The Province of B.C. has refused to allow a Campbell River couple to register their babyB次元官网网址檚 traditional KwakB次元官网网址檞ala name because it uses specialized First Nations lettering.
B次元官网网址淢y partnerB次元官网网址檚 from this territory,B次元官网网址� Chrystal Smith said. B次元官网网址淲e just want to honour the land weB次元官网网址檙e on.B次元官网网址�
位ug史al蓹s KB次元官网网址檃laB次元官网网址檃sk Shaw was born on Jan. 12. Smith and her partner Raymond Shaw had planned to give him a traditional name since before he was born. Shaw is Wei Wai Kum (Campbell River), Smith is TsymB次元官网网址檚yen and Haisla and has been adopted into the Heiltsuk Nation.
They had discussed the possibility of a traditional name with the head of ShawB次元官网网址檚 family. They were particularly interested in a place name from somewhere in the Wei Wai Kum territory. When 位ug史al蓹s was born, they settled on a name of a mountain in Loughborough Inlet that translates to B次元官网网址渢he place where people were blessed.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a back story that goes with that mountain,B次元官网网址� Smith said. B次元官网网址淎nd we decided thatB次元官网网址檚 who 位ug史al蓹s was. ThatB次元官网网址檚 who he is. ThereB次元官网网址檚 no other name for him.B次元官网网址�
But when they went to register the name using the provinceB次元官网网址檚 online registration system, it wouldnB次元官网网址檛 accept the KwakB次元官网网址檞ala characters in the name. So, they sent in a paper copy of the application but that attempt ran into a technical glitch and so they had to re-do it. During the second attempt they pointed out the correspondence had spelled the name wrong. Smith offered to email the name with the proper lettering but was told by the staff member that they couldnB次元官网网址檛 do that. So, she spelled it all out and the employee wrote that down and said it would take a couple of weeks.
But on March 3, they received a letter from Registrar General Jack Shewchuk saying the proposed name contravened the Vital Statistics AgencyB次元官网网址檚 current naming standards which only recognizes the standard letters in the Latin alphabet, the standard set of French characters (the acute and grave accents, the circumflex, the umlaut and cedilla) and the use of apostrophes, periods and hyphens as long as they are not next to each other or lead to confusion in interpretation.
B次元官网网址淲hile the agency continues to meet with our business partners to facilitate the use of additional diacritic characters, we are currently unable to accept your childB次元官网网址檚 name as you have proposed it,B次元官网网址� Shewchuk wrote. B次元官网网址淭he reason for this is the impact that the registration of this information would have on our partners and their systems that are unable to accept these symbols or reproduce them onto their secondary identification documents such as a driverB次元官网网址檚 licence or health care card.B次元官网网址�
The letter offers variations on the coupleB次元官网网址檚 names that would be acceptable to the system included AugB次元官网网址檞alas or Augwalas but Smith and Shaw wonB次元官网网址檛 compromise on the name.
B次元官网网址淭here is no compromise. He is 位ug史al蓹s and he wonB次元官网网址檛 be registered until weB次元官网网址檙e allowed to register him, which is ridiculous,B次元官网网址� Smith said. B次元官网网址淵eah, IB次元官网网址檓 done compromising. Indigenous people have been compromising since colonization happened.B次元官网网址�
Smith and ShawB次元官网网址檚 situation is not unique. A Squamish woman was in the news recently about being unable to register her babyB次元官网网址檚 name which includes an B次元官网网址渦nacceptableB次元官网网址� character. Salia Joseph and her partner Joseph Currie, whose heritage is Cree and Blackfoot, have named their daughter Al铆la7, which means wild raspberry. The province, however, wonB次元官网网址檛 recognize the 7 character in the name.
To Smith and Shaw, whatB次元官网网址檚 additionally annoying about the situation is that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) has an article that references the use of Indigenous languages, writing systems and names. It says, B次元官网网址淚ndigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems and literatures, and to designate and retain their own names for communities, places and persons.B次元官网网址�
On top of that, the B.C. government just unveiled a five-year action plan on implementing the UNDRIP.
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B次元官网网址淵eah, it is super-frustrating,B次元官网网址� Smith said. B次元官网网址淎nd with the 97 Calls to Action (from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report), with the adoption of UNDRIP, like, ridiculous that we have to do this, that we have to continue to fight like this just to be recognized. And thatB次元官网网址檚 what it is, theyB次元官网网址檙e not recognizing us. Still.B次元官网网址�
Speaking to CTV B次元官网网址 about the Salia Joseph story, Health Minister Adrian Dix commiserated with First Nations families, acknowledging that the situation could be B次元官网网址渄istressing.B次元官网网址� A statement from the ministry to CTV said the government is committed to ensuring that Indigenous languages are living, used, taught and visible, including ensuring parents can register the births of their children with traditional names.
editor@campbellrivermirror.com
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