Two Worlds, One Heart - Capitol Season

FREE and by donation

Two Worlds, One Heart   After 25 years of writing and thinking about the upper Columbia River landscape and its complex Indigenous history, Eileen Delehanty Pearkes will speak about how following her passion has transformed her.  What were the obstacles in writing about “extinct” people?  What have the ancestral and living Sinixt people taught her in the process?  What are the opportunities for settlers who are now welcoming the Sinixt home?     From Pearkes’ surprise 1998 discovery of the nearly lost story of the Sinixt, to the 2021 Desautel case and the recent establishment of a permanent Sinixt office, Pearkes has had a front-row seat.  As a friend of the tribe, she has watched the Sinixt pursue their rights with diligence and dignity, and tracked the dawn of broader public awakening to the value of Indigenous perspectives.  She has learned lessons of betrayal, trust, persistence, love and belonging - all in ways that she could not have imagined when she arrived in Nelson in 1994.   Pearkes will share some of those stories and lessons with the community and ask: What next?  Join this thought leader in a discussion about the opportunities that lie ahead.

This show is made possible thanks to the support of our sponsors Prestige Lakeside Resorts, The Bridge FM, Yum Son Night Owl Hospitality, Nelson District Credit Union, Kootenay Co-op, Nelson Star and Hall Printing and our funders the BC Arts Council, Canadian Heritage, and the Government of Canada. We also gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the City of Nelson and the Province of British Columbia.