Qayqayt
The Qayqayt (pron. Ki-kait) or New Westminster Band is one of the First Nations in the Metro Vancouver region in the southwest of the western Canadian province of British Columbia . They lived in what is now New Westminster , but by 1923 the tribe was so small that the reservation was dissolved, the residents were distributed to other tribes, and the area was sold. In August 2009 there were only 9 people in the tribe.
history
It is thanks to a single person that this tribe is again one of the First Nations that still exist today. Rhonda Larrabee grew up in Vancouver's Chinatown . Her father was Art Lee, her mother Marie Charlie. She always pretended to be French, but she came from an almost extinct First Nation. Like all Indian children , she had to go to a residential school , a kind of boarding school, in Kamloops , while her reservation was dissolved in 1923.
Rhonda discovered at 24 that her mother had denied her origins out of fear of racism . After the death of her mother, she tried this tribe, the Qayqayt First Nation to revive. When she applied for Indian status , the Department of Indian Affairs claimed that the Qayqayt no longer exist. Their reservation had long been sold. But after 13 months she had her status as an Indian. In a cemetery she discovered her mother's father's grave, in a part of the cemetery that was reserved for Indians. In 1998 the tribe organized their first powwow and today they participate in cultural activities and try to get a reservation.
Only 6 men and 3 women were registered as members of the Westminster Indian Band in August 2009 . The tribe has no reservation, but considers Westminster near Vancouver their home. The chief is Rhonda Larrabee.
The Qayqayt support the establishment of Westminster Pier park, and Larrabee is a symbol of the Chinese community's affiliation with Canada.
Movie
A tribe of one . Rhonda Larrabee's mother was not, as she had long been shown, of French and Chinese descent, but a member of a First Nation, a "tribe of one". Larrabee managed to get an Indian Status Card . She is now a member of the Qayqayt First Nation, from which her mother wanted to escape, and is her chief. Documentary 2003, 38 min 49 sec.
Web links
- Report from Rhonda Larrabee
- A tribe of one, film
- Dave Obee: Chan brothers spread Gospel , in: Times-Colonist, August 3, 2008
See also
- History of the Coastal Salish
- History of British Columbia
- First Nations history
- List of Indian tribes recognized in Canada
Remarks
- ↑ According to the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development , New Westminster ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Premier likes city pier plan; But Campbell tells The Record that he can't promise any funds , in: Vancouver Sun, April 29, 2009 and Todd Wong: Canada's future includes head-tax descendants , in: North Shore News, June 25, 2006 ( Memento of the original dated August 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
