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A Debt Still Owed

In September of 1861, under the weight of falling rain and colonial decree, the homes of our ancestors were torn down—shelterless, they stood in despair as fire and ruin replaced their village. Four hundred souls—men, women, and children—were displaced, stripped of dignity in the heart of their own homeland.

The agreement offered in those days—a dollar a month in ground rent per home—was never honored. Nor was the humanity of the people it was meant to appease. That promise, like so many made under colonial rule, was cast aside the moment it proved inconvenient to power.

We, their descendants, stand today not in anger, but in memory. Memory of what was taken. Memory of what was promised. Memory of the debt that remains unpaid.

The city that now rises from these grounds—Downtown Victoria—was built upon scorched homes, broken faith, and a dishonored treaty. And so, with clarity and resolve, we remind the world:

The land remembers.
The ancestors remember.
And we remember.
This debt is not forgotten.
It is carried—in spirit, in justice, and in our voices—until it is made right.

Indian Evictions The Daily Press Victoria, Thursday September 5, 1861

https://www.newspapers.com/image/774716709/?match=1&terms=indian%20evictions

Please keep in mind that this reflects a period already 100 years into sustained contact — a time when Indigenous peoples were being gradually displaced and amalgamated from distinct tribal identities into a handful of small to mid-sized nations.

There is so much more to uncover — more stories, more voices, and more maps that show exactly where we were at the time our worlds collided with those of the newcomers.