00:00:00:17 – 00:00:13:10

Singing (Tla-o-qui-aht Master Carver and Historian Joseph Tutakwisnapšiƛ Martin, Board Director, IISAAK OLAM Foundation)

Woah woah woo oh ho yeah

Eli Enns (Tla-o-qui-aht Nation Citizen, Co-Founder and CEO, IISAAK OLAM Foundation)

čukʷaa haʔuk!

00:00:13:12 – 00:00:22:18

Whoa whoa ho!

Whoa ho ho yeah

(Drumming)

00:00:22:20 – 00:01:12:02

Eli Enns (Tla-o-qui-aht Nation Citizen, Co-Founder and CEO, IISAAK OLAM Foundation)

The premise is that we’re talking about the Elder Societies of North America. And, there’s a deep history that goes back beyond since time immemorial. So if you don’t know, time immemorial is essentially before Europeans arrived here in North America. It’s a concept in law.

When we talk in terms of Treaty and Indigenous Nations here in Canada, it goes back over 13,000 years in the known archeological record here in B.C., right across Canada, there’s archeological evidence of advanced civilizations that have been here for, you know, many, many tens of thousands of years.

00:01:12:04 – 00:01:48:21

And, of course, we have stories. We have our history that’s been passed on through stories that go back to the Ice Age. And so, you know, I mean, it feels so obvious, but I just want to state the obvious that our people have been here for a very long time. And part of the, part of the key to success, like the resiliency of our Elder Societies, is what I would call ‘biomimicry, applied in social innovation’.

00:01:48:23 – 00:02:19:10

And so I’m kind of going back now. I mean, obviously, we have ʔiisaak. I mean, it’s part of the name of our organization. ʔiisaak is a paradigm. It’s a paradigm through which we observe nature: to observe, appreciate, and act accordingly. So how do we integrate the lessons from Mother Nature into our lives, into the work that we do, but also into our civilization?

00:02:19:12 – 00:03:03:07

Biomimicry for social innovation.

And my mind also goes to Dr. John Burrows, at a talk that he delivered in 2018, at the Banff Centre of the Arts. He talked about how the Anishinaabe people learned about how to make Treaty among human beings by observing the relationships among creatures in nature.

So that’s biomimicry. How do we how do we emulate Creator’s genius, Mother Nature’s genius, in the way that we organize our lives and the way that we organize our interhuman relations?

00:03:03:09 – 00:03:30:01

So the context for 1763 is that they’re based on progression of this kind of thought, the ceremonial progression of life. The Elder societies of North America had developed something that I would call, if I had to put a name on it, I would call it the ‘Primary Treaty with Creator’.

00:03:30:03 – 00:03:57:12

The Primary Treaty or Treaty with Mother Nature. And I’ll use those terms interchangeably: Creator/ Mother Nature, because it is like the source of life or the source of all things. And it is the manifest of the great mystery that we encounter and that we’re a part of.

So the Primary Treaty with Creator is very simple.

00:03:57:12 – 00:04:29:12

And I always think of my, our late great grandmother, Mary Hayes. She would always say that the teachings of our ancestors are simple, yet powerful. And so the Treaty with Creator is really straightforward. Mother Nature/ Creator provides everything that we need to survive and everything that we need to thrive.

And in reciprocity for that provision of life, we have three basic things.

00:04:29:12 – 00:04:57:01

And this is kind of boiled down from a variety of conversations that I’ve had the benefit of having with Elders right across Canada and the United States and beyond. And the Primary Treaty includes a reciprocity of three things: Number one, to be thankful, to be grateful for that which has been provided. Easier said than done, by the way.

00:04:57:01 – 00:05:33:03

It’s really difficult sometimes to have gratitude in our day-to-day lives. Because this includes being thankful for the things that we don’t like, necessarily, the hardships, the pain and suffering, the challenges. Those are gifts from Creator. Sometimes it’s hard to see that. It’s articulating our lives.

