Celebrating the depth and diversity of BC publishing
On Wednesday, August 30th at 7pm, join Massy Arts Society, Massy Books, SFU Library, and SFU Public Square for a special evening with prominent environmental activist, spiritual leader, and Sundance Chief, Rueben George, for the launch of his book, It Stops Here: Standing up for Our Lands, Our Waters, and Our People. The event will be moderated by Andrea Crossan and feature co-author Michael Simpson and special guests.
It Stops Here is a healing, personal account of one man’s confrontation with colonization that illuminates the philosophy and values of a First Nation on the front lines of the fight against an extractive industry, colonial government, and the threat to the life-giving Salish Sea.
“Rueben George is a force of nature—literally. He is carrying on his family’s long history protecting nature in all its forms. Devastating extractive practices in the form of pipelines, mining, clearcutting, and overfishing threatens the health, safety, and wellbeing to Indigenous lands, waters, and all of nature. Rueben’s book is a powerful call to action rooted in the teachings of his ancestors, to gather warriors from all nations and take back control over our collective futures.” —Dr. Pamela Palmater, Mi’kmaw lawyer, professor, and Indigenous rights advocate from Eel River Bar First Nation
Registration is free/by donation, open to all and required for entrance.
It Stops Here: Standing up for Our Lands, Our Waters, and Our People will be available to purchase before and after the event. There will be an opportunity for book-signing following the moderated portion of this event.
Venue & Accessibility
The event will be hosted at the Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema at 149 West Hastings Street at the Downtown SFU campus.
We will reserve 20 seats for elderly community members who do not operate computers/ are otherwise unable to register.
Covid Protocols: Masks keep our community safe and although not mandatory at SFU, they are recommended (N95 masks are best as they offer the best protection). We ask if you are showing symptoms, that you stay home. Thank you kindly.
About the book
It Stops Here: Standing up for Our Lands, Our Waters, and Our People
It Stops Here is the story of the spiritual, cultural and political resurgence of a nation taking action to reclaim their lands, waters, law, and food systems in the face of colonization. It recounts the intergenerational struggle of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation to overcome the harms of colonization and the powerful stance they have taken alongside allies and other Indigenous nations across Turtle Island against the development of the Trans Mountain Pipeline—a fossil fuel megaproject on their unceded territories.
The book provides a firsthand account of this resurgence as told by Rueben George, one of the most prominent leaders of the widespread opposition to the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion. He has devoted more than a decade of his life to fighting the project and shares stories about his family’s deep ancestral connections to their unceded lands and waters, which are today more commonly known as Vancouver, British Columbia and the Burrard Inlet. Despite the systematic attempts at cultural genocide enacted by the colonial state, Rueben recounts how key leaders of his community, such as his grandfather, Chief Dan George, always taught the younger generations to be proud of who they were and to remember the importance of their connection to the inlet.
Part memoir, part call to action, It Stops Here urges us to prioritize the sacred over oil and extractive industries, while insisting that settler society honour Indigenous law and jurisdiction over unceded territories rather than seeing lands as natural resources to be exploited.
About the authors
RUEBEN GEORGE is Sundance Chief and a member of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN). After working as a family counsellor for twenty years, he became manager of the TWN’s Sacred Trust initiative to protect the unceded Tsleil-Waututh lands and waters from the proposed Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion. Over the past decade, he has travelled across the world and built alliances with Indigenous people fighting for water, land, and human rights, and has become an internationally renowned voice for such issues. Rueben has been adopted and made a Sun Dance Chief by two Lakota families, and incorporates his cultural and spiritual teachings in all aspects of his life and work.
MICHAEL SIMPSON is Lecturer in the School of Geography & Sustainable Development at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
About the moderator
ANDREA CROSSAN is a member of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. She is an award-winning radio journalist with over 30 years of experience, reporting from over a dozen countries, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Ukraine, South Africa, Uganda, and Brazil. She is currently the executive editor of the Global Reporting Centre (GRC), an independent news organization based out of UBC.
This project has been made possible by the Government of Canada. Ce projet a été rendu possible grâce au gouvernement du Canada.