Carolyn Parks Mintz - Resolve : The Story of the Chelsea Family and a First Nation Communitys Will to Heal

2019 Carolyn Parks Mintz

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Caitlin Press Inc.

8100 Alderwood Road,

Halfmoon Bay, BC V 0 N 1 Y 1

www.caitlin-press.com

Edited by Meg Yamamoto

Text design by Shed Simas / Ona Design

Cover design by Vici Johnstone

Printed in Canada

Caitlin Press Inc. acknowledges financial support from the Government of Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia through the British Columbia Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Title: Resolve : The Story of the Chelsea Family and a First Nation Communitys Will to Heal / Carolyn Parks Mintz with Andy and Phyllis Chelsea.

Other titles: Chelsea story and a First Nation communitys will to heal

Names: Parks Mintz, Carolyn, 1944- author. | Chelsea, Phyllis, interviewee. | Chelsea, Andy, interviewee.

Description: Includes index.

Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20189059656 | Canadiana (ebook) 2019008619 X | ISBN 9781987915884 (softcover) | ISBN 9781773860190 ( EPUB )

Subjects: LCSH : Chelsea, Andy. | LCSH : Chelsea, Phyllis. | LCSH : Adult child abuse victimsEsketemc (First Nation)Biography. | LCSH : Shuswap IndiansAlcohol useEsketemc (First Nation)History. | LCSH : Shuswap IndiansEsketemc (First Nation)Government relations. | LCSH : Esketemc (First Nation)History. | LCSH : St. Josephs Mission (Williams Lake, B.C.)History. | LCGFT : Biographies.

Classification: LCC E 99. S 45 P 37 2019 | DDC 971.11/75dc23

The Story of the Chelsea Family and a First Nation Communitys Will to Heal

Carolyn Parks Mintz
with
Andy and Phyllis Chelsea

Caitlin Press

Dedicated to those who suffered, to those who died, and to those who will end indifference and create a new path for us all.

Kukwstsemc!

With thanks beyond measure to all those who contributed to this compilation and to its stories, to those who gave of their time and knowledge, and who trusted me to convey their message.

Gratitude is also extended to the supportive staff at Caitlin Press, to the many who encouraged me to forge ahead when fortitude was flagging, and especially to my beloved husband, James, whose patience and understanding sustained me.

For this was a heart-rending book to write, but one Im immensely grateful to have been part ofit has been a learning experience, a complex journey and, ultimately, a labour of love.

Carolyn Parks Mintz

Carolyn Parks Mintzs understanding of and compassion for Indigenous history and culture are one and the same. She fully comprehends, from a journalistic point of view, that there is a story to be told, and in Resolve, she has done thatrecounting the life experiences of a remarkable couple, Andy and Phyllis Chelsea, and building around those, the history of Canadas First Peoples and their hope for the future. It is important to note that throughout the development of this book, Carolyn has diligently avoided appropriation of Indigenous proprietary data or information.

Carolyns spirit has been true to her word and is evident in her words. Her dedication to telling the truth and to honouring the trust fostered with the Chelsea family extends beyond the book project. The Chelseas legacy will be carried forward. Their reconciliation efforts will continue through the work of this caring writer.

Supporting Carolyn, an excellent wordsmith and an inspired human being, as well as her new book, is an honour. I can only think that the Creator has brought us together to be family.

Frank Antoine

2018

Councillor, Bonaparte First Nation

Chief Executive Officer, Moccasin Trails Tours

Director and Board Chairperson, Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association

Member of the Board of Directors, Indigenous Tourism British Columbia

It is said there are no accidents in life, that there is a reason for all that happens. In the fall of 2016, after moving from Ontario to British Columbia, an area rich in Indigenous history and communities, I was put by chance in touch with several members of the Chelsea family of the Esket First Nation at the Alkali Lake reserve, fifty kilometres south of Williams Lake.

During discussions with language educator Ivy Chelsea about a Secwepemctsn (Shuswap) translation for a writer friend of mine, she mentioned that, for some time, she had been hoping for, looking for, someone to write about her parents lives. I was soon meeting with Elders Andy (former Chief) and Phyllis Chelsea, getting to know them and they, me, over several hours. During our discussions, this exceptional but down-to-earth couple assigned me a taskto come up with an outline for a book about them and their life journey. Wed then decide if we would embark on the project together.

At a subsequent meeting during which I gave them what I had written, the Chelseas agreed that I should write their life stories, extending me this honour with their blessing. And so this book began.

During the initial stages of my work on the book, I was invited to attend a Yuwipi ceremony conducted by David Blackstock, a First Nations Medicine Man. This significant and moving event, which extended healing to all in attendance, included the opportunity to ask for the Creators blessing, through David, for the book I was starting. This was unreservedly given to me and was something I sensed during the subsequent ceremony. At the conclusion of this meaningful evening, I was presented with a tobacco tie that had been part of the central altar in this room, which contained many important and sacred items and on which the Medicine Man based the healing process.

Tobacco is one of the four medicinal herbs revered by most First Nations. It is believed to connect humans to the spirit world, to absorb prayers and carry them there, and is used to thank the Creator for gifts.

The tobacco tie sat on my desk, close by as I wrote, a reminder of that special night, the blessing given to this undertakingand a symbol of the guidance I needed.

Where are you from?a common question between non-Indigenous people when meeting for the first time. However, as the Chelseas describe, for Indigenous Peoples the question often translates as What land are you from? This connection, their necessary link to the soil and terrain of the area where they were born, where they walked, played, lived and loved, is critical to their self-knowledge and personal identity. The resettlement of First Nations to arbitrarily chosen reserves of limited size and location destroyed their roots, ripped out their history. They have yet to recover.