Open letter to my friends, relatives, colleagues and supporters of c̓əsnaʔəm
August 10th, 2012 will mark the 100th day of standing vigil over the open graves of our ancestors. Sadly, not much has changed since the first day. The Musqueam community has taken action on May 3rd, May 10th, May 29th and May 31st and still the Provincial Government continues to conduct themselves in a disrespectful and colonial way.
Since January, the Musqueam community has been asking for these permits to be rescinded. Instead of allowing the permits to expire, the Province has extended them three times.
The permits are now set to expire on Aug. 15th. The Musqueam community does not want these permits to be extended again and we want the Province to take responsibly for the current situation. Many of our community members and supporters have written to MLA's and Ministers and they all get the same answers back: "It's complicated. It's private land not crown land and we have limited jurisdiction." The Province needs to take responsibility for issuing the permits and saying "yes" to the developers. It was their action of approving the permits that led to the graves being unearthed.
100 days is 100 days too long to wait under a bridge for the Province to do the right thing. We will be taking action on August 10th to show our frustration with the Province. We are asking all of our supporters to join us in solidarity to send a strong message to the Christy Clark Government. We want to preserve the last remaining undisturbed portion of the midden site, before further development destroys one of the most meaningful storehouses of the history and culture of the Musqueam people.
August 10th (Day100), we will repeat our action from May 3rd (Day 1) and march from the Safeway at 70th and Granville to 1338 SW Marine Drive (c̓əsnaʔəm). The march will conclude with the closure of the Granville Street on/off-ramp being closed for an underminded legnth of time. You can also find up to date information on our Facebook page <http://www.me.on.fb/Marpole> or follow us on twitter @cusnaum
We are inviting you to join us in our rally and march to mark day 100, and to get the Provinice's attention once again, to indicate to them, that we are still here, we have not given up, and we want our burial site protected.
With respect,
Protectors of c̓əsnaʔəm
Contacts:
Rhiannon Bennett 778-881-1542
Celilia Point 604-760-3595
