‘We’re Water Beings’ Heiltsuk Youth Clean Their Shores – CFN

September 5, 2024

Heiltsuk Hereditary Chief λáλíyasila Frank Brown, a mariner all his life, says his people have lived and died on the water and always understood the ocean as a sacred and vulnerable place.

“The ocean is a sacred place between the land and the sky, and if we hold it as sacred, we will revere, honour and respect it,” he says, driving a boat to Yáláƛí (Goose Island), dropping off propane tanks for a group of kayakers camped out in the territory.

The ocean covers 80 percent of the planet, it stabilizes our atmosphere, the air we breathe, it’s the biggest carbon sink on the globe. Our people have always known and always said — ‘everything is connected’ — and it’s not just a philosophical notion — it’s based on a deep and profound understanding of the interconnectedness of life and our interdependency.”

Brown remembers the novel and exciting feeling of coming across glass balls floating in the water, having made the long journey from Japan where they once served as fishing floats. As the years passed, the odd glass ball was replaced by floating plastic, styrofoam and an alarming amount of marine polluting the waters his people have gotten sustenance from for over 500 generations. No one sees, knows and experiences the impacts of climate change and pollution more than those who spend their lives on their lands and waters.

“We live on the water. The water sustains us. We have an ancient maritime history and culture. Our people have been here since the last time the climate began to warm up… the difference is that now we’re dealing with man-made climate change and the residue of the western society’s marine debris that’s impacting us — it’s a terrible inheritance for the next generation.”