Resolve by Carolyn Parks Mintz

Author:Carolyn Parks Mintz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Adult child abuse victims, Esk’etemc, First Nation, Biography, Shuswap Indians, Alcohol use, History, Shuswap, Government relations, St. Joseph’s Mission, Williams Lake, British Columbia
ISBN: 9781773860190
Publisher: Caitlin Press
Published: 2019-01-02T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

In 1987, Phyllis and Andy embarked on an adventurous, somewhat risky but definitely courageous undertaking. The reserve no longer suited what they wanted out of life, so they decided to build a new home on land off-reserve.

Well, not quite off-reserve—because, in addition to expanding their horizons, Chief Andy wanted to make a very specific point with the federal Department of Indian Affairs (DIA).

“There was simply no room on the rez for what we wanted,” he says. “Our parents and Phyllis and I grew up with horses. We wanted to have horses, corrals and an arena. The family needed a place where we could do the things we wanted to do. We needed space.

“My dad’s former father-in-law from his first marriage had negotiated with the DIA for some land in the 1930s or ’40s. Dad and I knew about it and liked it—the area, the water, the trees, the wildlife migration trail that crossed it—and that’s the spot I chose.

“I knew every boundary of that region, where the reserve started and where it ended; it had been marked from the beginning. Our new house was built with a few rooms on rez land and the rest of it on so called Crown land—my land! Even the corrals and the tack room were also outside rez property.”

Several months later, a local rancher who’d been watering his cattle at a pond on the Chelseas’ property2 complained to the DIA about Andy’s new fences. A DIA representative soon arrived with questions.

“He asked what I was doing there,” Andy says. “I told him I was living on my land and that he could get off it! But the fellow replied that the house wasn’t on reserve land. I agreed and told him he was on private property. I then asked him if he was speaking for the Queen, and when his reply was no, I told him that finished our conversation. He left. End of issue.”

“I was home the day that happened,” Phyllis says with a smile. “Andy knew exactly what he was doing. He knew the boundaries and the geography. And he intended to make the government prove that the land actually belonged to the government. We got a mortgage and paid it off in fifteen years. Even had to buy the hydro poles to string electricity to the place, but we did it. Put in a well and heated with wood and propane. Still do to this day.”

Phyllis recalls that she had to learn to like living ten kilometres from her friends and all that was familiar on the reserve. With time, though, she grew to feel connected to the surrounding land, loved the space, the freedom it provided. And as she watched Andy build fencing and make improvements, she knew it was the right place to be. It was home.

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