To the two Indigenous people at SaltyB次元官网网址檚 on Goldstream on June 5: I donB次元官网网址檛 know your names, and IB次元官网网址檓 not even sure youB次元官网网址檒l see this, but I hope that this might somehow reach you because I owe you (and many, many others) an apology.

You sat eating lunch one table over from me that day and overheard my not-so-quiet conversation, in which I said some things which were wrong, offensive and hurtful.

My friend and I got talking about local history. B次元官网网址淪ir James Douglas B次元官网网址� he was good, wasnB次元官网网址檛 he?B次元官网网址� she asked. B次元官网网址淵es!B次元官网网址� I said and talked about his role in local Black history. I mentioned his role in crafting treaties but made it sound positive.

When you got up from your meal, one of you said to me: B次元官网网址淒o you know about the clam gardens?B次元官网网址� You explained how long before colonization, Indigenous people built walls in the ocean to retain sand and provide an ideal habitat for clams. B次元官网网址淕o look them up. TheyB次元官网网址檙e 4,000 years old,B次元官网网址� you said. Though you spoke with self-control, your emotion was obvious.

When I went home, I looked up the clam gardens. I also looked up DouglasB次元官网网址檚 legacy with Indigenous people. The truth is that he used deception to manufacture treaties that the signatories didnB次元官网网址檛 even get to see before he tricked them into putting their names on paper.

IB次元官网网址檓 so sorry; I admit IB次元官网网址檇 heard that before but chose to believe only what I wanted. That was wrong. Summing up DouglasB次元官网网址檚 legacy without telling the truth about the harm he did was not only factually incorrect but hurtful and offensive.

Thank you for speaking out to me. You helped me to face reality, but neither of you should have had to deal with that situation.

I deeply apologize to you both and to everyone else to whom it is due. I will keep on learning more; I will not let your words go to waste.

Heather Ramsay

Metchosin