No more dime-store Indians. The assertive message from native leaders echoed clearly through the frosty air yesterday as they provided an advance look at one of the 2010 Winter Games' signature buildings, a $6-million aboriginal pavilion in the heart of downtown Vancouver.
"We are here. We are, in fact, living. We are part of the world," said Chief Billy Williams of the Squamish Nation, one of the Four Host First Nations on whose traditional territory the Olympics will take place.
Scorning the "No Olympics on Stolen Native Land" slogan that has provided fodder for native protesters opposed to the Games, the local chiefs said this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase their culture and reap economic benefits.
"We are canoe people," said Chief Justin George of the coastal Tsleil-Waututh band, 39-year old grandson of the late chief Dan George. "This is all about paddling together, with one heart, one mind, one spirit.
"The Olympic Games is a huge, huge, potlatch. We are putting our differences aside for the greater good. It's our time to show our capabilities and who we are."
The pavilion, just a stone's throw from the Olympic hockey and opening ceremony venues, is part of the extensive, unprecedented partnership between an indigenous people and the Olympics that is at the forefront of the 2010 event.
Even more than the Games' shiny new venues and infrastructures, it may be the most significant and long-lasting legacy of the 2010 Winter Olympics, according to chiefs and non-native officials alike.
"Not only was it the right thing to do," said VANOC head John Furlong, a nifty, aboriginal Olympic tuque perched on his head, "but our aboriginal partnership will be a major differentiator between these Games and other Games. It will fully enrich the Olympics."
The pavilion, to be topped by a spectacular, 20-metre high inflatable globe, will also highlight Inuit, Métis and other native cultures from across the country.
As well, native groups will be featured prominently during the opening and closing ceremonies.
Native art is to be featured at each Olympic venue and the Four Host First Nations have received millions of dollars in cash and land, plus a spectacular cultural centre in Whistler.
"After the Olympics, people will look at indigenous people differently. I guarantee that," Tewanee Joseph, CEO of the FHFN, told the audience.
Mr. Joseph recently lashed out at self-styled native "warriors" opposed to the Games, accusing them of wanting natives to "remain forever the dime-store Indian, the lone figure at the end of a gravel road, trapped in the isolation of an inner-city nightmare."
Chief Williams said those advocating "No Olympics on Stolen Native Land" are misguided. "They haven't researched their own history. What lands are they talking about? We know every inch of our traditional territory. No one has to tell us about stolen land. The point is what you create on the land."
Musqueam councillor Wade Grant, 31, said no one should pretend to speak for them about their traditional lands.
"That issue is not being pushed aside, but we have embraced the Olympics. We believe they will provide benefits for generations to come, especially for our culture. It would be a disservice to our ancestors not to take advantage of the chance to break that cycle of despair that has kept us back for so many years."