Wednesday, September 27, 2023
7:00 - 8:30 PM
North Vancouver District Public Library (Lynn Valley Branch)

Registration Required

“My name is Sam George. In spite of everything that happened to me, by the grace of the Creator, I have lived to be an Elder.”

In honour of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, join the North Shore libraries for an evening with Squamish Elder Sam George. His recent memoir, The Fire Still Burns: Life In and After Residential School, is an unflinching look at the horrors of a childhood in the Indian Residential School system and the long-term effects on survivors. It illustrates the healing power of one’s culture and the resilience that allows an individual to rebuild a life and a future.

Elder George will talk about his story and speak with co-authors Jill Yonit Goldberg, Liam Belson, Dylan MacPhee, and Tanis Wilson about how the book came together.

The evening will begin with a Traditional Welcome offered by Chepx̱imiya Siyam’ Chief Janice George of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation).

Sam George is a Squamish Elder and a survivor of the Canadian Indian Residential School system. A retired longshoreman and semi-retired drug and alcohol counsellor, Sam now works as an educator with the Indian Residential School Survivors Society and speaks with students and community groups about his experiences.

Jill Yonit Goldberg is a writer, and a literature and creative writing instructor at Langara College in Vancouver, BC, where she teaches the Writing Lives course in which students collaborate with Indian Residential School survivors who are writing their memoirs. She worked with Sam George to bring his story to the page.

Liam Belson, Dylan MacPhee, and Tanis Wilson are students who participated in the Writing Lives course where they worked with Sam George to write his story.

Chepx̱imiya Siyam’ Chief Janice George is a hereditary chief of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw. She is an acclaimed weaver, educator, and trained museum curator. George is the co-founder of the L’hen Awtxw Weaving House and the co-author of Salish Blankets: Robes of Protection and Transformation, Symbols of Wealth. Don’t miss her recent TedTalk, The Spirit Moves Like a Storm.

32 Books will be on-site to sell copies of The Fire Still Burns. You can also order the book from 32 Books in advance and have it brought to the event.

Free. Registration is required to secure your spot. Drop-in seating may be available but is not guaranteed.

This presentation is a collaboration between North Vancouver City Library, North Vancouver District Library and West Vancouver Memorial Library. Our libraries are located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. Listening to the stories of Residential School survivors is an act of reconciliation. We hope that you can join us for this special event.