Bev Sellars

Last updated
Bev Sellars
Born1955
Soda Creek, British Columbia
OccupationFirst Nations chief, writer
Nationality Canadian
Period1980s-present
Notable worksThey Called Me Number One
SpouseBill Wilson

Bev Sellars is a Xat'sull writer of the award-winning book, They Called Me Number One: Secrets and Survival at an Indian Residential School, describing her experiences within the Canadian Indian residential school system. She is also a longtime-serving Chief of the Xat'sull (Soda Creek) First Nations.

Contents

Personal life

She is currently married to Bill Wilson. [1] [2]

Education

Sellars was a student at the St. Joseph's Residential School in Williams Lake, British Columbia. [3] She later studied history at the University of Victoria, and law at the University of British Columbia. [3] She was named a distinguished alumnus at University of Victoria in 2016-17. [4]

Career

Sellars served as chief of Xat'sull First Nation at Soda Creek, British Columbia, [5] in 1987-1993 and again from 2009-2015. [3] [6] She was also an advisor to the British Columbia Treaty Commission. [3]

In 1991, Sellars gave an address to the First National Conference on Residential Schools about her experiences and the long-lasting impact on First Nations peoples. This address is reproduced in its entirety [7] in the book "Victims of Benevolence: The Dark Legacy of the Williams Lake Residential School," by Elizabeth Furniss. [8]

In 2012, [9] Sellars published "They Called Me Number One:Secrets and Survival at an Indian Residential School" recounting her childhood experience at St Joseph's and how that experience had and continues to have lasting impacts on her and her family's lives. Her memoir exposed the injustices and cruelties of the Canadian Indian residential school system. [10] The book won the 2014 George Ryga Award for Social Awareness, [3] and was shortlisted for the 2014 Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize. [11]

In the same year, 2014, the dam breach at the Mount Polley mine happened. Sellars was the Xat'sull acting chief at the time [12] and she has worked since then to bring attention to the conflicts between mining and First Nations communities in B.C. as well as the rest of Canada.

In 2016, she published "Price Paid: The Fight for First Nations Survival" that examines the history of Indigenous rights in Canada from an Indigenous perspective. [6]

She is involved with First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining [13] and a Senior Leader of the Indigenous Leadership Initiative. [14]

She has brought private charges against Mount Polley Mining Corporation [12] and she continues to speak about the effects of the Mount Polley tailings spill on her community, [15] warning other communities of potential risks from mining activities.

Honours and awards

Sellars' book They Called Me Number One, published in 2013, was on the British Columbia Bestsellers list for 44 weeks. The book was also a finalist in both the First Nation Communities READ – Periodical Marketers of Canada Aboriginal Literature award (2017–2018) and Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize (2014), in addition to being a finalist for the Burt Award for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Literature (2014). [16] [17]

The University of Victoria, where she earned her degree in history in 1997, declared her a Distinguished Alumni for 2016-2017. [16]

CBC Books named They Called Me Number One as one of 15 memoirs by Indigenous writers you need to read in 2017. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Victoria</span> University in Victoria, British Columbia

The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, the institution was initially an affiliated college of McGill University until 1915. From 1921 to 1963, it functioned as an affiliate of the University of British Columbia. In 1963, the institution was reorganized into an independent university.

George Ryga was a Canadian playwright, actor and novelist. His writings explored the experiences of Indigenous peoples in Canada, among other themes. His most famous work is The Ecstasy of Rita Joe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secwépemc</span> First Nations people in Canada

The Secwépemc, known in English as the Shuswap peopleSHOOSH-wahp, are a First Nations people residing in the interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia. They speak one of the Salishan languages, known as Secwepemctsín or Shuswap.

Marie Clements is a Canadian Métis playwright, performer, director, producer and screenwriter. She was the founding artistic director of Urban Ink Productions, and is currently co-artistic director of Red Diva Projects, and director of her new film company Working Pajama Lab Entertainment. Clements lives on Galiano Island, British Columbia. As a writer she has worked in a variety of media including theatre, performance, film, multi-media, radio and television.