And when the Elders speak about gratitude, it’s much more than just saying thanks for holding the door open.

00:05:33:03 – 00:06:04:05

Or thanks for passing the salt or whatever, what they’re really getting to is, it’s a mental posture. It’s a spiritual posture in life to walk in the world with a grateful heart, to continuously see and experience the glass is half empty. Sorry. The glass is half full.

My dyslexia kicks in from now.

00:06:04:05 – 00:06:47:11

Now and again. But to see the world as the glass half full. And recognizing that there’s always, even on the darkest day of our lives, there’s something to be grateful for.

And so when you have that mental posture, by the way, that spiritual, psychological posture, you will, you’ll be able to see the silver lining of the cloud, let’s say. You know, sometimes if something bad happens or we’re overwhelmed with negativity, whatnot, we become fixated on the problem, and therefore, you can’t see the gifts that are coming right around the corner.

00:06:47:13 – 00:07:17:19

And, so this, this first thing that we dedicate in reciprocity to the provision of all life, for Mother Nature/Creator is to walk in the world with a grateful heart. And secondly, and by the way, this is the context of the Treaty of Fort Niagara, which goes back to the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and some of the teachings about the great, the Great Peacemaker, and the Haudenosaunee Confederation.

00:07:17:19 – 00:07:56:09

So, the second thing is to treat that which has been provided with respect. And respect is another one of those words that can be overused and sometimes abused. It can become cliché if we’re not careful. And, in this sense, what the Elder had explained is that respect for all life means that we sit in equality with all of creation. That there’s not a hierarchy of life. That human beings are not above and dominant over the pyramid of life.

00:07:56:11 – 00:08:27:04

In fact, we sit in equality with all of creation. And therefore, even the deer has an equal right to a life of liberty and dignity and environmental security. So and, you know, like, I’m thinking right now I’m sitting and sharing with you from lək̓ʷəŋən and Coast Salish peoples here.

00:08:27:06 – 00:09:19:11

I had the benefit of meeting an Elder from W̱SÁNEĆ, probably now, 11 years ago. And he described the logic of the Peace and Friendship Treaty — the Douglas. And this is, I think, an important one for all of us, members of the team who reside within Douglas Treaty lands. When in the Douglas Treaty, the Coast Salish Peoples were guaranteed a quality of life to hunt and fish, as formally.

Now, the simple interpretation of that over time has been that the Coast Salish Indigenous Peoples have the right to hunt and fish as formally.

00:09:19:13 – 00:09:44:20

But what the Elder described to me, and what he explained is that this is, it’s like half of the logic, it’s half of the understanding. He described how we actually have to maintain a balanced relationship with deer and a balanced relationship with fish. And part of that is respecting the life and liberty of all things in creation.

00:09:44:22 – 00:10:20:12

And even that deer that we have a right to hunt and to consume, we actually have a responsibility that comes along with that right to ensure that the deer has a life of liberty and, and dignity, and self-determination.

And by the way, the deer, when it follows its self-determination, it follows the seasons. So this goes back to the Primary Treaty with Creator in respecting, all things that have been provided, not to treat them as though they’re disposable or that they don’t matter.

00:10:20:17 – 00:10:48:16

I’m thinking about factory farms right now. I’m thinking about, the way that we dominate nature and cultivate it to our purposes. But if the deer is allowed to follow its own self-determination, what you’ll see is that it follows the seasons. It follows natural cycles. The deer is very in tuned, by the way, to the natural cycles.

00:10:48:18 – 00:11:19:16

And now I’m thinking of an Elder from Cree country in northern Alberta. I was at a conference there in 2010 with, Conservation Biology Congress, and there was a Cree Elder there, and he said, you know, in former times, our people used to use the marrow of elk antler, part of the ungulate family. Right. The elks, the elk antler has potent medicine.

