A Strathcona Regional District committee has voted to reconsider a decision not to support a name change request from the Tŝilhqot’in National Government for a small landform in Bute Inlet on B.C.'s south coast.
The Tŝilhqot’in (or Chilcotin) Nation has requested the province change, Murderers Bar, to Warriors Bar.
Murderers Bar was assigned to the landmark after an event in the 1864 Chilcotin War. According to a letter from the BC Geographical Names Office to the regional district on Jan. 31, Murderers Bar "reflects an outdated and derogatory narrative" that "painted Tŝilhqot’in warriors as murderers for killing members of an abusive and threatening colonial road crew at this site."
"The proposed name 'Warriors Bar' recognizes the events as an act of war to protect Tilhqot'in lands and people," states the letter. "This event led to the trial, conviction and execution of six Tilhqot'in chiefs who have since been exonerated and recognized as warriors and leaders by the federal government."
At a board meeting in March – when the First Nation's request was first presented to the SRD board – a majority of the board members, including Kermit Dahl, Ben Lanyon, Susan Sinnott, Doug Chapman, Ron Kerr, Michael Lott and Gerald Whalley, voted against supporting the request. There was no public discussion at the time as to the reason for their vote.
Area C Director Robyn Mawhinney, who is also on the board, requested the name change be referred to the regional district's First Nations Relations Committee, which met on June 4.
During the June 4 meeting, Dahl reversed his stance on the request but added he would like to hear the Homalco Nation's position on the name change.
"I would be in favour of the name change," Dahl said. "It would make total sense that the name, Murderers Bar, is not appropriate after the chiefs were exonerated."
The Mirror contacted Dahl for a comment on his change in vote and why he originally voted against the request but did not receive a response.
In 2018, former prime minister Justin Trudeau officially exonerated the six Chilcotin War chiefs. The six chiefs had been convicted of murder and hung in 1864 following the incident at the location that was later named Murderers Bar.
"The chiefs were attempting to repel a colonial road crew that wanted to build a road through Tsilhqot’in territory without any legal agreement with the Tsilhqot’in Nation," Trudeau said. "The rights of the Tsilhqot’in people to the land, and their right to maintain and uphold their cultural and legal traditions, were not considered by the colonial government of the day (...) No consent was sought."
Over 150 years ago, colonial officials made a mistake by inviting the chiefs for peace talks, only to arrest, try them for murder, and hang them instead, Trudeau said. The chiefs were treated like criminals during a time when the colonial government and the legal system failed to acknowledge the fundamental rights of the Tsilhqot’in people.
According to the SRD, in early May, the First Nations liaison reached out to the Homalco First Nation, one of the communities listed for distribution by the province's name officer. The First Nation expressed concerns that the suggested name change could affect a major project in their territory. They expect to send their feedback to the SRD ahead of the July deadline.
The matter will be brought to the next board meeting with the Homalco Nation's correspondence.
