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Another B.C. Day long weekend is upon us, and it’s a good opportunity to reflect on the province’s rich and varied history
B.C. has been a province for 155 years, becoming the sixth Canadian province back in 1871
“Formerly a crown colony established by the union in 1866 of Vancouver Island with the mainland colony of British Columbia, the addition of the Pacific coast province made Canada truly a nation ‘from sea to sea,’” the Government of Canada states
Despite B.C.’s establishment as a province in the 1870s, people have lived in these lands for many, many years. But just how many is contested
“That’s a huge debate, I would say, and the debate is really how far back it goes,” Dr. Daniel Sims told Daily Hive
Sims is an Associate Professor at UNBC. His research fields are in First Nations and History, and his areas of expertise are Indigenous Studies, History, Reconciliation and Indigenization
“We’re talking about tens of thousands of years. In the past, people were talking maybe about 20,000 years. There’s been archaeological evidence that’s pushed that further back to closer to 40,000 years if not before that,” he said
“One of the interesting things about that is the evidence kind of challenges the notion that Indigenous people arrived after the last ice age,” Sims said
Canadian History suggests Indigenous peoples have lived on the land for 12,000 to 25,000 years
If you’ve ever looked up major moments in B.C. or Vancouver’s history, you’ll probably find things like the Canadian Pacific Railway’s completion in 1885, the great Gastown fire in 1886, or the Komagata Maru incident in 1914, and of course, residential schools
We wondered if there were specific moments or monuments in time that serve as cultural touchstones for Indigenous communities
“There’s nothing that unifies British Columbia as a whole. But I would say regionally, different nations will talk about earthquakes,” Sims said
He also pointed to other historical environmental and geological events like volcanic eruptions or tsunamis
Sims offered some insight into how these sorts of events would have impacted communities
“Some of the Dene groups, for example, talk about being scattered by volcanic eruptions, and suggested that’s why there are a number of different Dene nations throughout North America.”
Sims added, “With regards to communities, each one would have its own specific events that were important to it. So various things tied to kind of creation stories, but also history and different cultural heroes.”
Indigenization and reconciliation: A complex journey
David Eby. (Government of B.C.)
Indigenization, essentially, is bringing Indigenous perspectives into the mainstream and recognizing the validity of Indigenous traditions and ways of life
Daily Hive briefly discussed the concept of indigenization with Sims
“The current state we’re in right now, I would say, is increased pushback against indigenization.”
One example Sims brought up was the recent debates and discussions around land titles, like the Cowichan situation
“That’s a larger issue that’s probably going to take years to actually resolve, but I would also say that people shouldn’t be particularly concerned about losing their property,” Sims said
He also brought up the recent controversy with the BC Conservatives regarding the use of the term “Indian.” The Conservatives pushed back on the claims, suggesting it was untrue
We asked Sims if there was a notable or prevalent mistruth or lie about Indigenous customs or communities that is being perpetuated that people still believe today
While Sims said there wasn’t one notable clear-cut answer, he did say there was one issue he runs into with incoming university students
“It’s just kind of a random selection of older stereotypes that students either I think picked up in the K to 12 education system, or just kind of picked up through just living life. And I would say a lot of them are kind of on the decline. So that’s one of the positive things when we talk about things like indigenization.”
We briefly touched on the whole concept of land acknowledgements, which Sims agreed sometimes feels like a throwaway
“Sometimes they come across as just kind of an introductory statement that people don’t necessarily take seriously,” he said
“They are an acknowledgement, but don’t necessarily do anything in a grandiose sense.”
We asked Sims if he had any recommendations for respective, and he suggested a book by author and lawyer Chelsea Vowels called Indigenous Writes
We concluded our conversation by asking Sims his thoughts on reconciliation and what someone with his level of expertise thinks true reconciliation looks like
In response, “action” was the main word he had in mind
He again pointed to the Cowichan issue, pointing out the fact that while the Supreme Court decision landed in August 2025, property owners weren’t notified till months later, highlighting the suggested lack of action
“A lot of people view Indigenous people standing up for their rights as challenging Canada or challenging British Columbia. And I would say that, in my experience, it’s about actually trying to make Canada and British Columbia better,” Sims said
“There are a lot of Indigenous people who don’t necessarily celebrate Canada Day or B.C. Day, but there are Indigenous people who do celebrate it. And so people shouldn’t necessarily view it as an us-versus-them kind of approach.”
- You might also like:
- City of Vancouver creates Indigenous consultation framework to guide future decision-making
- BC Conservative leader tells MLAs to start using the term ‘Indian’
- Government of Canada’s landmark agreement recognizes Musqueam First Nation’s Aboriginal title in Metro Vancouver