00:11:19:18 – 00:11:49:20

But of course, when the parks came along, and I’m thinking about Wood Buffalo National Park, I’m thinking about Riding Mountain National Park I’m thinking about Elk Island National Park. When those parks were established, park rangers were given instructions to police and interfere when Cree peoples were harvesting the elk antler. And so they were fined.

00:11:49:20 – 00:12:37:17

And if they couldn’t pay their fine, they were sometimes incarcerated for violating conservation laws.

And anyways, fast forward a couple decades, and now in Parks Canada, Elk Island National Park, the newcomers, they were looking to revitalize the elk herds, and they were rearing elk in captivity. And as a gesture of goodwill, they provided the elk antlers, you know, that are naturally shed, you know, seasonally. They were providing those elk antlers to the Cree, and what the Elder said is, of course, we accepted those gifts and we accepted the sentiment.

00:12:37:19 – 00:13:10:22

But he went on to say that the potency of the elk antler medicine is no longer there. Because in captivity, the elk are fed a mainstay diet. And they are not, they’re no longer able to follow their instincts and their own self-determination. You see, when the elk are allowed to follow their self-determination, they go about, they’re what do you call, routines.

00:13:10:22 – 00:13:59:05

And they migrate from different parts of the land, and they eat the little plants, here, there and everywhere. And these plants are a direct expression of Mother Nature/Creator’s generosity, generous provision of life. And so that the potency of the medicine comes from the plants, and it goes into the elk antler.

So essentially, the second provision, where we say, okay, we have to treat that which has been provided with respect, is not only ensuring the life and liberty and dignity and self-determination of all things in creation, but it also bodes well for humanity and for our own health and well-being, because it increases the quality…

00:13:59:07 – 00:14:36:19

…and potency of the medicine that you may find in the meat and the bone of the animals, that we consume.

So number three is, whenever possible, to emulate Creator/Mother Nature’s generosity in human relations. And so the first two kind of go directly back up to Creator/Mother Nature. And then the third one is kind of a lateral, a lateral provision that encourages us to emulate Creator’s generosity in our interhuman relations.

00:14:36:21 – 00:15:37:08

And so this was the cultural logic and the premise that those early Treaties were based upon. With the Royal Proclamation of 1763, there was and there is still today a very effective tribal association, called the Haudenosaunee Confederation.

And the effectiveness of this goes back to, what they called the Great Peacemaker and how the, allied Nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederation originally came together around, three organizing principles, that are connected to the Primary Treaty, by the way. And the reason why I, you know, I always start with the Primary Treaty is, is that we as human animals, as human beings, we have to ensure…

00:15:37:08 – 00:16:09:22

…that we maintain our good standing in the primary treaty with Creator.

And, you know, if you fail to do so, then, the consequences are felt in natural law. You know, you can’t pay a fine, or serve a jail sentence if you violate natural law. If you violate the Primary Treaty with Creator, it is your children and your grandchildren who will suffer the consequences of your misbehaviour.

00:16:09:24 – 00:16:43:00

And so, you know, when we, if you maintain good standing in the Primary Treaty, then that allows you then, with the grace of Creator, let’s say, the grace of Mother Nature to enter into Treaty with other human beings that might come along. And so this was what the Haudenosaunee did. And they had to take those original Treaty commitments and responsibilities to a nuanced level of international geopolitics.

00:16:43:02 – 00:17:20:20

They articulated three things: One is collective security. Two is bio-regional economics. And three is peaceful commerce. So collective security is pretty straightforward. Imagine there’s one for eight, nine, ten, 11 people on this call. And we all represent individual nations. And, which includes women, men and children, Elders, whatnot, and warriors.

00:17:20:22 – 00:17:47:18

And so with collective security, if we create a tribal alliance amongst our 11 nations, the basic premise here is that if there’s an external threat, and say somebody comes along and attacks the “Anna tribe”, then it is considered, based on our collective security agreement, that all other ten nations are attacked, even though they’re only attacking “Anna”.

