The interior of British Columbia is a hotbed of 1st Nation culture. Dozens of tribes live here and are well represented, even going as far as setting up "interpretive villages" for cultural tourism purposes. Indigenous imagery, knickknacks, souvenirs, and tourist stops at places of religious, cultural, or historical significance are plentiful.
After speaking with many of them, I don't see them as religious- but more spiritual. They ask about dreams to find meaning, or see coincidences in nature as omens or signs. The concept of 'luck' is found in many practices and objects, and medicinal uses from local flora are numerous. I've heard a few of their parables, such as Earth-origin stories or tales behind regional geographic features. There's a lot here.
On my journey south out of the Arctic, instead of going through the interior of BC like I'm doing, I could have gone down the seaway. On the ferries of the seaway, you travel down the west coast of BC to major coastal towns, gorge on seafood, take in sights of beautiful fjords, and sleep overnight in expensive cabins on ships. The cost is very high, however. It would also mean I would not seeing everything that BC has to offer in its interior, so instead of heading to Prince Rupert on the coast, I headed toward Prince George in the center of BC.
In the stretch of just a couple hundred kilometers, I was able to see a 1st Nation's battlefield and earthen fort, I went on an interpretive village tour, and I saw a lot of imagery in gift shops and along the highways.
The Gitxsan natives of the Hazelton region gave me a crash-course on their culture. Their people were the last in the province to have contact with whites. Their family names run matrilineally. Salmon is a major staple, and the act of drying it into jerky in smoke shacks is a practice going back to prehistoric times. In fact, the 1st nations across the province have many exclusive zones they can continue to practice the tradition of catching salmon, as long as they stick to laws such as registering a license with their 1st nation band, sticking to traditional fishing methods, and only fishing for sustenance or ceremonious purposes.
When I turned onto the Yellowhead Highway, a highway that connects the two Prince cities (Prince George and Prince Rupert), I started to notice a lot of signs along the road. Many were home made, with messages stating we were on 1st nations land, "All Children Matter" signs, there were billboards for resources to help indigenous people with addiction and other mental health services, and there were many, many memorials.
I found myself on the Highway of Tears. This is exactly the stretch from Prince Rupert to Prince George, where over 80 indigenous people have either gone missing or been murdered. The corridor is like it's own monument, where Native issues are advertised at the forefront.
The 1st Nations of Canada have a slew of problems that arguably begin with colonialization and their 'integration' into greater Canadian society. As the government and Anglo-culture of Canada took a greater part in the lives of their communities; poverty, drug abuse, widespread domestic violence, and disruption of the family unit through forced separation and the foster system has left Indigenous Canadians with little intergenerational wealth or pathways to justice.
Many injustices such as disappearances and murders have been oriented around The Highway because of its remote nature. Soft soil, carnivorous scavengers, and the isolation of the Highway of Tears make it easy to carry out crimes and hide evidence.
About 6% of British Colombia is Indigenous, making them one of the province's largest minority groups. Because their land takes up a large swathe of BC's geographical area, their issues are at the forefront of BC's social consciousness. Refreshingly, I have yet to run into a single Canadian who didn't recognize, or refused to believe in the injustices against indigenous Canadians. I have stayed in homes or spoken with people who support all 3 major parties, Conservative, Liberal, and New Democratic and they're all on the same page about indigenous social issues.
British Columbia's primary source of energy is Hydro Power. BC Hydro is the crown corporation that runs numerous hydroelectric dams across the province, harnessing the power of water and gravity to bring power to millions across The Rockies and beyond. Many dams are located deep in the mountains so their reservoirs flood regions with little human activity. Small indigenous fishing villages like Seton Portage and Shalalth cling to their shores. The only way to get to them is to follow rough-and-tumble maintenance roads that follow the crackling power lines that connect the dams to the rest the main BC thoroughfares.
I had the opportunity to map out and traverse some of these treacherous gravel roads on my Adventure Bike, which just so happens to be built for it-- as long as you have the right tires. I went down isolated, extremely picturesque corridors through the arid, southern BC backcountry leading me these very remote indigenous villages. Dated signage from the peak of the pandemic donned the entrances to these communities, requesting no visitors stay and to only pass through.
There are also several cities along major highways in BC that are majority-indigenous, such as Lillooet and Lytton.
Lytton is an unfortunate example of tragedy- it was Canada's "ground zero" for climate change in 2021, when the hottest temperature ever recorded in Canadian history clocked in at 49.6°C or 121.3°F. The blistering heat left the forests surrounding Lytton bone-dry and it took as little as a spark to set the hills aflame. The entire city of Lytton was burned to the ground. I passed through, only taking a video. Signs around the town request that you wear masks and do not stop to take pictures, as the carcinogenic properties of the smoldering remains of structures can cause serious respiratory issues. I wore a mask and kept my helmet closed and visor down when passing through on my way north to Lillooet.
Lillooet is another majority-indigenous city with a bustling tourism industry. I partook in a traditional fishing and archaeological village tour. This included a hike to the Bridge River Band's traditional salmon hunting grounds where I could see them fishing, cleaning, and drying salmon. They hung strips of salmon in shacks along the river covered with tarped roofs. In this arid climate, unlike their neighbors to the north, they need only "wind dry" their salmon instead of smoke them. The fillets must stay out of the sun, however. It's wind dried, not 'sun dried'.
The archaeological village showed the remains of many collapsed earthen huts, where dozens of villagers would share the same roof. Today the remains are only a series of pits, but their origins go back to the years of 100 CE, during Roman times in Europe. I was stunned to wrap my brain around the concept that the people scooping up salmon off the shores of the nearby river are the direct ancestors of those who dug these earthen huts.
Overall, the 1st nations people of BC are more strongly represented here than any other state, province, or territory I've ever come across, even the Yukon. I see their presence everywhere from overpass and crosswalk art, to "All Children Matter" signs in front yards and store fronts.
As we push onward into the 21st Century, White Canadians have allied themselves with recognition of the historical systemic oppression of the 1st nations, and everyone recognizes there is much work to be done. Solutions to their social issues seem to be inter-generational. Those working to solve them today may never see them resolved in their lifetime, but they fight for a better future anyway.
It's that kind of heart that I wish more of us had: a collectivist mindset spanning across lifetimes and not just for the here-and-now.