Our Native Land. Our Native Land, Our Native, our Native Land. Our Native Land. Welcome to Our Native Land. Thank you so much for joining me here once again. Before we start, as all I'd like to acknowledge with respect the Lekwungen Peoples on whose traditional territory CHEK's studio stands upon. And to all the indigenous tribes that are part of the Coast Salish, Nuu-Chah-Nulth, and Kwakwaka'wakw Nations on Vancouver Island.
I thank these nations and traditional land keepers for allowing us to always live, work, and play on their lands. My next guest is Bubba Qwulshemut, a member of the S’amunu Tribe, one of the seven recognized tribes of Cowichan. He's also the father of Adrian, who you saw in our season premiere of Our Native Land featuring her food truck Hungry Bubbas.
Bubba has climbed the ranks with the BCIB, known as the BC Infrastructure benefits, and is now BC's indigenous coach and cultural advisor along as an associate manager on the Cowichan district hospital replacement project. Bubba is making worker experience more culturally relevant and respectful for indigenous employees by actively sharing cultural teachings, experiences, and wisdom.
In his role, Bubba provides direct support to indigenous employees, but this journey to success has not been without facing a lifelong uphill battle. Those battles included him attending day school. His brothers and parents attended residential school and his father was taken from his home because of his granddad passing. His mom only spoke SENĆOTEN, so he grew up with nothing else, no English. He was taken away by police.
Bubba was sent to the two-fifteen... what we know today as the two-fifteen Kamloops Indian Residential School, and his mother also went to Cooper Island Residential School on Penelakut Island. It is with honor that I welcome my guest to talk about how he has overcome so much in his life, and we will make sure to talk about that, but also end on a positive note about the amazing things he's been doing. Please welcome my guest, Baba Qwulshemut. Bubba, thank you for being here. Thanks, Tchadas.
I really appreciate it. Deeply honored to be here. Absolutely. Thank you. My name is Bubba Qwulshemut. My ancestral name is, Xwun xwi nuk. And, I'm a member of the S’amunu Tribe within the seven recognized tribes in Cowichan. Going back, to the Qwulshemut Clan on ninth generation from there, and I have to know that because our name, songs, and masks all come from that side of my family. So it's important for us to know our lineage. And how diverse and vibrant is it right now?
Because we know that there's been a lot of things throughout Canadian history that's tried to remove that culture and those dances that belong to your clan specifically, how strong can you say it is right now? It's a great time to be indigenous, I would say, because there's a huge... knowledge that's being transferred over.
What we're allowed to share, from the Coast Salish people... you could go on You Tube anywhere, you'll see the Cowichan Tzinquaw Dance Group, for instance, of course, or any other First Nations that are out there that are, very active with drum groups. Very, popular today. So it's, I think there's a big resurgence because they're hungry for that, culture. People generally all around are trying to find out more about us, where historically we were put under the thumb of.
And, coming like you, you mentioned a residential school. And, before arrival, the way it was, we're going back to that. So there's a lot of teaching that's coming in. It's been maintained and it's been even more highlighted because it was trying to be suppressed. So that being the case, we've come out in a great way. People would witness a little bit of culture and just want more. And the songs and the dances of our people, what we're allowed to share, of course.
But still, ceremony is not for public. it's very private. Yeah. So it's a very powerful time to be indigenous. Of course. And I think people will understand, Tzinquaw, because we've aired it here on, CHEK. And we'll throw an image up of what we're talking about here, your relation to Tzinquaw are you, actively with the group? Or, do you have some connections with your clan and your lineage? Oh yeah. The Tzinquaw group, initially started as an opera.
At a time we mentioned the banishment of our culture. So that was trying to be suppressed and then it became a musical, opera that aired. And I think that because of that exposure, that's where it really started to become, Hey, we wanna see more. We want to hear more. And my late father and my late cousin, Ray Peter and, Ron George, were in education. Were looking at, having some culture brought to the youth, the students that they were working in, the school.
So that's when they started the song and dance group. They call it the Tzinquaw Song and Dance Group. When we started, I was probably six years old when dad had us in there. He was singing while we would be dancing, that kinda stuff. And I'm 62 now, so it's been a few years. You don't look a day over 40, Bubba. Thank you for sharing that. Before we go to the break, I know people are gonna ask this question, or I'm gonna get messages and they're gonna say the name, Bubba.
