Post by Starsteward on Apr 14, 2023 15:43:57 GMT -8
Starsteward: Very interesting detail about passengers being housed in a residential school... probably the only time that building was used for noble ends. Thanks for relaying that. I've never been clear on the exact meaning of irony, but maybe that qualifies.
The notion of a First Nations family driving up to a BC Ferries toll booth in 1962 and being told that they had to stay in their car for the passage from the mainland to Vancouver Island strikes me as a stretch. Would it have been done by sight, or by the production of some ID card? Doesn't quite ring true. Still, the origin of that elder's allegation definitely invites some research.
Back in the early early days "training" for catering staff was minimal and in the deck and engine room departments, many of the early employees came from C.P.,
Union and Blackball locally and there were many, many officers, deck crew and members of the catering department that came from the British Isles and elsewhere,
where racism was very prevalent.
The Elder's allegation regarding the racist practice of tell First Nations travellers that they had to remain on the car deck during the crossing 'may' have been an isolated incident from a roughish employee who knew that senior officers wouldn't be aware of this injustice as officers rarely prowled the car decks during a crossing.
In other words, perhaps it was a crew member just being an idiot.