Tribal Kukpi7 Darrel Draney
TRIBAL CHIEF – SHUSWAP NATION TRIBAL COUNCIL
I am proud and humbled to be called upon to join the leaders of the Secwépemc Nation as Tribal Chief of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council. I am a powerful advocate for Rights which encompasses Title. I draw upon the knowledge passed to me from knowledge keepers, Secwépemc culture and Secwépemc laws to advance the issues of Aboriginal rights.
I am steadfast in my commitment to my Nation to be transparent. This value was bestowed upon me by my mother, the late May Draney. When she simply said to me, “It is time to be a leader for our people.” Those of you who have been blessed to have direct guidance from a cherished elder know and understand how sacred these words are. She said it in such a manner that made me understand being a leader is a job that is not like any other, not simply done for a wage. She made it clear to me that to accept the honor to lead our people is a sacred responsibility and to respect the journey. I am thankful to be able to build upon the foundation laid down by great past leaders to help our Nation to grow.
We can not waiver, we will be sovereign. On our path to sovereignty, we must hold strong to our relationship to the land. It is our inherent duty given to us by the Creator to take care of the land, it is sacred. Never cede our sovereignty or title to our land. By living according to our Secwépemc teachings and laws we uphold our responsibility to future generations.
Another principle that is of great importance to us and our future generations is in the wisdom of the 1910 Sir Wilfred Laurier Memorial, where our ancestors approached the Canada Government and outlined the struggles that their people had to endure. Most importantly, our ancestors ALSO gave solutions that would relieve them of their struggles and make Canada great. Our obligation is to bring the vision, laid out for us by our ancestors, to life. So, as taught to us by our ancestors, by our elders, the tmicw is part of our blood, part of our way of life. We are tmicw. Keep our people at the center of all, and our youth-stsmémelt are our future. Hold all sacred.
Tribal Kukpi7 Darrel Draney
Shuswap Nation Tribal Council
“Our old people say, “How are we to live? If the government takes our food from us they must give us other food in its place.” Conditions of living have been thrust on us which we did not expect, and which we consider in great measure unnecessary and injurious. We have no grudge against the white race as a whole nor against the settlers, but we want to have an equal chance with them of making a living. We welcome them to this country. It is not in most cases their fault. They have taken up and improved and paid for their lands in good faith. It is their government which is to blame by heaping up injustice on us. But it is also their duty to see their government does right by us, and gives us a square deal. We condemn the whole policy of the B.C. government towards the Indian tribes of this country as utterly unjust, shameful and blundering in every way. We denounce same as being the main cause of the unsatisfactory condition of Indian affairs in this country and of animosity and friction with the whites. So long as what we consider justice is withheld from us, so long will dissatisfaction and unrest exist among us, and we will continue to struggle to better ourselves”
– MEMORIAL TO SIR WILFRID LAURIER,
PREMIER OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA
From the Chiefs of the Shuswap, Okanagan and Couteau Tribes of British Columbia
Presented at Kamloops, B.C. August 25, 1910