Where does that come from? And was that right out right from birth, Bubba? Or did that change over time? Not so much birth as, I was just a baby and my older brother's a year older. Clay Qwulshemut. Couldn't say baby. Yeah. So it went to Baba, and, yeah, it carried from there, Wow. Yeah. So that's, how, that started. I love it. That's a great name. Bubba. I set us off track 'cause I really had to know that. But you were really talking about.
Resilience and I think, you're the perfect person to talk about that. And we're gonna get into that and how you've been able to cross paths, with a lot of racism to get to where you're today. So we're gonna take a quick break, but when we return, we're gonna have a chat about that. We'll be right back. Don't go anywhere. Welcome back to Our Native Land. I'm here with my guest, Bubba Kushima.
As I mentioned before, he was, on the season premier of our native land with his daughter Adrian and the Bubba Food Truck. But we're not talking about food today. We're talking about Bubba himself and some of the resilience. That you have, talked about very openly and publicly, and there's an article you wrote actually on the BCIB website, and you're very open about, how this journey came to be about being honest with some of your experiences with residential school.
Tell me, working in the construction industry, being on site and that moment you were talking in that article about sharing and being open with people who may have never been exposed to anything when it comes to racism or residential school? We were guided, my late mother being a residential school survivor from, Penelakut. We know it as Penelakut, which is Keeper Island. she'd always said, never air your laundry in public. So that was something you just never talked about.
When I came over to, the hospital working... course, I'm a Red Seal Plumber. B class gas fitter. And I started plumbing there. The first couple months that I was there, I got exposure to the point where it advanced me into BCIB and, witnessing, the ROI, which is, is a prerequisite to getting onto all of our job sites. And ROI stands for, Respectful Onsite Initiative. All of our employees that are employed by BCIB have gotta go through this, and that's just a prerequisite, like a training day.
And, when I witnessed that, I seen that. Wow. There's a lot of history that's been told here, and I really strongly felt that this is a, time for us to be able to start sharing something that in our family, we never did really speak publicly of that. It was time to share that our family members, of course my parents and my two elder brothers were part of it. I was in day school with my brother.
There were some experiences there of course, we've never, ever really ever talked about too much in detail, but I felt it was really the time to do that. And it's that sharing of knowledge that I felt that, hey... up to now, you get people that are being very judgmental based on no information. And now they're informed and they're changing, like start to finish at the end of that day of, the ROI, session.
Some of them would come forward and say, Hey, I was raised, my parents, my grandparents were openly prejudiced. I have two sons now that will not grow up that way. And I thought, wow, that's a huge impact. I hope that, this is, Hey, this starts very small, and we're trying to make that bigger. So I'm strongly, supportive of what they're doing at BCIB. Right to the top, they are genuine and, I know them all. I love them all.
I just worked with them, that two years in February, be, I've been on that site in April. Two years ago coming up will be the time I've been with BCIB, so it's been amazing for me. Oh, nice. Tell me what changes, tangible changes have you both seen sand felt on the work site since you've taken the title of being that go-to resource on top of becoming an associate manager? What are some tangible things that you think, it wasn't just BCIB that had been being.... the wards are so great.
the, contractors, the prime primary contractor, EllisDon is huge for allowing me, so much leeway. there's actually a plaque there. I'll, send you a picture of it. Just amazing. It's just, it became so sacred to us because this trying to be removed from our culture, like divide and conquer was, I think the reasoning behind getting to our resources. I'm just speculating now, but you had, a saying from our elders and all of our Coast Salish people in our longhouses, 'cause they're so sacred to us.
And even more so after it was trying to be banished so it went underground. So we're able to never lose that. We didn't miss a stroke, we kept that alive. And the saying was, before you enter our longhouse, our sacred longhouse. There's a nail, there's a horseshoe, there's a spike on the door, and you can leave all your or your hate, anger, prejudice, all on this. And come in here with good feeling. And then when you leave, it's still there if you want it.