00:17:47:20 – 00:18:13:18

But it is understood that we are all attacked. This is collective security. And therefore, we all send our sons, our grandsons, our brothers, and we send them to the defense of “Anna”, to defend her and her people. That’s collective security. And that’s what the Founding Fathers of the United States of America were really drawn to.

00:18:13:18 – 00:18:41:11

So this is one of the premises of the District of Columbia, in Washington, where the Founding Fathers, created a union among 50 states, where it eventually amounted to that would all come together in times of war. And basically, they’ve been on the warpath ever since. And so, the other two things is bioregional economics and peaceful commerce.

00:18:41:13 – 00:19:16:14

So bioregional economics is essentially your proximity to the equator. So again, thinking about the seasons, thinking about ʔiisaak, the sun-moon crest. Depending on your proximity to the equator, you will experience the seasons differently. So if you’re close to the equator, it’s different than being up north, as an example, the discrepancy in natural abundance and the seasons changes.

00:19:16:16 – 00:19:57:10

And so bioregional economics is essentially talking to that. And, I always think of the Mississippi River in this example: you have this massive watershed that connects many people with various positions in proximity to the equator. And so, what you have is natural trade routes that emerge where one nation may have surplus goods at a different level than another nation within that same watershed. And those nations could potentially war amongst each other to fight for surplus goods.

00:19:57:12 – 00:20:27:10

But the idea of the peacemaker and the founding principles of the Haudenosaunee Confederation is that, rather than going to war with one another, let’s just get together seasonally and share our surplus goods ceremoniously.

So I call that bioregional economics and peaceful commerce – the peaceful transfer of surplus goods between and among nations that may be enemies of one another…

00:20:27:12 – 00:20:58:24

…but decide purposefully to create relationships of peace and friendship.

And, you know, on that note, I think it’s a healthy distinction. And again, this is one of those things where I kind of just think, like, I just assume I want to nail one of my assumptions right now because the modern national, international economy, the so-called ‘liberal economic economy’ is referred to often as the ‘global economy’.

00:20:59:01 – 00:21:34:14

And in our own time of education, like in university in the last, like since the, since the end of the Cold War, people have just taken for granted that the international global liberal economic economy is natural as the rising in the setting of the sun, but it is not. It is a geopolitical arrangement that was established in the aftermath of World War II and that coagulated during the Cold War.

00:21:34:16 – 00:22:09:02

And of course, during the Cold War, there was this vying for control of global economics through the former Soviet Union and the United States of America, were the two dominant state actors that were vying for control. And many proxy wars were carried out in the struggle for global dominance.

Now, so this is my assumption, is that people understand, okay: what is peaceful commerce?

00:22:09:04 – 00:22:38:24

Well, it’s the opposite of what we have right now. We have a violent global economic economy. Global, liberal economic, geopolitical that is a continual prelude to war. And this is done through things like tariffs, through the discrepancy of the value of currencies. Some currencies are valued higher than other currencies.

00:22:39:01 – 00:23:38:16

And that’s how the dominant state actors exercise their so-called superiority over minor state actors. And, you know, as sad as it is to say, the unfortunate rule of thumb is that if you have nuclear weapons, you can impose your economic preferences on those nation-states that do not have nuclear technology. And the capacity.

This is why they’re, everyone is so in a kerfuffle to suppress the development of nuclear, weapons technology in Iran, in Iraq. The argument by George Bush and George Bush Jr to go in was to try to disarm a new, emergent nuclear power, in the global…

00:23:38:16 – 00:24:24:06

… in the global, what do you call, theater of economics.

And so that’s what I would – just like nailing one of my assumptions – is that I just assume people understand that. That the current global economy is a prelude to war. And when the bully doesn’t get what he wants, he in advance of war, of actually implementing war measures, they do it through trade war, through tariffs, and they do it through sanctions, economic sanctions, whatnot.

