Musqueam chief says band will occupy sacred burial ground
Posted May 3, 2012 10:58 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The chief of Vancouver’s Musqueam First Nation says his people are prepared to occupy an ancient aboriginal village and sacred burial site to stop condominiums from being built on it.
The land beside the Arthur Laing Bridge in South Vancouver, part of the Marpole Midden, is privately-owned and slated for development, even though it was designated a national historic site in 1933. The Musqueam band says human remains have been found on the land.
Chief Ernie Campbell says it’s a sacred burial ground for his people and wants the site preserved.
He is proposing a land swap with the developer and wants the provincial government to allow it.
If it doesn’t, Campbell says his people are prepared occupy the land.
“We’re going to stay here, my people,” says Campbell after band members and supporters marched along Granville Street and Marine Drive to the site and performed a warrior song and dance. “They should never question the resolve of [the] Musqueam. We came down here to stop the work. We’re going to occupy this place here 24 hours a day if necessary, to then get to work and resolve this issue.”
“Our people are going to occupy, we’re going to see that this is not disturbed. We still want the province [to] get together,” Campbell asserts. “They’ve been not very constructive or helpful in the negotiations so far.”
Campbell claims the developer, the Century Group, is open to a land swap or compensation. “I guess that’s fair, and we’re willing to work towards that,” Campbell says.
