Carmen Galligos was one of the speakers during Tla’amin Treaty celebrations on April 9. Here is her talk, followed by her personal biography.

Carmen Galligos

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak as a Tla’amin youth today. Thank you for bringing us all together for this special time. It’s tough living far from where my heart lives, so I’m grateful for times like this.

I’m so excited for what lies ahead of us. We will have so much opportunity to renew and strengthen our relationships with each other, with our lands and with our culture.

I’m looking forward to the rights to share our traditional territory and teachings now, and the comfort that they will be preserved long enough to share with future generations. We are following the footsteps of our ancestors. As we start to blossom into this new era, it’s important to remember the core teachings that our ancestors have left behind.

Without our Taow (teachings), we wouldn’t be here to enjoy what lies ahead of us. We are also following our current elders and leaders, and someday soon we will need to step into these shoes. Before that happens, if any of my fellow youth are on the fence about pursuing something, I encourage you to believe in yourself and go for it.

As a youth, there are so many open doors for us now. Let’s get out there and strive for who we want to be. Let’s go farther than we’ve ever been before and make our families proud. It’s inspiring to see how far our community members have gone in the past. I’m sure each of you can think of an example of someone who inspires you.

Each time one of us works hard and succeeds, it makes us stronger as a whole nation. It’s been a long haul to get to today and I can raise my hands to all the hard work that everybody has put in. Let’s carry on from today forward as one. We will be our strongest as we stand together.

Carmen’s Biography

“I’m in my first year in the civil engineering technology program at Camosun College. I’ll graduate from here as a civil engineering technologist and then I will have the opportunity to bridge to a university to complete becoming an engineer.”

“I chose to study in this program because its something that really interests me. The courses in this program sit well with the areas I’m strong in academically.”

“We’re also in a time of constant innovation and growth right now, all over BC and even in Tla’amin. There’s always new infrastructure being created. It would be a dream to work as an engineer in my own community or possibly other First Nations communities, helping them meet their goals.”

“I know how proud everyone is of our new Governance House and it would be great to work towards helping people be proud of the environment they come from.”