Re: “Beyond ‘quick wins’: Decolonizing British Columbia,” March 10.

I learned at my grandfather’s knee that under British and Canadian law, the entire province of British Columbia was the legal property of First Nations.

My mother told me about her Japanese-Canadian friends ripped from their homes in Vancouver and sent to internment camps in the Interior. My Auntie Mabel was born on a trapline in northern Alberta “when the little foxes were born” and attended residential school. She ran away three times and was returned twice.

My grandmother’s sister became Mrs. Wong in the 1920s when it was unusual for an English woman to marry a Chinese man. My father was among those legions of B.C. socialists who campaigned and fought for equality and social justice in this province.

And John Price and Christine O’Bonsawin believe it is time we British Columbians learn about our past and resist our colonial impulses? There were thousands of families like mine in B.C. who stood up and protested racism and prejudice. I’m proud to share my family’s values and convictions with my own sons and granddaughters.

Joanne Murray

Victoria

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