Canada became a country in 1867. Here's what happened in the five years prior (just in B.C.)

Smallpox arrives in Victoria. Colonial authorities refuse to vaccinate local Indigenous people. Instead they tow canoes full of sick people up the coast, unleashing a deadly pandemic.

This coincides with the peak of the Cariboo gold rush, a blood-soaked land grab facilitated by devastating waves of disease.

The same year, gold is discovered on the Stikine. Smaller gold rushes pop up all over B.C. in this period.

1864 - Tsilhqot'in survivors, starving and scarred by smallpox, take food from a road building crew trying to punch through from the coast into their territory to explore for gold. The foreman threatens the survivors with re-infection. They organize and fight back.

The Tsilhqot'in were and are a sovereign nation defending their territory. They respond to the threat of biological warfare by killing the invaders. Colonial authorities lure six chiefs to "peace talks," abduct them and publicly execute them.

The same year, the vicious bigot Joseph Trutch becomes land commissioner. He uses depopulation by pandemic as a justification to shrink reserves. Under his authority the colonial government refuses to acknowledge Indigenous title, or negotiate treaties.

In 1867 Canada became a country, which B.C. joined in 1871. The next year, smallpox breaks out again.

It is very difficult to read history and conclude there is much to celebrate about these years. Maybe instead we can use #Canada153 for learning and reflection. #CanadaDay2020