The First Nations Summit plans to raise an old grievance with the B.C. government in the New Year. They want murals of bare–breasted aboriginal women removed from the rotunda of the legislature.


Legislature mural
Before the last provincial election, former NDP premier Ujjal Dosanjh agreed to remove the paintings.

At the time, Liberal house leader Gary Collins said the NDP was simply playing politics. He said a legislative committee would consider the idea after the election, when the political climate was cooler.

But nothing has happened since then, and government sources confirm this is an issue that's simply not on their agenda.

Ed John, an executive of the First Nations Summit, says he wants to raise the issue again – in the spirit of reconciliation.

His colleague, Lydia Hwitsum, agrees. "As long as you continue to perpetuate an inaccuracy that way, it's going to make the hurdle even greater to find the truth," she says.

Removing the murals intact wouldn't be easy, or cheap. They're painted right on the walls, and it's estimated the cost of taking them down could top $250,000.

The mural was painted in 1932. Some historians have said the painting, which is meant to depict the colonization of British Columbia, may be distasteful, but is still accurate, and should be preserved.