Recording Now Available of June 30th Listening Circle with Penelakut Elders

A recording of the Listening Circle that was held online June 30, 2021. 

The Listening Circle was led by Coast Salish Elders Florence James and Raymond Tony Charlie, along with Florence's son Rocky James, all members of Penelakut Tribe. It was hosted by the Centre for Global Studies (CFGS) and the POLIS Project on Ecological Governance (POLIS) at the University of Victoria. Opening and closing remarks were contributed by CFGS Director Dr. Oliver Schmidtke and the event was organized and facilitated by POLIS Co-director Dr. Kelly Bannister. 

The Listening Circle was organized in the spirit of listening and learning from local Indigenous Elders to better understand what reconciliation requires of us, after the deeply disturbing news of 215 children found in an unmarked mass burial site at the former Kamloops Residential School, on Tk’emlups te Secwépemc First Nation in Kamloops. Since the Listening Circle was held, news of more many unmarked graves continue to be reported across our country, including on Penelakut Island in connection with the former Kuper Island Residential Institution. Elder Florence James, Elder Raymond Tony Charlie and Rocky James shared their stories and wisdom with care, conviction, courage and compassion so we can all learn. To be part of healing and catalyzing real change for true reconciliation, we must first listen attentively to Indigenous Elders and leaders who are speaking with courage, strength and wisdom to guide this important moment in our shared history. 

A special moment during the Listening Circle was reading of a poem written by Elder Raymond Tony Charlie, to be included in his forthcoming book "In the Shadow of the Red Brick Building." In response to many requests from participants of the Listening Circle, Ray Tony has generously made the poem available to share in advance of his book. The poem can be found here: https://poliswaterproject.org/files/2021/06/Poem_FINAL_Updated.pdf

Kelly