cloosh wawa kopa nesika chee hyaschutch - a great speech from ournew lt.governor

[Mike Cleven]

A follow-up to Terry's post (and my original reply) about our new L-G up
here.  Struck me on afterthought that it's been a LONG time since
there's been someone even halfway familiar with Chinook in any senior
government position in BC; Terry might correct me on this but I think it
might have been Len Marchand (former federal MP for Kamloops, who was
Native; I don't know if he was Secwepmec of Syilx/Okanagan or
Nicola/Sce'exmx or what, though) or, um, geez I've forgotten his name -
the longtime MLA for Atlin, later for Skeena I think, who was also
Native - oh yeah, Frank Calder; I think he was Nisga'a.

Her Excellency the L-G Iona Campagnolo's only "native by culture", sort
of, as she was raised in Prince Rupert and was raised with native kids
and has a long history of involvement with cultural affairs in BC, even
before she got into politics; I'm wondering if she knew her Chinook from
experience or whether she's picked it up out of interest; be interesting
to know.  It's worth explaining that the L-G is not exactly a
_government_ position (technically the government works _for_ her) so
it's not quite the same thing; even though she _was_ an elected
politican in her day (and by rights should maybe have been Prime
Ministerial or Premieral material; sexism was so rampant in the Liberal
Party that the party leader of the day once patted her on the bum in
public, thinking it was OK).  It's worth commenting for our Boston
sikhs, also, that it's only in recent years that this mostly ceremonial
but technically all-powerful post began to be selected from the ranks of
retired elected officials and party hacks; they used to be chosen from
'high society', often from outside the province with a lot of input from
London and Ottawa; in recent years it's been a tiresome parade of party
loyalists (except for the Rt. Hon. David Lam); Campagnolo's a breath of
fresh air.  That she speaks Chinook harks back to BC's origins in a very
direct way; as noted here before Premiers and Cabinet Ministers used to
know the Jargon; at least the Hyas Klootchman Tyee does now.....

MC

> terry glavin wrote:
>
> i have been dying to send this email for some time.
>
> yesterday, british columbia's new lieutenant-governor was sworn in a
> ceremony before the provincial legislature in victoria. iona
> campagnolo is the first woman to occupy this office, and she has more
> than a passing familiarity with chinook. and besides that, she's truly
> one of our own.
>
> the reason i've been dying to send this for a while is that some time
> ago she called to tell me to ask if she could conclude her speech with
> a line from that poem i wrote in chinook, "rain language." of course i
> was flattered by this, to the point of not minding if it seems like
> i'm showing off just the tiniest bit right now, which i suppose i am.
> [Image]
>  for boston tillicums: in canada, which is technically a democratic
> constitutional monarchy, sovereignty is vested in the "crown"  rather
> than the "people"; governors-general are appointed by the privy
> council - i.e. the prime minister and a bunch of other guys - in
> consultation with the canada's queen (that would be elizabeth windsor,
> who also happens to be england's queen), and lieutenants-governor are
> appointed in much the same way, with little involvement by the
> provinces (which would explain why we got a gem like iona rather than
> a wanker, which is almost certainly what we would have got if the
> sitting provincial government had any say in the matter. but i
> digress).
>
>  i can't find a copy of her speech on the web just yet (from the
> lt.gov's web site you'd still think that garde gardom was the queen's
> representative in b.c.) and it would be bad form to send along the
> draft she sent me a few days back, but the punchline of iona's speech,
> i.e. the point of this email,  was:
>
>  konoway tillicums klatawa kunamokst klaska mamook okoke huloima chee
> illahie.
>
>  which is to say, everyone was thrown together to make this strange
> new country.
>
>  and if there is any awkwardness in the translation, the fault was
> initially mine and entirely mine.
>
>  Here's an abbreviated version of the front page story in today's
> victoria times-colonist:
>
> Lieutenant-governor aims to promote greater tolerance
>
> Judith Lavoie
> Times Colonist (Victoria)
>
> Wednesday, September 26, 2001
>
> Looking the picture of elegance, Iona Campagnolo stood
> outside Government House -- her new home -- for a brief
> moment Tuesday after her swearing-in ceremony as B.C.'s
> first woman lieutenant-governor.
>
> ``Did you notice my guard today? There were many, many women in the
> military and it shows how our country is building inclusiveness,''
> said Campagnolo, who is bringing strong views on women and aboriginal
> rights to the non-partisan office.
>
> Between ceremonial signing of oaths and 15-gun salutes at the
> legislature, Campagnolo delivered a powerful speech emphasizing the
> historic roles of First Nations and women in B.C.
>
> ``My playmates as a child were Japanese and aboriginal. My brother and
> I were the only two who were not of that heritage,'' said Campagnolo
> in an interview after the speech. ``I was a child when the Japanese
> were taken to internment camps and the aboriginals were taken to
> residential schools. I have never forgotten it and I have spent all my
> life trying to see those sorts of things never happen again.''
>
> Campagnolo, who grew up by the Skeena River in northern B.C., ended
> her speech with a phrase in the Chinook language -- to the delight of
> Nisga'a chief Joe Gosnell, one of the guests at the elaborate ceremony
> and reception.
>
> ``I am here to personally thank her and to wish her well on behalf of
> the Nisga'a nation.''
>
> ``She has been an absolute keen supporter of the Nisga'a people,'' he
> said.