This does nothing to help any of the millions of native issues..it so far has only ticked off a majority of Prince George citizens as it was done without our say..if anything it has put another wedge between the natives and everyone else.

Krause you are one person who has his own agenda and I am sick of it.. Step down immediately.

P Val,

I am not feeling any wedge, slight or other negative emotion about this simple acknowledgement of the history between the white settlers and our nation’s first people. My family are 10th and first generation Canadians from European origins, and what our people have done to the first people of North America is shameful. It is time to move forward on both sides. I cannot change history, but I certainly acknowledge that our people have done much to harm others.

It is not popular to encourage change, and Mr. Krause (who I have not met) appears to be willing to bring difficult subjects forward so we can look at our mistakes. If that is his flaw, I am willing to listen and consider his views.

Please be clear, you do not speak for me on this or many other issues. You are welcome to your opinion but my opinion is different and equally valid.

At the park today, and the natives were blocking off anyone from crossing through that ‘sacred burial ground’. The same burial ground covered in empty whisky bottles and cigarette butts. Wouldn’t want anyone to disrespect that treasured piece of local history by walking through it…

Pg101. There should not be a burial ground.. The carrier people burned their dead. So guess the natives want it all, why haven’t any elders stepped up to explain why there is a graveyard.. It goes against the carrier ways and beliefs.

missing Poppa, Please don’t lump me in when you throw out that “our people” comment. I emigrated 39 years ago and have done nothing, not one thing.

P Val, Please count me among the majority of ticked off residents.

missing Poppa, well said.

The Carrier were Christianized by the Catholic Church and the Catholic Church buries dead people. Incidentally, why do so many people refer to it as a “burial ground”. It is a cemetery, plain and simple, just like the burial ground on Ferry.

missing Poppa; in your comment are words to be proud of, words to show your children, grandchildren, and future generations in your family, that those were your words, and this is how you stood on this issue of Truth and Reconciliation with the First People of this country.

For all of you who have shared comments of support and encouragement on social media, about the park renaming, and flying of the Lheidli T’enneh flag at city hall, the future will look back favourable upon this day and to you, because you sided with what was the “right thing to do”!!!

Again; thank you Prince George City Mayor and Council for doing the right thing here!!!

To suggest that Mayor Hall, Murray Krause, or other members of Council have a good grasp of the history of the Carrier,(Dakelh) Lheidli T’enneh, in this area, or the history of the arrival of the whites, and what transpired after that is **bogus** I suggest that they and a large number of T’enneh do not have a good grasp of this history in this area, and that is the crux of the whole issue.

City Councilor voting on issue of national importance and history without being aware of the history involved should never have happened. Krause was able to slip this through primarily because of the lack of knowledge of the history by those voting on the issue.

The name change in itself is not necessarily a big deal (except for the T’enneh) however how the situation was handled was far from professional and should have never happened. The meeting of Council was ostensibly to **discuss* the issue, and in fact the end game was to pass the motion. This was pretty underhanded to say the least.

If we were to give the Councilors, Mayor Hall, and large group of white, and T’enneh a test on the history of the Carrier’s in this area, they would (with a few exceptions) all fail.

There is a much bigger issue here than renaming a park, not the least of which is a local Municipality poking its nose into the Federal and Provincial Governments responsibilities.

Krause has his head up his butt if he thinks that first nations people learned to live in harmony with nature. A trip through many reserve lands would show that some first nations people have no problems whatsoever living with garbage blowing around, rusting polluting vehicles dotting the landscape, unkempt yards, ramshackle buildings, falling down fences and the like. I suspect that a large part of this is due to the indian act with individuals unable to own and take ownership of the home that they live in. A case perhaps of “If I don’t own it, why should I take care of it?”

Krause is also pandering to first nations when he states that they were “a people who only helped European settlers who might have very well perished without the knowledge, shared generously by the Lheidli people and First Nations people across Canada.”

Reading from the journals of the Hudson’s Bay Company speak of starving, freezing indians showing up at Hudson’s Bay Posts, literally on their last legs. Through the knowledge and generosity of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s employees, the lifes of many indians were saved. Read the Peace River Chronicles!

Immigrants who farmed in northern Alberta often took in freezing and starving Indians in the middle of winter. Many an indian survived by warming up in the barn, resting and eating for a few days before moving on.

I’m sure that some settlers survived by the graces of the Indians, but Indians also survived by the grace of the settlers!

I get really tired of all of the political correctness that fails to look at the facts!

Alexander McKenzie came through this area in the late 17 hundreds.

The Hudson Bay Post was established in 1807

The Fort George Indian Reserve was established in 1892.

The FN were moved from Fort George to Shelley in 1911.

The Lheidli T’enneh sold the Fort George property in 1911 after being coerced to do so by the Catholic Church and the Federal Indian Agent at the time. Some buildings were burnt to ensure that they moved.

So we have 100 years of history of the T’enneh and whites living together and trading in the area of Ft George before they moved in 1911.

Had there actually been a discussion between the Lheldli T’enneh, and others in the City some of this history would have come to light. Instead we get hyperbole and photo ops from politicians.

