Tla’amin Nation has taken exception to comments made by City of Powell River councillor Jim Palm at a committee of the whole meeting on January 30.
A media release from Tla’amin stated that Palm belittled and mocked the Tla'amin language and its ancestral place names by using the made-up word "wakawana" during a discussion on potentially changing the city's name.
"We cannot let this racist slur stand,” stated Tla'amin hegus John Hackett. “This comment is wholly inappropriate coming from an elected official and contributes to the normalization of racist remarks that make reconciliation harder than it has to be.”
The release stated that Powell River is named after Israel Wood Powell, the first BC superintendent of Indian Affairs and one of the chief architects of early colonial policies, including the proliferation of Indian residential schools. The name is a constant reminder of the abuses inflicted on Indigenous children for more than a century, spurring a renaming campaign, the release stated.
“We don’t take mockery of our language lightly, especially from a longtime schoolteacher and elected official,” stated Tla’amin executive councillor Losa Luaifoa. “Our people were taught to be ashamed of our language through the exact behaviours demonstrated by councillor Palm, and worse. This has resulted in the near loss of our language. We are working so hard to reclaim our pride and fluency in ʔayʔaǰuθəm and call on Tla’amin people and our allies to keep up their work to restore and draw attention to the beauty of our language.”
The release stated that Tla'amin is hopeful that the city and Tla’amin can move forward from this incident in a manner that heals and evolves their long-standing relationship.
“Tla’amin’s request to restore original place names is not a joke and councillor Palm’s comment was crude and hurtful,” stated Tla’amin executive councillor Dillon Johnson. “We have a long and proud history of place names that are not only deeply meaningful for Tla’amin people, but all people who call this region home. We look forward to moving past this unfortunate incident and back to a serious discussion about removing the name Powell from our city.”
In a video from the city council meeting, at the three-hour mark, Palm says "wakawana" when referring to Tla'amin place names.
The release provided background information on the process of name change. At the May 12, 2021, community-to-community-to-community (C3) meeting, Tla’amin executive council requested that the city consider a name change in light of the devastating legacy the actions of Israel Powell have had and continues to have on the Tla’amin people, the release stated.
In November 2021, the city and Tla’amin agreed to establish a joint working group comprised of elected officials and community appointees to oversee a community conversation about the proposed name change. The joint working group conducted a community engagement process from March through June 2022.
On July 15, 2022, Tla’amin and the city released a final report on the engagement process including 11 recommendations. On January 16, 2024, the city tabled strategic priorities including: taking real steps towards a name change.
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