‘To a path of healing’

Now You Know Me: Seeing the Unhidden Truth in Settler Colonialism
by k’ʷunəmɛn Joe Gallagher and John Matterson

Surrey: Hancock House, 2024
$24.95  /  9780888397829

Reviewed by Kenneth Favrholdt

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This is the history of two friends, one Indigenous, the other white, both born in 1961, who grew up together in Tla’amin and Powell River on the British Columbia coast, then moved apart after high school, and connected for a couple of years at the University of Victoria, and many years later met again at a restaurant in Vancouver in 2019.  

Now You Know Me is an intimate account of their lives and careers in seeking to understand their identities and how that search gave meaning to their lives. John recounts, “Joe and I first met when we were 13 and we became good friends…We played on the same soccer teams. All these years later, I also now understand that soccer was much more than just a game for Joe. It was a major component in establishing his identity.”  Says John, “Joe was learning about Tla’amin culture through soccer.”    

Joe Gallagher was born in Powell River and raised on the nearby Sliammon Indian Reserve #1. Joe begins with an introduction to his family and to Sliammon, the old name for Tla’amin,

…a typical Indian reserve when I was growing up, created by the Indian Act, with a church in the centre. The deliberate genocidal actions of settler colonialism meant the Tla’amin Nation was alienated from its territories, stripped of its culture and language; generations of children were taken to residential school, and the community was left to exist with high unemployment and low levels of education. Alcoholism was prevalent. I grew up in a household where both patents were survivors of residential schools and trying to raise a family in that environment.

John Matterson, a non-First Nations person also grew up in Powell River and had a career in executive roles for software companies. His upbringing, John says, had a particularly “white-world bias’” which demonstrated the need “to take responsibility, show humility, open my mind, … and move forward in my allyship with First Nations.”

Joe was recruited by the BC Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, working with the First Citizens Fund and Economic Development, later as the director of the department. He then returned to his band to support the work of the Tla’amin Treaty negotiations in the 1990s.

When the two met, after more than 30 years, Joe had become the founding CEO of the First Nations Health Authority which had built a “BC First Nations organization run by First Nations for First Nations.” Joe received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from UVic in 2019.  John states, “I was proud to know the man he had become, how committed he was to his cause, and all that Joe had accomplished as a First Nations man. He rose to become a highly respected and accomplished soccer player, and CEO of the First Nations Health Authority.”

Joe succinctly describes what he learned as CEO:

To successfully build a First Nations health and wellness organization that all First Nations in BC could be proud of, it had to be grounded on our knowledge and teachings. To be disciplined in First Nations health governance, it was essential to begin this work with the knowledge and teachings of the host nations where the FNHA head office was located. To begin this, I reached out to Qut-same – Leonard George, Knowledge Keeper, chief, and highly respected leader from the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. Working with Qut-same was a real gift that helped me grow as a First Nations leader. We spent a lot of time together, talking about First Nations and Indigenous teachings … Qut-same would talk about being lifelong learners and of seeking knowledge from Knowledge Keepers, from First Nations communities and from spiritual leaders from around the world.

The book is a series of 54 vignettes that covers expansive ground, telling the history of First Nations in Canada, colonization, and settler colonialism.  Chapter 11, for example speaks of Mary Galligo, Joe’s great-great grandmother (nee Adams) and his great-great grandfather, Joe Galligos, of Chilean descent, and how settler colonialism “was doing all it could to make all First Nations and Indigenous peoples … disappear.” Mary witnessed the loss of Tla’amin traditional land and being restricted to the reserve.  The transition from their ancient First Nations way of life to when Mary died in 1962, happened in front of her eyes.

The pulp and paper mill, for which Powell River is well-known, was built when First Nations were forcibly removed from Lot 450 which makes up most of the municipality of Powell River. The treaty settlement, that Joe was an advisor to, unfortunately included nothing from Lot 450, and title to only 2.6% of Tla’amin traditional lands.

