chose to proceed despite concerns
raised by the HTG about possible contamination of the marine
resources at Walker Hook (to which the Coast Salish people
have acknowledged harvesting rights). The Ministry of Water,
Land, and Air Protection issued a permanent Waste Management
Permit to Sablefin Hatcheries, Ltd. in December 2004. This
permit allows a fourfold increase in the levels of hatchery
effluent discharge now pumping through the burial ground to
the underlying marine aquifer, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
We believe that using Syuhe'mun as a waste disposal site communicates
a unconscionable lack of regard for First Nations' rights
and beliefs.
1. Eldrige,
Morley (Millennia Research Ltd) Walker's Hook Professional
Archaeological Opinion. Submitted to Woodward & Company, January
7, 2004.
2. McPhee, M., Ward,
P., Kirkby, J., Wolfe, L., Page, N., Dunster, K., Dawe, N.,
and I. Nykwist. Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory: East Vancouver
Island and Gulf Islands 1993-1997. Volume 2 Conservation Manual.
Technical report Series Number 345. Canadian Wildlife Service,
Pacific and Yukon region, British Columbia.
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