00:24:24:06 – 00:25:01:02

So the Haudenosaunee Confederation had a much more, I think, noble and sophisticated understanding of international geopolitics that was premised upon peaceful commerce.

Yeah. Starvation 100 percent. Turning a blind eye to genocide. Fueling genocide in some cases. Providing, going in and creating destabilized governments. Is, has been the strategies. And by the way, just as a side note, by show of hands, who here – if I say BRICs, does anyone know what I’m talking about?

00:25:01:04 – 00:25:35:06

The BRICS, I’ve been lamenting about this with Monica, so she’s got her hand up there. BRICS is a new economic powerhouse, a global power structure, economic structure, and military, which stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. These countries have joined economic forces ,and they’re now rivaling the American liberal economic global economy.

00:25:35:08 – 00:25:40:06

And some might think rightfully so.

00:25:40:08 – 00:26:10:11

Anyhow, going back to the 1700s, and by the way, history is ever upon us. It’s always unfolding. And, the things that happened in the 1700s are still affecting us today. I mean, I think, again, that feels like a common-sense thing to say, but I just want to state my assumptions here, is that there was a colonial war in the 1750s.

Which, in terms of international political science…

00:26:10:11 – 00:26:37:12

…this colonial war in the 1750s was considered to be a global war. You know, you have World War I and you have World War II, which were distinctly global in nature because they took place in multiple continents, simultaneously – that’s what distinguishes a global war. But the Seven Years’ War is often thought of more of as a colonial war.

00:26:37:14 – 00:27:04:00

But it did take place on more than one continent at the same time. This was a war between the French and the British in, it’s called the Seven Years War. And both the French and the British had colonies in North America. And so their disputes and their conflict back home in Europe also played out simultaneously in North America.

00:27:04:02 – 00:27:54:19

Some people call it the French-Indian War as an example, because the French allied with certain Indigenous tribes in North America, and the British allied with other Indigenous tribes.

Now, the British made a very strategic military and economic alliance with the Haudenosaunee Confederation. So this is where it comes full circle to, you know, the Primary Treaty with Creator, the foundational principles of the Haudenosaunee Confederation, the great law of peace, you know, collective security, bioregional economics, and peaceful commerce came into view with the arrival and the diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom.

00:27:54:19 – 00:28:31:24

At the time, King George the Third was the monarch. And, a fellow named Joseph Brant, and his Mohawk name was Thayendanegea. So if you know about the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, that is where that’s the namesake of Thayendanegea.

Joseph Brant was an ingenious diplomat and general of many warriors that all came to the military Allied ship with King George the Third during the Seven Years’ War.

00:28:32:01 – 00:29:10:14

And just to, you know, I mean, just just to kind of, illustrate a little bit, how consequential that was. Of course, in the 1750s, there were no advanced cartography. There wasn’t any satellite technology. And, the knowledge of land was limited on the French and British side. So allying with local Indigenous Nations was advantageous to them in more than one way.

00:29:10:16 – 00:29:41:13

One of the ways is just simply the knowledge of the land. If you know the land, then that gives you a strategic advantage in the battle, on the battlefield. Secondly, the warriors of the Haudenosaunee had, during times of peace, had cultivated good relations via what we call bioregional economics and peaceful commerce.

00:29:41:15 – 00:30:05:02

Because if you can imagine, like, you know, say Anna’s tribe is attacked. Well, I mean, you know, am I going to send my sons? I have three sons, and I have a son-in-law. Am I going to send my sons to go and die in defense of Anna and her tribe? Her family? Well, you might not do that.

00:30:05:04 – 00:30:48:22

Unless there’s good relations.

So collective security is only a failsafe in times of war. But when we’re not at war, we’re supposed to be investing in good relations. That’s the whole genius of peace and friendship –

Peace and Friendship Treaties.