Xatśūll First Nation formerly known as Soda Creek Indian Band, is a First Nations government of the Secwepemc (Shuswap) Nation, located in the Cariboo region of the Central Interior region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was created when the government of the then-Colony of British Columbia established an Indian reserve system in the 1860s. It is a member government of the Northern Shuswap Tribal Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kamloops Indian Residential School</span> Defunct Canadian residential school

The Kamloops Indian Residential School was part of the Canadian Indian residential school system. Located in Kamloops, British Columbia, it was once the largest residential school in Canada, with its enrolment peaking at 500 in the 1950s. The school was established in 1890 and operated until 1969, when it was taken over from the Catholic Church by the federal government to be used as a day school residence. It closed in 1978. The school building still stands today, and is located on the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation.

The Sixties Scoop, also known as The Scoop, was a period in which a series of policies were enacted in Canada that enabled child welfare authorities to take, or "scoop up," Indigenous children from their families and communities for placement in foster homes, from which they would be adopted by white families. Despite its name referencing the 1960s, the Sixties Scoop began in the mid-to-late 1950s and persisted into the 1980s.

Kevin Loring is a Canadian playwright and actor. As a playwright, he won the Governor General's Award for English-language drama, the Herman Voaden Playwriting Competition and the Jessie Richardson Award for Outstanding Original Script, and was nominated for the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play, for Where the Blood Mixes in 2009. His 2019 play, Thanks for Giving, was short-listed for the Governor General's Award for Drama. In June 2021 Kevin Loring received an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Arts.

Rosanna Deerchild is a Canadian Cree writer, poet and radio host. She is best known as host of the radio program Unreserved on CBC Radio One, a show that shares the music, cultures, and stories from indigenous people across Canada, from 2014 to 2020. With CBC Radio One, she has hosted two other shows; The (204) and the Weekend Morning Show. She has also appeared on CBC Radio's DNTO. She has been on various other media networks: APTN, Global Television Network, and Native Communications (NCI-FM).

Marion R. Buller, is a First Nations jurist in British Columbia and current chancellor of the University of Victoria. Buller served as the Chief Commissioner for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls from 2016 to 2019.

Indigenous peoples of Canada are culturally diverse. Each group has its own literature, language and culture. The term "Indigenous literature" therefore can be misleading. As writer Jeannette Armstrong states in one interview, "I would stay away from the idea of "Native" literature, there is no such thing. There is Mohawk literature, there is Okanagan literature, but there is no generic Native in Canada".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viola Wyse</span>

Viola Wyse was a Canadian Coast Salish tribal leader and civil servant. Wyse was the first woman to be elected chief of Snuneymuxw First Nation, Nanaimo, BC, a post she assumed in 2006 and held until her death. During her tenure as chief, Wyse secured protocol agreements with governments bodies such as the City of Nanaimo, Island Trust and Nanaimo Port Authority for infrastructural protections and development, cultural protections, service to the tribe, and economic growth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Day for Truth and Reconciliation</span> Canadian day of remembrance for victims of residential schools

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, originally and still colloquially known as Orange Shirt Day, is a Canadian holiday to recognize the legacy of the Canadian Indian residential school system.

Skeena Reece is a Canadian First Nations artist whose multi-disciplinary practice includes such genres as performance art, "sacred clowning," songwriting, and video art. Reece is of Cree, Tsimshian, Gitksan, and Métis descent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ma'amtagila First Nation</span>

The Ma’amtagila First Nation (also styled Maamtagila), formerly known as Mahteelthpe or Matilpi, are an Indigenous nation and part of the Kwakwaka'wakw peoples. Their territory is located in the Queen Charlotte Strait-Johnstone Strait area in the Discovery Islands between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland in Canada.

