It has not been uncommon at city hall to have a politician use a language other than English to open a council meeting, greet visitors or speak at a news conference.
Mayor Gregor Robertson can say a few words in Cantonese, Mandarin and Punjabi.
Former Mayor Sam Sullivan was proficient in Cantonese.
Former Coun. David Cadman was a go-to councillor for French media.
But Vision Vancouver Coun. Andrea Reimer has raised the bar and become possibly the first non-native B.C. politician to learn how to pronounce enough words in the Squamish language to speak in complete sentences.
Reimer first spoke the language publicly in the summer to help open the Powell Street Festival and used it most recently at city hall for the unveiling of three works of First Nations art. She regularly speaks the language when she opens a committee meeting in council chambers.
“One of the things that I’ve heard most strongly from the local nations is that they feel invisible on their own territory and they would like to feel visible — and language seems to me like the highest level of visibility you can have,” she said. “If you’re an Aboriginal person, this is home, this has been home for thousands of years. So to find yourself invisible in that context is a pretty profound thing. And if there’s a way that I feel that I can actively participate in removing that invisibility, I feel like I should take it.”
Essentially, what Reimer has learned is a form of welcoming and how to acknowledge that a meeting or event is happening on the unceded homelands of the Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh nations. In 2014, city council put that acknowledgement into formal policy, but there was no requirement it be done in any language other than English.
Earlier this year, Reimer contacted Squamish First Nation member Khelsilem, who agreed to give the councillor one-on-one instruction on the basics of the language. Khelsilem is a lecturer in a Squamish language immersion program that began at Simon Fraser University this fall.
“I feel that Andrea has done a lot of work for the indigenous community in her role on the city council, and she’s been a huge ally and supporter of reconciliation,” he said. “So I felt it was a reciprocal exchange for me to take the time to teach her what she was asking for.”
The 10 lessons ran about 90-minutes each and were spread over a few months. Khelsilem said his goal was not to have Reimer simply memorize phrases, but to understand exactly what she was saying and adjust her phrasing for the situation in which she was speaking.
“Her understanding of what she is saying is a bit beyond just memorized phrases,” he said. “She actually knows what each word is and she knows how to adjust the grammar of the sentences to fit her needs. So, she’s very limited but still very proficient at what she knows.”
Khelsilem noted the Squamish First Nation, which has an estimated population of 4,000 people, only has seven fluent speakers. But he said he is encouraged by the interest from young band members to learn the language. The immersion program at SFU has 15 students, all of whom have Squamish ancestry and are an average of 21 years old.
“Our language is coming back, regardless of what I do,” he said. “What I’m trying to do is increase the rate at which it comes back.”
Reimer, meanwhile, said she is interested in continuing with more lessons in the new year. For now, she’s enrolled in a Cantonese class. The cost of the lessons are being covered by taxpayers, a cost Reimer said is directly associated with her role as a councillor.
mhowell@vancourier.com
@Howellings