So that during times of peace, they were continuously reinforcing good relations such that if Anna is attacked, I genuinely feel attacked myself, such that I will give my sons and my grandsons, my brothers, and even myself go to war to defend Anna and her family.

Which is, you know, if you just think about that for a minute…

00:30:48:24 – 00:31:20:01

…it’s a very, it’s a grave proposition. And I think a good contrast is the Vietnam War, and what do you call – conscription.

So, maybe your uncles and your grandfathers might remember a time when you were waiting for a piece of mail to show up. If you get that piece of mail, then you are required by law to attend the local intake…

00:31:20:03 – 00:31:49:03

…centres for, in the Canadian Army or the American Army in the case of the Vietnam War.

And that’s why you have this thing called the Draft Dodgers – people who didn’t believe that the Vietnam War was a moral and ethical endeavour. They didn’t want to send their sons and their grandsons to go and die in Vietnam.

So many people fled north, and they avoided the draft.

00:31:49:05 – 00:32:15:13

Anyhow, so the Haudenosaunee Confederation had cultivated those positive relations during times of peace, such that when war was on, their brothers and sisters’ doorstep, that they would send their children to go and fight and die in defense of the Confederation.

And King George III benefited greatly from this.

00:32:15:15 – 00:33:12:03

He entered into military and economic alliances with the Haudenosaunee Confederation. And, in the aftermath of the Seven Years’ War, which concluded temporarily with the Treaty of Paris in 1762, was King George’s Royal Proclamation of 1763.

So Monica wanted me to start at 1763, but I really wanted to paint the the picture of the lead-up to that and how we got to a place where a king of the United Kingdom was standing and orating his deep, heartfelt chivalry to the Haudenosaunee and continued commitment to peace and friendship, which was answered and embraced in 1764 at the Treaty of Fort Niagara.

Which, according to the historical records, was one of the…

00:33:12:03 – 00:33:44:14

…largest gathering of Nations in the history of North America, at least in the recent known history of North America. Many of the Allied Nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederation gathered at Fort Niagara in 1764, and King George’s Royal Proclamation of 1763 was officially welcomed into Treaty in the Two Row Wampum Belt, at Fort Niagara in 1764.

00:33:44:16 – 00:34:18:03

One way – just as people might be gathering their thoughts to ask questions or points of clarity – one way that was explained to me when I was a young feller, in political science and understanding the evolution of constitutional law in Canada, is that the Proclamation itself is like listening to one half of a phone conversation.

You know, if you’re in the same room as somebody having a phone call, you can hear what they’re saying, but you can’t hear what the other person is saying back to you or back to them, sorry.

00:34:18:03 – 00:35:07:15

The Wampum Belt, the Two Row Wampum Belt, represents the other side of the conversation. So King George issued his Royal Proclamation of 1763 – that was responded to at the Treaty of Fort Niagara in Wampum, which, by the way, is a symbolic memory device similar to our totem poles.

So the, many of the Indigenous Nations of Northeast, sorry, Southeastern North America used Wampum Belts as essentially legal documents that recorded moments in history, international agreements, and so on, and so forth.

00:35:07:16 – 00:35:37:17

Now, as you’re gathering your thoughts and your questions there, I just want to say that this isn’t just blowing in the wind. This isn’t reciting history for the sake of reciting history. This is consequential today, not only in IPCAs (Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas) in terms of the progression of legal decisions in the Supreme Court of Canada that all wrote back to the Royal Proclamation of 1763.

00:35:37:19 – 00:36:10:19

But it also is consequential in terms of our ongoing, geopolitical relationship with the United States of America. Which is now first and foremost, being brought forward by Donald Trump in his reinvigoration of Manifest Destiny, American exceptionalism, and the drive for all of America, all of North America to become part of the United States of America, including what we call today the Dominion of Canada.

