8 - Friday, July 3, 1992 - North Shore News

Burrard Band celebrates memory of Moe Guss Memorial Canoe race set for July 4 and 5 at Deep Cove’s Cates Park

THE BURRARD Indian Band will be hosting The Moe Guss Memorial Canoe Race and Multicultural Event on July 4. and 5 at North Vancouver District’s Cates Park.

Moe Guss was the Burrard Band member who was tragically killed after being struck by a vehicle on the Dollarton Highway on Sept. 9, £990.

The event is being held to cele- brate the memory of Guss, lift the spirits of his family and to bring together the various cultures ‘that make up the North Shore com- munity.

Moe Guss was one of the canoe club’s most dedicated pullers, a

By Paul Hughes Contributing Writer

crucial position in canoe racing. “Every day he would quietly and humbly come down (to train- ing) and support canoe racing. He never complained. He was a role mode! for the rest of us to follow,’" said Angela George, manager of Burrard Canoe Club,

NATIVE AFFAIRS

and chairman of the Memorial Race Committee.

It was this unassuming, quiet quality of Guss’ that made a me- morial event in his name so at- tractive to the committee.

George pointed out that there have been many worthy band members around whose shoulders a memorial tribute could so easily drape.

“We could certainly name (the

Club welcomes Spirit of lakaya

HOLDING HANDS in a welcom- ing circie around the latest addi- tion to their racing fleet, members of the ®urrard Indian Band recently thanked Lim Loong Keng who provided the $10,500 neces- sary tO purchase the 50-foot Spirit of Takuya, an Il-paddle racing canoe used by the Burrard Canoe Club.

Elder Ernie George Sr. ied the group in a prayer celebrating the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The funds Keng provided will also buy a six-paddle canoe which ts sul] being carved.

Canoe racing is sill a vibrant facet of the Wurrard Band's culture.

Said) Burrard Chief Leonard George, **The canoe races are one of the physical and recreational events that we've managed to keep in place."

He added that his ancestors, while travelling their territories, would race from one place to another.

“That evolved over time until. in this era, it has developed into a fully competitive sport,” he said.

Training for the sport is rigor- ous.

Members of the Burrard Canoe Club practice every day starting in March and continuing throughout the summer.

The regimen includes dieting, long-distance running, and, of course, paddling the canoes, which they do every day for at least an hour.

“We like to encourage every person to be the best they can be,"’ said Angela George, manager of the club.

In thanking Lim Loong Keng, Matthew Thomas, economic de- velopment officer for the Burrard Band; pointed out how the arrival of the canoe has affected the en- thusiasm of the racers.

“When the (Spirit of Takaya) came, it pulled us together more,”’ he said.

Keng, after cutting the ribbon on the bow of the canoe, was presented with a five-foot replica of the Spirit of Takaya.

He thanked the gathering, not only for the model, but for mak- ing him feel a part of the com-

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LIM LOONG Keng (centre) accepts a model of the Spirit of Takaya from the manager of the Burrard Canoe Club, Angela George (on Keng's right), and Matthew Thomas.

munity.

“Think of it not as a gift,"’ he urged, ‘*but as a part of you.”

Lim Loong Keng is CEO of Abbey Woods Developments Ltd., a company that has entered into partnership with the Burrard band

to develop nearly a third of the reserve's lands.

The development is expected to bring greater employment to the teserve which is currently sufferi- ng from high unemployment per- centages.

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event) after Chief Dan George who was a great man for our people, but we chose Moe because he was so dedicated and didn’t receive anything in return,’’ she said.

The multicultural aspect of the memorial was planned purposely in an effort to create new lines of communication among races.

“‘We are striving to bring ali the cultures of our community together,”’ said George. ‘‘As natives we deal with undertones of prejudice every day. This stems from a lack of understanding of each other.”’

By staging the memorial, George hopes to increase cultural awareness and ‘“‘to bring all com- munities together in unity with our community.””

The memorial will entertainers from backgrounds.

Among them will be native rock groups, Scottish, Japanese, Ha- waiian, and native dancers, in- cluding Burrard’s own Children of Takaya Dance Troupe, a company that Moe Guss was personally in- voived with.

The drama group, Spirit Song, has also been asked to perform.

Twelve canoe races are planned for each day, ranging from the

feature varied

16-years-old-and-under Buck- skin's single paddle to the Men’s and Women’s 1! Paddle.

There will also be native events such as Sha Hal, the Bone Game Tournament, and a_ traditional salmon barbecue.

The memorial will start at 11 a.m. on July 4, with the opening ceremony.

Admission is by donation only, which will be used to offset the event’s production costs.

The staff of the memorial committee, those who worked on organizing the event and the entertainers are volunteering their time and expertise.

Any profits realized from the memorial will be used to help fund Burrard’s canoe race pro- gram.

The festivities will throughout the weekend.

Said Burrard Chief Leonard George, ‘‘We want to invite. other cultures. We don’t come together often enough as a community for fun things —- eating, celebrating, daucing. We make assumptions about one another. We hope this event will create new lines of communication.

“Also it’s a strong, powerful way to say goodbye to someone we loved,’’ he said.

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