PETITION: TRUE Truth & Reconciliation

The City of Vancouver, British Columbia bylaws require all vendors to possess a street vendors license to legally operate.

Vendor permits are accessible only through an annual lottery application system held in February with a non-refundable application fee, and only to applicants with a current registered business license, maintained liability insurance and payment of an annual permit fee (*subject to annual inflation and changes without notice), due by the end of April.

For vendors who submit a permit application along with their application fee who are not drawn in the annual lottery are denied the right to conduct their business; facing fines, enforcement of the Vancouver Police Department, and confiscation of personal and business property.

Regardless of Vancouver inhabiting the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, the same rules apply for First Nations, Inuit and Métis people, putting boundaries between the Indigenous people of so-called Canada and their abilities to make an income by own means, and lead by revitalized example for the Seven Generations.

Therefore, leading to a call for corrective action in the name of TRUE Truth and Reconciliation.

By signing this petition, you agree that First Nations, Inuit and Métis vendors should have the right to a cost free preferred selection process that immediately qualifies such vendors the rights to conduct Indigenous focused business on unceded territories without the boundaries of settler colonialism.

FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE

When we hear about Truth and Reconciliation, many wonder what that looks like, how it's presented, and the ways that it's honored.

But we wouldn't think there to be a line of confusion when it comes to respect and compassion in the area of topic … at least not for most.

But for a First Nations solopreneur having their business halted by city officials less than 36 hours prior to National Indigenous People's Day, in a month of recognition and celebration of Indigenous History, the ignorance is appallingly apparent.

As someone who prides themselves on being a good representation for my family, Haudenosaunee community and the Seven Generations, I firmly believe in following due processes. However, on the afternoon of June 19, 2025, those processes have put a boundary between myself and my ability to run my business and make an income on my own means.

It's disheartening to have this shock come in such distasteful timing after three years of scaling a successful traditionally focused business, and disgraceful on the part of the City of Vancouver to send such a loud message of disregard for true Truth and Reconciliation and disrespect of First Nations people simply trying to exist in a good way on unceded territory.

With the knowledge that the past, present, and future are happening simultaneously, it's important to consider Indigenous History Month not just about the past, but also the presence of the present moment and a revitalized future.

Can we consider a future where Truth and Reconciliation are more than trendy buzz words? A future reflective of a past when Indigenous people could exist and dream without the boundaries of colonization?

I stand firm and proud in my responsibilities to create such a world for the Seven Generations.

My story:

It was between 2021/2022 when I stood as a guardian of the Vancouver Art Gallery Residential School vigil.

It was through this journey that I would reconnect with beadwork, a traditional art form I lost touch with as a preteen, an unknowingly, at the time, result of intergenerational trauma.

As I was guided back to my lost hobby and artform by means of spiritual and cultural healing, many blessing were delivered to me, including the reunion of my lost Haudenosaunee relatives.

Today, this journey led by my connection to my ancestors and the pull to return to the memory of who I am has brought me to reflect on three years of the expedous growth of my traditionally focused art business.

This same journey has led me to the unwavering resilience I have to live a traditional path highly emphasized by the revitalization of my Mohawk community, and that of the various indigenous communities of Turtle Island.

So, when I returned to the site of the vigil that was displayed on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations in memory and honor of the baby ancestors of so-called Canada, I never expected to be presented with the level of settler colonialism that I had experienced on the afternoon of June 19th, 2025.

Following three years of successfully conducting my traditional business within Vancouver; one and a half years of which taking place in Robson Square, I was forcefully denied my rights to conduct my business within the City of Vancouver limits, and an income of my own means.

On a personal level, I feel as though my ability to celebrate my pride as an Indigenous woman in so-called Canada on Indigenous People's Day, and the remainder of Indigenous History Month has been stripped from me in the psychological ways that Phyllis Webstad recalls the Orange t-shirt given to her from her Grandmother being forcefully removed from her on the fateful day she arrived to St.Joseph Mission Residential School... unleashed on me the day before I was to celebrate a one year anniversary only obtained through the determination to heal and recover from Indigenous based trauma.

On a matriarchal level, I feel as though I have been called to action to shed light on the TRUTH of the true face of Truth & Reconciliation.

A truth fueled by false apologies, empty promises and systemic barriers.

My hope is to find an informative outlet to not only share my experience amongst the local Indigenous community, but to educate the non-indigenous community of the continued exhale faced by indigenous peoples simply existing on traditional territory despite the masquerade of so-called Truth and Reconciliation.

Crystaljoy Parman

Artist/Owner

Gifts From Gaia

giftsfromgaia.y2k@gmail.com