Tag: BIPOC

Friday Film Night in June- Indigenous Peoples Day

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In honour of National Indigenous History Month, the UCV BIPOC Caucus is proud to present:

 

Unceded Chiefs (2019) 1hr 3 min

 

 

 

The film is not released to the public yet and will only be available to us until June 18.

 

Friday Film Night Discussion on Zoom : June 18, 7-8pm

Special guest, producer, Doreen Manuel

Everyone from the congregation and the greater community welcome!

 

This new film covers the historic early activism of BC First Nations Leaders who in the late 1960’s unified to reject Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau’s proposed 1969 White Paper Policy. Director Doreen Manuel skillfully weaves a story of resilience and determination through interviews and archival audio with the people who lived the battle and the children of the Chiefs who had dedicated their lives to the survival of their Aboriginal title and rights.

Naomi Klein: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLafbWVDugU 

Lorne Cardinal:  https://vimeo.com/394718492 

Facebook: 

 

 

 

 

Statement on the 8th Principle by UCV Board President Diane Brown

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Dear Unitarians,

Leadership does not mean “objectivity” or not taking a stance; leadership means defining yourself within the values of the organization and sharing that perspective and why you believe it. It also means listening. I am, as President, committed to doing both.

Full disclosure; I believe in the proposed 8th Principle and I am not going to pretend otherwise.

I know there is concern out there about recent events at the CUC. I would just like to add that my work on the UCV Board is to move us forward in a way that is truly inclusive and progressive, that furthers and deepens our stated collective vision.

That means we will be encouraging dialogue within our congregation, hosting an 8th Principle Forum, requesting everyone read the Dismantling Racism Study Group report and it’s recommendations which are attached below and on the website, and dedicating a service to the 8th Principle. In this way, more people can fully participate in discussion and understanding of the 8th Principle as a crucial next step.

The lack of inclusion of more voices, and the technicality that brought about the demise of this recent attempt to adopt the 8th Principle, will not exist, and we will all be able to walk forward together.

Moreover, we at UCV do not have to wait for the CUC to adopt the 8th Principle. After substantive discussion, we ourselves can put it to a vote, hopefully providing vision and leadership to our sister congregations.

Finally, Rev Lara shared some history with me that I would like to share with you all now.

There is some very interesting history around how the existing 7 principles were affirmed.  There were only going to be 6 of them, as people felt that interdependence was implicit in them, but others felt it necessary to explicitly name our responsibility and connection to the planet and its inhabitants. Now the 7th principle is a covenant to action for the environment and all non-humans on our Blue Boat Home.

The proposed 8th principle may seem to be implicit in the wording of the other 7, but recent studies https://cuc.ca/dismantling-racism-study-group/ and decades of experience have proven otherwise, so the people who are most impacted are asking to have it spelled out.

We Unitarians dream of a future where all of the principles we affirm to promote no longer need to be written, because they are simply lived. But we are not there yet.

In active faith and hope,

Diane Brown

UCV Board President

May is Asian Heritage Month

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In recognition of May being Asian Heritage Month, the newly-formed UCV BIPOC Caucus will be hosting a series of weekly Friday Film Night events.
A list of relevant resources can be found here.

A brief history of four major Asian communities in Canada:

The earliest Chinese settlers arrived on the shore of Canada’s west coast to help build a trading post for beaver pelts in 1788. Now there are 1.8 million people reported being of Chinese origin.

Japanese first recorded arrival was 1877. They worked mostly in fishing, farming and logging industries. The 2016 census reported 121,485 people of Japanese origin.

South Asians came mostly from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Their first recorded arrival was 1903. They worked almost exclusively in the lumber industry. 1, 963,330 Canadians reported South Asian origins in the 2016 census.

Filipinos first reported arrival in Canada was 1965. Most came in the 70’s. Many work in health and are care providers. 837,130 people reported being of Filipino ethnic origin in the 2016 Census.

More information on Asian Canadian history. Excerpts from “The Canadian Encyclopedia” (Maybe just post the links?): 

– The first Chinese people to settle in Canada were 50 artisans who accompanied Captain John Meares in 1788 to help build a trading post and encourage trade in sea otter pelts between Guangzhou, China, and Nootka Sound, British Columbia. Chinese Canadians are one of the largest ethnic groups in the country. In the 2016 census, 1.8 million people reported being of Chinese origin. Despite their importance to the Canadian economy, including the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), many European Canadians were historically hostile to Chinese immigration. A prohibitive head tax restricted Chinese immigration to Canada from 1885 to 1923. From 1923 to 1947, the Chinese were excluded altogether from immigrating to Canada. (By Anthony B. Chan)

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/chinese-canadians

– The first generation of Japanese immigrants, called Issei, arrived between 1877 and 1928, and the second after 1967. The 2016 census reported 121,485 people of Japanese origin in Canada, or 0.35 per cent of the Canadian population. The first generations of Japanese Canadians were denied the full rights of citizens, such as the right to vote in provincial and federal elections and to work in certain industries. During the Second World War, the federal government interned and dispossessed over 20,000 Japanese Canadians. (By Anne Sunshara)

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/japanese-canadians

South Asians trace their origins to South Asia, which encompasses India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Most South Asian Canadians are immigrants or descendants of immigrants from these countries, but immigrants from South Asian communities established during British colonial times also include those from East and South Africa, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji and Mauritius. Others come from Britain, the US and Europe. In the 2016 census, 1, 963,330 Canadians reported South Asian origins. (By Norman Buchignani)

https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/south-asians

– Immigration to Canada from the Philippines is relatively recent: it began in the 1970s. In the 2016 Census, 837,130 people reported being of Filipino ethnic origin. Filipino Canadians thus constitute the largest group of Southeast Asian Canadians (By Eleanor R. Laquian)

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/filipinos