Dear Editor,
Re: “YVR, Musqueam Indian Band sign ground-breaking deal,” Richmond News, June 23.
The Musqueam Indian Band — YVR Airport Sustainability & Friendship Agreement, what a beautiful thing to see happen in British Columbia.
It is always so important that we recognise that this land that we continually build and settle on is stolen land.
I’m glad you had decided to include two quotes from Grant-John in there, especially where she talks about the grievance of the white man coming into the country and destroying their lifestyle.
Most articles I’ve read fail to include that and only recognised how good of a deal the Musqueam Indian Band received — so, I applaud you for that.
Still, I wish there had been more mention of the Musqueam people’s history and their claim to the land that we currently call Vancouver.
The Musqueam people have been on this land for the past 4,000 years. Here they would fish, hunt, trap, gather, and maintain their livelihood.
Today, the Musqueam people can still use this land for economic and traditional purposes, but their territory has almost been completely stolen from them.
The Musqueam people now just live on a small portion of their traditional territory, also known as the Musqueam Indian Reserve.
Bon Chan
Richmond
