Thankfully I am not the only one asking “whose feet” walked the Pacific Northwest of North America before the Europeans arrived. Next month’s winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada will be co-hosted by the Lil’wat, Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.
BBC: Aboriginal Canadians divided over Vancouver Olympics
If the BBC has got it right, opinion in the aboriginal community is mixed, revealing both optimism and pain. Some see the Olympics as a great opportunity to educate the world about native culture. Others say that this massive celebration wastes resources and sugarcoats the history of a stolen land. It’s not my place to take sides in that debate . . . But perhaps it is my place to acknowledge that the Olympics are not the only thing being built atop the rubble of a troubled past.
Michelle Garred 