This video reflects on the sacred truth of the Salish Sea Bioregion, especially the devastating events of 1862, when smallpox was deliberately spread through Indigenous Nations of the Salish Sea and Northwest Coast.
This was not only an epidemic. Colonial authorities knew the danger, yet Indigenous people were forced from Victoria while infection was spreading, turning ancient canoe routes of life, trade, kinship, and ceremony into pathways of death. This was genocide, in every meaning of the word.
But this message does not end in sorrow. It calls us toward truth, healing, justice, and the rebirth of the Salish Sea through Indigenous leadership, restoration of the waters, salmon, sacred sites, ceremony, youth leadership, and the return of the Original Stewards.
The virus was smallpox. The deeper sickness was colonization. The healing now begins with truth, responsibility, and the sacred renewal of Mother Earth.