In the coming days, the documentary Namesake will be released to the broader public. The film captures a recent chapter in our shared history that has not been easy to live through.
When Tla’amin Nation formally asked the City to reconsider the name “Powell River,” we did with intention that our future generations would not have to venerate a man who did so much harm to our families and ancestors. What followed were years of difficult conversations. Some were thoughtful and constructive. Others exposed a level of anti-Indigenous racism and residential school denialism that has been painful for our community to experience.
The fact is, we cannot build a healthy future by avoiding the truth. This place we all call home carries thousands of years of Tla’amin history. It also carries a dark history and ongoing impacts of colonization, disease, residential schools, displacement, and policies that attempted to erase us. Acknowledging that full history allows us and our neighbours to move forward into a new relationship with integrity and clarity.
I want to thank the filmmakers for courageously documenting these past few years. Turning a camera toward conflict and tension is not easy work. Their commitment ensures that our children and grandchildren will understand what was at stake and why this conversation matters. What we are experiencing in our town is not isolated, these conversations and conflicts are happening in places like ours across the country.
I was grateful to have a sneak peak of this film. My takeaway is that while this film covers hard truths it is also a love-letter to future generations. It illuminates the beauty and strength of our people, our naming practices and the richness of our way of life.
Ahead of the public release, we will host a Tla’amin-only community screening on March 5th from 7:00–9:00 p.m.. This screening will provide a time for our citizens to gather, reflect, and hold space together before the broader community engages with the film.
Our Nation has been here since time immemorial. Our ancestors endured hardship but never let go of who we are. Because of them, we are still here, still speaking our language, still practising our traditions, and still telling the full story of this place we call home.
This film is another chapter in that history, a record of a difficult time and of a community learning, struggling, and growing in public. It is part of our ongoing story; one that we are writing together with our neighbours. čɛčɛhaθɛč.
To reserve your tickets for the Tla’amin community only screening March 5th visit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/namesake
To report incidents of anti-indigenous racism in qathet please email: heyhegus@tn-bc.ca
For mental health supports please call: 604.414.3559