New Westminster to consider removing statue of judge involved in First Nations hangings

The City of New Westminster will consider removing a statue ofa judge involved in the hangings of six First Nation chiefs in the late 1860s.

City councillors will hear a motionMonday that the statue be removed as part of several measures to address reconciliation with First Nations.

The motionwas brought by councillors NadineNakagawa and ChuckPuchmayr.

Nakagawa, 36, says the motion is not about destroying the statue, but removing it from its place of power in front of the provincial courthouse in the city.

"How we tell the story of who he was as a figure in the history of British Columbia, but also the story of the ChilcotinWar and how that has affected Indigenous-settler relations until the current day," she said.

The motion saysthat in 1864 Judge Matthew Begbie presided overthe trial that resulted in the wrongful hangings ofChief Lhats'as, Chief Biyil, Chief Tilaghed, Chief Taqed, and Chief Chayses ofthe Tsilhqot'in Nation, and thatin 1865, Chief Ahan was also wrongfully hanged in New Westminster.

Deceived

At the time, the Tsilhqot'inchiefswere at war with the Colony of BritishColumbia, which was called theChilcotin War. The chiefsweredeceived into meeting with government officialsfor the purpose of peace talks. They were insteadarrested, tried and hanged.

In 2014 the provinceapologized to the Tsilhqot'inNation for hanging the chiefs and exonerated them. In 2018 the government of Canada also exonerated them.

In November 2018, Prime Minister Justin Trudeauwent to B.C.'s Central Interior and apologized to the First Nation in a special ceremony.

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The motion saysthe Begbie statue is a symbol of "the colonial era and this graveinjustice."

The statue is in Begbie Square outside of the provincial courthouse in New Westminster, off Carnarvon Street.

In addition to removing the statue, the motion would have the city speak with theTsilhqot'inNation about the history and legacy of Begbie and the effects his decisionshad on its people.

The motion would also have staff find an appropriate place for the statue and do consultations to find a place to tell the history of theChilcotin War.

If the statue is removed, it won't be the first time a statue of Begbie has come down.

In April 2017, the Law Society of B.C. announced it would removea statue of Begbie from its lobby as part of its efforts at reconciliation with First Nations.