Strength and resiliency in the narratives of Margaret Gagnon.

Something stirred in me the first moment I heard Margaret Gagnon speak in a Carrier culture class at the University Of Northern British Columbia (UNBC). She told, among many others, a powerful narrative about fifteen children who died from drinking contaminated water. Her narrative was both deeply moving and shocking, especially as the incident, I found, is not recorded as part of the local history. The transcribed narratives are original material from already video and audio taped presentations by Margaret at UNBC and in her home. These narratives provided the impetus for me to investigate what this tragedy reveals. This work looks critically at the colonizers through historical, environmental, and genocidal ethical lenses. In the true spirit of stories, however, these stories have continued unfolding their deep wisdom to me . This body of stories has taken a surprising turn to reveal yet another strand of enduring resiliency and strength woven through the fabric of Margaret words. What I found is that the absence of First Nations narrative in Prince George history, suggests a lack of honouring First Nations people. This is only one aspect of colonization that prevents inclusion into every level of society. Without this acknowledgement of oral histories there is little opportunity to recognize the devastation caused by the consequent silencing of a culture, or the strength of the survivors.