We should also keep in mind that the Indian School at Lejac was completed in 1922 long after all these incidents took place in Ft George.
Lejac was closed in 1966. This school was attended by FN from Fraser Lake, Ft Fraser, Ft St James, and to some extent by the FN in the Greater Prince George area.

We can connect the transgressions to our ancestors, and others Ie; the Government and the Churches, and have the truth and reconciliation process, however we should concentrate (to the best of our ability) on the **truth** part. Having a distortion of the actual history and the fact surrounding that history is hardly being truthful.

Missing Poppa, maybe your people did shameful things that did harm to others, but mine didn’t. I have no relatives that were in govt or the catholic church.

Apart from the different views as far as if this should have been done or not, the fact is that I had hopes for our new council and they just went right ahead and forced all this through with no input from the people. Im wondering if this makes them feel “ALL POWERFULL” and they rule with thier iron thumb. The whole lot, especially Krause and hall need to be replaced. Just sayin….

Speaking of facts, I agree that the Residential School situation was a horrible and shameful atrocity!

I believe that our current Indian Act does a disservice to the average band member while allowing the Chiefs and Council members to live large on funds that should be directed towards services, proper homes and the like for the average band member. Women and children should not be cold, starving and living in poverty while the Chief drives his or her Cadillac Escalade to the airport to take another tropical vacation!

But we are not allowed to speak of such things, for fear that we be branded a racist!

And perhaps someone can explain to me why so many Canadian Chiefs are shown wearing a “traditional” eagle feather bonnet?

These bonnets are traditional headgear for some Midwestern United States Indians, not our northern Canadian Indians! So, why do so many Canadian Chiefs wear a headdress that is not their traditional headdresses?

I would like to see more of the correct and traditional history of our “First Nations” and I would like to see less of the image that many seem to have adopted from Hollywood!

contrived , underhanded and completely lacking any class is how I describe this past week of city council business . pretty sad only one council member had the spine to stand up and say this needs more time and input to be done right . I’m losing tolerance on native issue’s with the way these things are going down .

I wonder if Krause even has a clue about native history, I mean real history., not the rewrite.

Man there are a lot of angry little people here. I suppose one should be happy you have an outlet, because I get the feeling you’re not saying these angry, ignorant things to others’ faces on the street.

Maybe we should stop referring to this culture as Indians, First Nations, Natives, Aboriginals, etc., and just call them what they are — human beings.

Race is an imaginary concept, because “they” cannot be biologically defined. We are not significantly differentiated enough from one another to suggest division. Oh sure there are phenotype differences and different gene expressions, but we’re all homo sapiens and it’s long overdue we stop obsessing about these insignificant differences among us. We’re all from the same family.

It’s time to let go of our petty biases and recognize them for the emotion that they represent — fear.

Cultural differentiation should be honoured and supported, because it makes us stronger, but racial distinctions should become a thing of the past because it’s nonsense.

Sine Nomine maybe lay off the kool-aid and actually talk to people out of your circle . I’m figure I’m fairly middle of the road talking with people and usually end up defending natives when amongst hardcore rednecks . Yes they are just fellow human beings and that’s how I treat them .

Kraus won’t be happy till his rainbow flag is flying next to all that laughable diversity, outside city hall.

Sine Nomine. I suppose when we sit down to negotiate with the First Nations, we should say we are negotiating with **human beings**. You imply that we are the ones naming them, however they too are naming themselves to distinguish themselves from us, and to bolster their case for treaty settlements etc;

So again, there is more to this issue than meets the eye. Calling people ignorant, and fearful, is a prime example of predetermined prejudice. So you want us to be tolerant of the FN traditions at the same time that you state we are ignorant. Hmmmmm.

I am not a racist-nor am I prejudiced.
I have hired a number of F N people over the years-and just wish a couple would have remained employees back then.
They were far better than the many whites I hired.
They worked-doing what was required, and did not stand around looking at something to bitch about. White people have a tendency to whine and snivel, and the smokers not only waste their own money-but their employees also. Funny?????
The only problem–the Indians do not stay. There was always something pressing they had to attend to in Smithers, Telkwa, Burns Lake, Houston or???? Not to mention other issues calling.
Payday meant a 4 0r 5 day absence from the job.
While on the job-reliable-and worked. Just could not rely on them showing up every time after a payday. I was actually sorry when a couple of them just moved on.
Well, those days are in the past-but I never regretted hiring a FN-for the time they remained on the job.

The entire history bad and good will be told.As a first nation person born and raised off reserve I decided a long time ago to take what my ancestors experienced(good or bad)and move forward,if I was to dwell on any of the negative it will rot my sole.
I attended the flag raising and reclaiming of Lheidli-T`ennet Memorial Park for my late grandfather ,I think he would have attended had he been here.
Much appreciation to those that attended in support and a great future to all First Nations and non aboriginal people of this great city of Prince George.

Vulger Sage help me understand this. How do you move forward and not dwell on past negative when you use the term “reclaiming of Lheidli-T’ennt Memorial Park”? sounds exclusive to a single group and not moving forward to include all Canadian’s.