I am a member of the Ahwahoo Tribe of the Laichkwiltach Nation who resides in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory which I know to be the land of the Kwanlin Dun. I respectfully submit that I am not from here. I am from what is now called Campbell River, British Columbia. The Ahwahoo tribe is not recognized today as a legitimate group of people with that group having an identity within the Laichkwiltach Nation. Our ancestors lived in what is now the Campbell River area before what is now known as Indian Reserve #11 existed. Members of the Ahwahoo tribe have many times attempted to bring this discrepancy to the attention of those in power be they native or non-native. The Ahwahoo tribe remains unrecognized regardless of those efforts. How many people are we talking about? With the estimated 7 billionth person estimated to having been born sometime as I write this, the number may appear insignificant to some of those of you that read this blog entry. 350 to 420 people may be identified as a Ahwahoo is they so chose to be enumerated as a member of this tribe.
Those of you reading this blog may be wondering why this is so important to me. This is my family and our history that I am writing about. It is a matter of identification. The lack of recognition in the case of my tribe appears to be a form of genocide. Some may think that is far fetched but, please read on. The Ahwahoo tribe were and are a noble people. Thanks to things like the Indian Act and those that were put in place to supervise the activities that were or were not permitted within the Indian Act. As much as Prime Minister Stephen Harper may choose not believe that colonization occurred, that is exactly what the Indian Act was designed to do! Colonize the indigenous peoples so that their lands and resources can be taken from them in ways they do not understand. Assimilate these people into the general population and wipe out the native question entirely! As much as the Canadian Government apologized for such activity having taken place 13 years ago much has still been left undone.
The Laichkwiltach Nation was made up of five tribes at one time. To my understanding four remain. According to the Vancouver Island 1881 Census those tribes were, as named at that time, the Ah wah oo tribe, the Kwe ah kah tribe, the Waw lit sum tribe, the We wai a kai tribe and the We wai ai kum tribe. These tribes of the Laichkwiltach Nation are not individual First Nations as people would have you believe today. There is and was no such thing as the Weiwaikum First Nation, Kwiakah First Nation and Weiwaikai First Nation. Furthermore I do not believe that the people of the Ahwahoo tribe gave up or surrendered their identity at any time! Prove to me that this in fact the case. If such proof is not immediately forthcoming that immediate reinstate the Ahwahoo tribe of the Laichkwiltach Nation so that we may be recognized as the hereditary people of what is now called Campbell River, British Columbia.
My Great-great Grandfather Captain John Kwaksista or Kwawkseestahla was enumerated in the Vancouver Island 1881 Census along with all who were in his house. Be it also known and recognized by all that look at and read the above linked web page shows Kwawkseestahla's family was listed as "Family Number: 1". Why is this important? Kwawkseestahla was not "a lesser chief" as many would have us believe today. It substantiates the claim(s) made by the hereditary Chief of the Ahwahoo tribe, my uncle, Captain George Quocksister, and his siblings have been making for years.
The man that thoroughly recorded the population within Kwawkewlth Agency in 1881 was Indian Agent George Blenkinsop. From what I have read of what is now historical information recorded by this Indian Agent tells me one thing about Mr. George Blenkinsop. He was painstakingly thorough and dedicated to what he was doing! How do I know that? Over time from I understand his first wife and eight of his nine children died while he lived in Alert Bay, British Columbia. That kind of tragedy would destroy the average man. This man knew adversity and sacrifice! He never left. He stayed on there, remarried and from what I've read, lived out his life there. Apparently he fluently knew the dialects of the people within the Kwawkewlth Agency which means his enumeration of all the people within his agency would have been accurately recorded. Indian Agent George Blenkinsop enumerated 42 members of the Ahwahoo tribe in 1881.
Moving forward to present day, as of September 2011, the current populations of the Campbell River Indian Band, Cape Mudge Indian Band and Kwiakah Tribe can be viewed by clicking on the links provided. The Ahwahoo are sadly mixed in with the Weiwaikum tribe (Not First Nation) and possibly with the Weiwaikai tribe of Cape Mudge unlike all 20 (According to the data I read as of September 2011) of the members of the Kwiakah tribe. Again, 350 to 420 people may be identified as a Ahwahoo is they so chose to be enumerated as a member of the Ahwahoo tribe. You've read what I've written before where I inaccurately wrote that the number of the Kwiakak tribe was 29. It was 19 and according to the data from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada it the Kwiakah may have gained a soul. If the Laich-Kwil-Tach Treaty Society tribes can recognize the tiny Kwiakah tribe, how about the more than up to twenty times larger Ahwahoo tribe?
From what I have learned from my living ancestors who knew their grandparents, my great-grand parents and never heard any of them once say that the Ahwahoo tribe extinguished it's rights then why are we treated as such? Show me the written proof of such! I'll believe it if I can see it. But, I tend to believe my living ancestors claim that no such thing as the Ahwahoo tribe giving up it's identity ever legally occurred!
Another issue that may arise from further review of the way the Ahwahoo tribe has been treated by others is discrimination against members in whole or in part of the Ahwahoo tribe on the prohibited ground of race. June 20, 2011 was a significant day for indigenous peoples in Canada living on reserves in terms of being able to finally address human rights complaints. The Canadian Human Rights Commission may be interested in hearing the Ahwahoo tribe`s case. The fact that the Indian Act is, or at least was, a horrendously discriminatory all by itself as a sad example set before us all. Yet, this poor piece of legislation lives on and affects anyone who is indigenous to any part of all the territory that is now Canada.
Discriminatory practices and behaviours were sadly well modelled ever since the Indian Act was enforced upon native peoples here in what is now called Canada. In the process of such activity could the Ahwahoo tribe been intentionally overlooked? Indian Agents had absolute power. Could that power have been abused? Yes! At any time and in many cases and situations across Canada it was. Could this also be what happened to the Ahwahoo tribe of the Laichkwiltach Nation? I believe this is a question that no one knows the full answer to today. This information was carried to the grave by our Ahwahoo elders.
Again, if I'm wrong. Prove it! Show me that the Ahwahoo tribe no longer legally exists because one of the hereditary chiefs at sometime in history chose to make his mark or sign his signature giving up the rightful identity of the Ahwahoo of what is now called Campbell River, British Columbia. Yes, I am repeating myself. I refuse to be silent about this issue until such time as this occurs. If no such document exists and nobody's come forward to this point to show that it does, then the other three remaining tribes of the Laichkwiltach Nation need to immediately recognize the Ahwahoo tribe and it's people for who we are!
