Rueben George is in the running for a City of Vancouver Book Award, marking more literary acclaim for the səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) author's moving debut.
Published last August, It Stops Here: Standing Up for Our Lands, Our Waters, and Our People is a touching memoir detailing George’s own experience confronting colonialism and his Nation’s continuous fight to reclaim their lands, waters, law, and food systems.
George, one of the foremost leaders in the resistance of the Trans Mountain Pipeline project, issues a call to action to readers to protect their own lands. As grandson of the notable Chief Dan George, he delves into his own family’s history and recounts the struggle the Tsleil-Waututh have harboured in battling to overcome colonial threat.
“We just want to help and share our story, because it’s the truth,” said George. “I want the book's readers to see that our world is in trouble. You turn on the TV and there’s trauma. What I hope is for people to be inspired to create change in their own life.”
The book, which is also shortlisted for the George Ryga Award and longlisted for the Science Writers and Communicators of Canada Award, may have had a short existence but the response from its countless readers has been profound, said George.
“I do hear that people want to create change in their life, and be better human beings and do something about where we live and protect it. That’s a big response.”
While he never envisioned awards in his future, George had hoped the book would be impactful enough to encourage readers to reconsider their approach to caring for themselves and the natural land.
“I pray that they will connect to their own spirit, will find it, and will incorporate it into their life,” he said, adding how one particularly influenced supporter of the book was the person he least expected – its co-author.
George wrote It Stops Here alongside award-winning author Michael Simpson, a writer who has written extensively on Indigenous communities and their conflicts with the oil and gas pipelines in Canada.
“He was a wonderful human being to work with, and through this journey that we had we did tremendous healing together,” said George. “We became good brothers, and we did a whole bunch of beautiful things together and healed together. He himself would say, 'I came to help do this book, and what I got is help in return'.”
The pipeline may have been built, but the work George has carried out over the previous decade has encouraged others to assert their Indigenous rights and be more vocal about the causes they believe in, he said. That was ultimately the purpose of the book, and it will be for all future projects, he said.
The debut author is currently “jotting things down” for his next page turner, which will be a guide on how the George family incorporates the Tsleil-Waututh culture and spiritual teachings into all aspects of life, he said, whether that be business or personal relationships.
There’s also a movie in the making, one that discusses the relationship between psychedelics with healing, but he’s unable to divulge too much on that one just yet.
Until then, George's debut book will remain as the focal point – with three nominations under its belt and plenty of praise from readers, its time in the sun isn't over yet.
Mina Kerr-Lazenby is the North Shore News’ Indigenous and civic affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