Bill Wilson is a hereditary chief, politician, and lawyer. He carries the Kwak’wala name Hemas Kla-Lee-Lee-Kla. Hemas means “the Chief who is always there to help” and Kla-Lee-Lee-Kla means “the first rank among the eagles.” He is a descendant of the Musgamgw Tsawataineuk and Laich-kwil-tach peoples, which are part of the Kwakwaka'wakw, also known as the Kwak’wala-speaking peoples.

Michelle Good is a Cree writer, poet, and lawyer from Canada, most noted for her debut novel Five Little Indians. She is a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. Good has an MFA and a law degree from the University of British Columbia and, as a lawyer, advocated for residential-school survivors.

St. Joseph's Mission was a Roman Catholic mission established near Williams Lake, British Columbia in 1867. The mission was operated by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. It is primarily known for the notorious St. Joseph's Indian Residential School located on the property, a part of the Canadian Indian residential school system that operated on the Mission from 1891 to 1981.

Phyllis Jack Webstad is a Northern Secwepemc (Shuswap) author from the Stswecem'c Xgat'tem First Nation, and the creator of Orange Shirt Day, a day of remembrance marked in Canada later instated as the public holiday of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. She is a First Nations residential school survivor. She has written multiple books, including a picture book depicting her experience with the Indian residential school system.

<i>Kamloopa</i> Play by Kim Senklip Harvey

Kamloopa: An Indigenous Matriarch Story is a play written by Canadian playwright Kim Senklip Harvey. It is the winner of the 2020 Governor General’s Literary Award for English-language drama. Published in Canada by Talonbooks in April 2020 and co-authored with members of the Fire Company, the book includes a foreword by Lindsay Lachance and a zine by Kimi Clark.

References

  1. ↑ Sellars, Bev (2013). They called me number one : secrets and survival at an Indian residential school. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. ISBN   978-0-88922-741-5. OCLC   829421924.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ↑ Peter A. Allard School of Law (Fall 2011). "Wilson Family" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 February 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Chief Bev Sellars wins Ryga Award". BC Booklook, April 4, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Chief Bev Sellars - University of Victoria". UVic.ca. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  5. ↑ "Chief Bev Sellars shares her story of residential school". The Martlet , September 12, 2013.
  6. 1 2 "Bev Sellars". Indigenous Leadership Initiative. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  7. ↑ Dian Million (2009). "Felt Theory: An Indigenous Feminist Approach to Affect and History" . Wíčazo Ša Review. 24 (2): 53–76. doi:10.1353/wic.0.0043. ISSN   1533-7901. S2CID   143929791.
  8. ↑ Furniss, Elizabeth (1995). Victims of Benevolence: The Dark Legacy of the Williams Lake Residential School. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press. pp. Appendix. ISBN   978-1-55152-015-5.
  9. ↑ "They Called Me Number One". Talon Books Publishers. Archived from the original on 2020-06-25.
  10. ↑ "They Called Me Number One: Secrets and Survival at an Indian Residential School , 2013) - Indigenous & First Nations Books - Strong Nations". www.strongnations.com. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  11. ↑ "B.C. Book Prizes nominees announced". Quill & Quire , March 12, 2014.
  12. 1 2 "Indigenous Advocate Seeks Justice - Files charges against Imperial Metals Over Biggest Mining Spill in Canada - Wilderness Committee". www.wildernesscommittee.org. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  13. ↑ "First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining » Contact" . Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  14. ↑ "Bev Sellars". Indigenous Leadership Initiative. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  15. ↑ "First Nations oppose mining work - Wilderness Committee". www.wildernesscommittee.org. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  16. 1 2 "Chief Bev Sellars - University of Victoria". UVic.ca. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  17. ↑ "Bev Sellars » Authors » Talonbooks". talonbooks.com. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  18. ↑ "15 memoirs by Indigenous writers you need to read". CBC Books. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.