00:36:10:21 – 00:36:38:04

I guess what I would end and foreshadow for our next conversation is: how does British Columbia fit into that story? Because there’s no such thing as one single first contact. Oftentimes, people look to 1492 as first contact with Europeans, but you won’t be surprised to know that first contact with Europeans didn’t happen until the 1770s on the West Coast of Vancouver Island.

00:36:38:06 – 00:37:15:00

That’s like 280 years from 1492 to 1776 or 1778. You know, you’re looking at 280 years. That dwarfs even the time of Canada. You know, a multitude of first contacts happened. And British Columbia is situated quite uniquely within the evolution of North American geopolitics, that is all intertwined with that original, Peace and Friendship Treaty at Fort Niagara in 1764.

And so the former British colonies of Vancouver Island and New Caledonia – that was mainland, mainland British Columbia was New Caledonia – and Vancouver Island was a separate colony. And those two colonies united to negotiate terms of union with the Dominion of Canada in 1871, four years after the British North American Act of 1867.

00:37:46:16 – 00:38:18:11

So what happened during those four years? And how is that driving the so-called modern-day treaty process here in Canada? And the unique position that places IPCAs in, within a British Columbian context?

00:38:18:11 – 00:38:51:07

And you know what? It’s unique in Alberta, in Treaty 8 country, Treaty One territory down in Winnipeg. Chief Peguis, all the way through the beautiful people of the river, the Saint John River, the holistic way to the Dawnland. And, you know, Mi’kma’ki in Unama’ki and Cape Breton – all unique geopolitics.

This is a huge country. It’s diverse and dynamic ecologically, climatically. And it’s also dynamic legally, like, geopolitically. And so this is just a teaser for maybe what we could talk about next is how, how do we place IPCAs within this evolving, North American geopolitic?

00:38:51:09 – 00:39:34:23

One little, one helpful exercise – and maybe we can put together a collage – is to look at the evolution of maps. So there’s a map out there that shows you know, where the Cree are, where the Wakashan language family is on the West Coast, and so on and so forth. The Chipewyan.

And then when you start to see European maps, okay, you know, you see along the East Coast and the Atlantic Ocean side, then how it evolves every ten, 15, 20, 30, 50 years, and then you get to a map of Canada in 1871, through the Canada Archives, and then look at the map of Canada today.

00:39:35:00 – 00:40:04:12

What this shows you is a progression of geopolitics. You know that old expression, a picture says a thousand words or something, you know. And so, if you think about human history in terms of geological time, and geological time is on this huge scale, right? A thousand years is a blink in the eye.

00:40:04:14 – 00:40:30:22

And I actually quote, Gisele Tla-ook on this note. She has said, we’re still in early contact. Like if you look at the history of Nuu-chah-nulth Peoples, we go back to the time of the glaciers, like we go back.

There are stories that go back prior to glaciers. First contact happened in the 1770s on the West Coast of Vancouver Island.

00:40:30:24 – 00:41:12:13

That was only 100 and whatever, 150, 160 years ago. That’s just that’s not even, you know, a moment, a blink. And that’s what I’m kind of getting to when I talk about geopolitics, the evolution of human geopolitics.

And so, yes, it is…We’re kind of distracted as a people right now. More people are interested in their television program or, you know, like, sports events or something. Everyone’s distracted with some kind of brain candy, and people are taking their eye off the bigger thing that’s unfolding.

00:41:12:15 – 00:41:30:15

And what I would say IPCAs are, they’re pinpoints to try to tack down, some semblance of good relationships. Not only with each other, but with Mother Nature/Creator and the lands and waters.

00:41:30:17 – 00:41:38:10

Singing (Tla-o-qui-aht Master Carver and Historian Joseph Tutakwisnapšiƛ Martin, Board Director, IISAAK OLAM Foundation)

Woo woo woo ho.

(Eli Enns, Tla-o-qui-aht Nation Citizen, Co-Founder and CEO, IISAAK OLAM Foundation)

čukʷaa haʔuk!

(Singing) Whoa whoa ho!