Joe speaks about the need to change the name of Powell River, named after BC’s first Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Dr. Israel W. Powell, who was responsible for opening two Indian residential schools in the province, and supporting an amendment to the Indian Act in 1884, banning the potlatch. “Changing the name does no harm to the people that live here, but it will mean a lot to the people of Tla’amin” Joe writes. As of the time of this publication (2025), the name change has not occurred although the proposed name – qathet — has become the appellation to the regional district.

Now You Know Me should serve as guide for everyone on how to learn from each other about what truth and reconciliation really means. The book is uniquely composed, giving voice to both men through alternating passages. It is a perfect composition, touching on many topics in 54 short chapters of roughly 300 pages, that is quick to read.

Now You Know Me is a window into the lives of two men but more that that, a door that opens to a path of healing.  John states “I started this journey ignorant of First Nations at best, and at worst, I bought into many common stereotypes.”  For me, as a non-Indigenous reader, like John, I dealt with many preconceptions and gained a fuller understanding of the issues that First Nations face.  

In the book’s final words, Joe thanks John: “I appreciate him reaching out to me after all those years and have been fortunate for our respective journeys to reconnect at this time of our lives. So much has had to happen in both of our lives for us to be willing to do this difficult work together.”

Joe goes on to say, “There is a very generous sprit within the First Nations community that took me time to understand. But once I did, I would pick up a lot of the good thoughts and feelings. The tricky part is acknowledging that as human beings we are not perfect…”

This a very personal book that carries a profound message of what Canadians need to learn if reconciliation is to be realized. I highly recommend this work to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of First Nations issues.

A final note:   The beautiful artwork on the cover of the book by Athena Picha and Shane Pointe who draw on the history – the white owl representing Joe’s wisdom and leadership; the quartz crystal signifying his ability to communicate clearly; the North Star representing his moral compass; the firmament representing all that is natural and supernatural; and the soccer ball representing Joe’s connection with John and the world beyond the reserve.

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Kenneth Favrholdt is a freelance writer, historical geographer, and museologist with a BA and MA (Geography, UBC), a teaching certificate (SFU), and certificates as a museum curator. He spent ten years at the Kamloops Museum & Archives, five at the Secwépemc Museum and Heritage Park, four at the Osoyoos Museum, and was past archivist of Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc.  He has written extensively on local history in Kamloops This Week, the former Kamloops Daily News, the Claresholm Local Press, and other community papers. Ken has also written book reviews for BC Studies and articles for BC History, Canadian Cowboy Country Magazine, Cartographica, Cartouche, and MUSE (magazine of the Canadian Museums Association). He taught geography courses at Thompson Rivers University and edited the Canadian Encyclopedia, geography textbooks, and a commemorative history for the Town of Oliver and Osoyoos Indian Band. Ken has undertaken research for several Interior First Nations and is now working on books on the fur trade of Kamloops and the gold rush journal of John Clapperton, a Nicola Valley pioneer and Caribooite. He lives in Kamloops. [Editor’s note: Kenneth Favrholdt has recently reviewed books by Leigh Joseph, James R. Gibson, Patrick Brode, Taiaiake Alfred, Wayne McCrory, and Michael Hood & Tom Jenkins for The British Columbia Review.]

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The British Columbia Review

Interim Editors, 2023-26: Trevor Marc Hughes (non-fiction), Brett Josef Grubisic (fiction)
Publisher: Richard Mackie

Formerly The Ormsby Review, The British Columbia Review is an on-line book review and journal service for BC writers and readers. The Advisory Board now consists of Jean Barman, Wade Davis, Robin Fisher, Barry Gough, Hugh Johnston, Kathy Mezei, Patricia Roy, and Graeme Wynn. Provincial Government Patron (since September 2018): Creative BC. Honorary Patron: Yosef Wosk. Scholarly Patron: SFU Graduate Liberal Studies. The British Columbia Review was founded in 2016 by Richard Mackie and Alan Twigg.

“Only connect.” – E.M. Forster