Something to that effect that we've actually, did that and it's on our site at Cowichan Hospital. That's amazing. So I felt that was pretty cool of them to accept that. Give me a little bit of leeway. Initially one of the guys was saying, Hey, we gotta put your face on this. Said, no, it's not me. This is our elders. This is the wisdom of our elders here. So sit's not about me, I'm just sharing what I've heard.
So do you feel, this is so incredible to hear and then it makes me think of the relationship that indigenous people have had, not only with the residential school, but with the medical system. Do you feel like you're turning a new page on sort of the history and how we can make sure we're not repeating it? Because hospitals have been such a tragic portion of the residential school system. Are you feeling, hopeful?
I think there's a huge change because when I was just a youngster, my grandmother was still with us. She had no belief in hospitals or doctors. An Uncle that was in a bad accident and went through that and never brought to the hospital. And that rationale that they had came from their treatment at the hospitals. Was just horrendous stories behind that. But I won't get into that. But even up to in this last few years, you still hear stories of, but.
I strongly feel that, our history coming forward is gonna change a lot of that. That's really what I see as a huge positive. If you know more about us or know our story. And we'd be very naive to say, Hey, that's only happened to us. Every continent has been at the mercy of this. Like we just happened to be the most recent ones. So for, us to say woe is me, woe is me, and we're not looking for a pity party here.
We're just saying, Hey, let's share a history and, we're gonna have a whole lot more respect with each other as a direct result of that. We bring that into the workplace with our ROI system there. I strongly believe that It's a big plus for us, Wow. Thanks Bubba. I really appreciate you sharing that. We're gonna learn some more. We're gonna talk some more. We'll be right back. Welcome back to Our Native Land. I'm here with my guest, Bubba Qwulshemut. We're talking about so many things.
I want to talk a bit more about resilience, which we talked about earlier. During the commercial break, we were talking about it's time. When did you decide it was time? We were talking about being on that site and sharing, what was the one thing that kind of just pushed you over the edge and say, I have to do this now. I had to fall in with it. I mentioned earlier, the ROI and that gets down to, I believe there were, 30 years that was devoted by my first boss.
Indigenous relations to BCIB and she's Brenda Ireland. She's paramount to the success for BCIB. I strongly believe that, and it's because of that. They, went full into supporting, the ROI because of the research that she did over that 30 year span. And there were actual facts between Canada and Indigenous first Nations all across Canada. And then seeing just the full gravity that I really felt, wow, I need to be a part of this. I need to throw in with this as much as I can.
'cause that's a huge, lesson for us all. And there's nothing but positive that can come from that. And I believe that's probably when I, really believed it, so I had to be a witness to the ROI. And I can never shut up. I started talking about it and next thing you know, I'm, telling my story. I'm kicking in my input where there was a position there, knowledge share that, was supposed to be doing that. And I basically did it without realizing it. I was doing that. I was playing that role.
And here, I'm, just one of the employees going through the course. And then they recognize that, wow, maybe we need this guy on board. So that's kind how it started for me. And those stories that you're sharing... we like to try and keep things here very positive and talk about the future, but there it comes from a place like everybody gets inspired. Whether you're a writer or an actor, something motivates you and sometimes it comes from a place that's not so great.
And I was noticing you, you'd shared a couple things that I just wanted to talk about. Racism was just such a big part of what's obviously fueling you to talk about these things. Now you were talking about times where you weren't allowed to go on the upper car deck of BC Ferries. You've talked about going to the theater and, you'd have to sit on the upper deck. You weren't allowed to sit and where everybody else was sitting.
And you worked at a golf course, you had to go through the back and you weren't allowed to go through the front. Yeah, that's right. I don't think people realize how much of it was out there. Yeah, it was. We were just young kids going to the theater. The old theater. I think it was on Station Street and I was probably too young to realize the full gravity of what was going on there other than we were just directed to sit up on the upper deck and it was only First Nations up there.
And it was later on. And then I started to realize, wow, they were being segregated at that time. I think there were still signs, on the bar that if you were allowed in there, you had to take the side entrance, at the local pubs in that time. And when we're on the ferries. We were directed never to come off of our vehicles and go up, with everybody else. Yeah. yeah, those was, those are, things that, as a little one you don't really realize that was what was going on.
