Sunday there was a public memorial service for Rhonda Larrabee, and it was incredible to see how the community showed up. Elected folks from all three orders of government (and more than a few former electeds!), leaders form other First Nations, business and social service organizations, institutions from the police to fire to post-secondary education. The room was full, and all there to pay respects to a person whose name has been synonymous with New Westminster for three decades.
I was asked to say some words, and it was one of the hardest things I have had to write speaking notes around. It is hard to know how to balance speaking about Chief Larrabee the Legend and Rhonda the person, because they were both there in the room with us. But as the Mayor I wanted to assure I spoke mostly about what Chief Larrabee meant to the City and the community, why it was that this one woman filled the commons area of NWSS with so many people after her passing. Here is a bit of a summary of my thoughts from the day.
As a relative newcomer to New Westminster, I have never known a New Westminster without Rhonda. She has always been present – always here to remind us of her history, of her family’s history, of all of our histories. Rhonda was also always there to bless the people and organizations doing good work in this community. There is simply no-one else, certainly not my lifetime, who has had as large an impact on New Westminster as Rhonda, who has touched as many lives as Rhonda.
Her goal was to reclaim her Nation and her history, but in doing that with equal parts strength and grace, she helped this historic and most colonial of cities redefine how we see ourselves. Through that she made us a stronger and more just community. And right to the end, in our last conversation just a couple of weeks ago, she reminded me we have much more work to do.
She showed us a path and she raised strong daughters to carry the torch. There are now four generations of QayQayt members who are here to assure that legacy is not lost. In this way she achieved her life’s goal: honoring her mother, marking her grandparents place on these lands, and assuring that her ancestors are not forgotten.
One legacy she leaves behind is that every school child in New Westminster over the last decade grew up knowing words Qay Qayt. Knowing what it means in the literal sense as “resting place”, but also understanding that it means that there is a deeper history to this place and there are traditional keepers of this land – not in the distant past, but here with us today.
As those children grow older, they learn how Rhonda’s family was separated from this land, how Rhonda was separated from her own family’s past, and they learn the story of a single powerful and brave woman who made it her life’s work to rebuild those connections. That itself is an inspiration – believe in yourself and your power to make change thought strong convictions. A Tribe of One can change the world.
The Legend of Chief Rhonda Larrabee will go on, and I am certain will grow over time. At the same time, there was a mosaic of photos and words form the family to help us all spend some time thinking about Rhonda the warm and caring human being. The proud Mom and Grandma (and great grandma and auntie), the softball player, the seamstress, the dancer and fan of classic rock (Elvis!), the companion and the friend.
I feel lucky to have known Rhonda, to have broken much bread with her at dinners and events, to have been the recipient of her advice, of her occasional chiding, of her forgiveness and her grace, and I have incredible gratitude for the kindness she showed me.
Rhonda gave a great gift to this community, and I hope us all holding in our hearts the inspiration of her story and the joyful memories of our times together is the gift we all give back to her.