We would like to acknowledge FPCC Board Members Carla Lewis (Chair) and Gerry Lawson (Vice-Chair) for their years of service. In the time they have been on FPCC’s board, both Carla and Gerry have contributed immensely to First Nations language, arts and cultural heritage revitalization in B.C.
Interested in applying to join the FPCC Board or Advisory Committee? Scroll to the end for more info.
Misiyh (thank you) Carla Lewis
Carla Lewis, a member of the Gitdumden Clan of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, first became involved with FPCC through the Mentor-Apprentice Program. As a member of FPCC’s Advisory Committee, Carla attended an FPCC Annual General Meeting on her traditional territories. She became a Board member six years ago and has been Board Chair since 2021.
Carla’s career has always focused on cultural revitalization and best practices for ways of lifting up and strengthening First Nations cultures. She has a strong belief that culture is healing.
“No matter what area we’re looking at, whether it’s education, economics or healthcare, culture is at the root of what it is to be Indigenous and to build up our strength and identity and reclaim some of the things that were taken from us,” says Carla. “My work on the board has involved integrating culture in the way we do business as a board – ensuring we are Indigenizing and decolonizing the way that we work together, how we build relationships and how we envision the future for the next seven generations and beyond.”
Reflecting on her time on the board, some highlights for Carla have included seeing the impact of FPCC’s funding and initiatives on the ground. Here are some of her favourite moments: “When we see kids drumming or people coming in and they’re singing in their language. Or hearing about [a community’s] language fluency going up. The ceremony for the pentl’ach revitalization, I think that was pretty amazing, and we made sure that we were celebrating and honouring that because that was a huge achievement.”
When asked about her hopes for First Nations languages, arts and heritage revitalization in B.C., Carla says:
“I hope that we get to the point of fully realizing our potential and our goals. For language, for example, it’s not just about creating one language program or project. It’s about creating fluency in the community, it’s [a] revitalized community, nation-wide, and I think that’s the same for arts and heritage as well…realizing their full potential and being uplifted in their rightful place in the way that we live in our communities and in the province.”
ǧiáxsix̌a (thank you) Gerry Lawson
Ma̓la̓gius Gerry Lawson is from the Heiltsuk Nation. He had known about FPCC’s support of First Nations language revitalization in B.C. for years, but it was the release of FPCC’s 2014 Report on the Status of B.C. First Nations Languages that sparked his interest in becoming a Board member.
As part of his work running the Language Lab at UBC’s Museum of Anthropology, Gerry had spent time advocating for more funding to support communities in language revitalization and says “when FPCC’s language report came out, it gave people a much better footing for the advocacy we’d already been trying to do.”
Reflecting on his six years on the Board, Gerry saw his time as a huge growth experience and learning opportunity.
“I was really fortunate to learn from and work with [the late] Dr. Trish Rosborough when she was on the Board – she was really very good and graceful in the way she navigated difficult things.”
The HELISET TŦE SḰÁL Conference in 2019 and the FirstVoices anniversary event this past February were both tremendous points of pride for Gerry. “HELISET because of the way that Indigenous Language Champions’ voices were brought to the forefront in that conference, unlike any language conference I’d seen before. And with FirstVoices, it was incredible watching all of the First Nations language teams come together from across the province to be celebrated.”
Gerry has huge hopes for the future of First Nations languages, arts and cultural revitalization in B.C. and for FPCC.
“For me, I see a point where all of our languages are healthy and we’re speaking them daily and our art forms are contemporary, and not celebrated just as a cultural practice or link to the past.
As a Crown corporation, I’ve seen FPCC bridging towards something that is more mainstream, where we’re not supporting recovery from trauma in our communities, but instead celebrating the amazing vibrancy of language, arts and culture.”
“Carla and Gerry made many contributions to FPCC, and their leadership will continue to shape the organization.” says FPCC CEO Tracey Herbert. “They kept community and culture at the center of who we are as an organization while also challenging us to be innovative thought leaders. We were incredibly fortunate to be guided by their leadership and wisdom.”
We raise our hands to Carla and Gerry for their dedication, service and commitment to FPCC and the communities we serve!
We Are Currently Recruiting Board and Advisory Committee Members!
Board Members are appointed to two-year terms and support FPCC by setting direction and policy, providing leadership and advocating on behalf of community members.
Our Advisory Committee supports the Board with one representative from each of the 36 First Nations languages in B.C. Committee members have an opportunity to participate in province-wide networking and to share their expertise.
If you have a passion for supporting First Nations arts, cultural heritage and languages learn more about how to apply here.
In the order they appear in this story, language recordings were shared from the public Witsuwit’sen and Haíɫzaqvḷa sites on FirstVoices.com using Soundcite.