That was later on... you mentioned the golf course. And, yeah, you start at six o'clock in the morning, so your breaks at 10 and I'd be mowing the ninth green at that time. With nine holes at the Cowichan Golf Club. And, Yes, I'd go do that, I'd drop in there and order, my lunch, which is breakfast at the time, right? So order that and mow the green and come in. Figured, I got it set up. I'm gonna have my lunch there. And I was sitting down in, the common room where everybody's coming in.
These guys came in, it's early bird starting, came in at the same time that I was in there. And first thing they did was ask me what the heck I was doing in there. And, I was directed to, only use the servant's entrance. And in sit in the back it was just a little table, like this two person table. And, that's where I was directed to, sit if I was gonna sit and eat. I'm glad that this doesn't exists anywhere for the most part. but there's still a fight by the sounds of it.
What it did for me was, Hey, I'm not gonna work here. And, I felt that I have to move forward. Anytime that I ever moved on, it had to be something better. I was a very young age, put out from home and it was one month into grade nine and, found myself, outta school. And, basically, trying to live with my late father and his mate. And, that, that wasn't working out very well. So I ended up going out and I'd already been familiar with working on local farms.
Checking hay, digging post holes, irrigation, everything like that was just a very young age. I realized, hey, this benefits a worker there. And then moving forward, These guys I'd see on those work sites. Saying, this is backbreaking work. You're showing up and you're working hard and you're not dumb. Get yourself a trade. And I was always too embarrassed to tell, these guys that I didn't know what a trade was. Look at you now.
I would distinctly recall thinking, I don't know what a trade is, but I want one now. So that was a goal for me. These older guys that were encouraging me that way. I'd heard it several times. That trade is, something that's created some positivity in your life and for other people. We're gonna take a quick break. We're gonna end off on that positive note and talk more about it. Welcome back to Our Native Land. I'm here with my guest, Bubba Qwulshemut.
I want to end on talking about how you've managed to self-educate yourself to get to where you are in your career by pushing through so many barriers, and then how that's applying to your children and how that's inspired them. To have the success that they have today. Yeah. I was trying to be into the trade, so this was a driving force for me for so many years and realizing that I had to have a minimum grade 12 or equivalent. Challenging the GED did that for me.
So it opened up the doors for getting into the trade and once the opportunity came up, I just jumped on it. It is not just that, it's, up to that time I'd always been fishing and not so much hunting, but more fishing. But, harvesting off the land was something I wanted to teach the kids. So they were all well versed in being self-sustainable in the absence of a job. And then, of course, with the job thing, it was something that always supported them.
They always accompanied me to the work that I did as a service plumber. And, getting into the trade, It was very challenging there because I was, limited on what my educational background. So I, had to, educate myself on some of the plumbing, go home up till five in the morning getting ready at five 30 to come to Commo in college. Yeah. And then the, that four years of that was, very challenging, but determined.
And the first two weeks of those first two years, I'd be walking the halls with not even an acknowledgement walking through the halls. But after they started to get to know me that, hey, this guy knows some stuff. 'cause I'd been on hands working the tools so many years. I knew a lot of stuff, so the theory behind it really, it just went hand in hand. I was to my success, I think that was very paramount with the kids. Now, both the boys have followed me into the trades.
my youngest boys, call him Baby Huey. He's a pipe fitter now. he's working lower mainland, doing fire suppression. And his older brother's working on the hospital site now, got his hours in for plumbing. He's doing some steam fitting and pipe fitting hours now. He'll be racking those up to do the boiler rooms on that. And of course, Adrian and my daughter. And, all of them, each is, making their own names. They absolutely are.
And it's, thanks to some hope and some determination by you to, get them there and, they're hunters and fisher fishermen and women too, which is amazing. Yes, for sure. Awesome. Bubba, thank you so much for taking the time to come here, talk about your story, getting through some of the rough patches, but also ending up here on a beautiful note about the success that you're creating for not only your children, but for people on the workforce that, want that education too. So thank you so much.
Appreciate it. Thanks for having me. It's an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much, Bubba, and thank you. The listener and viewer for taking the time to watch another episode of Our Native Land. We'll see you next week.