Description:
Joe Gallagher, who is Tla'amin First Nation, and John Matterson, who is white, were friends as teenagers but went their separate ways before reconnecting 35 years later. This is their story of truly getting to know one another.
Brief description: k'ʷunəmɛn Joe Gallagher is Coast Salish from the ɬaʔəmen (Tla'amin) Nation. His mom Ann was from the χʷɛmaɬku (Homalco) Nation, and his father Norman was also from the ɬaʔəmen (Tla'amin) Nation. Both ɬaʔəmen (Tla'amin) and χʷɛmaɬku (Homalco) are part of the Ey7á7juuthem(EYE-a-jooth-um) speaking people which also includes the ƛohos (Klahoose) and θaɬaθtuxʷ (K'ómoks) Peoples, and who's rich territory is the northernmost part of the overall Coast Salish territory. Joe was born in the heart of the ɬaʔəmen territory in a mill town settler colonialists named Powell River and was raised on the Sliammon (ɬaʔəmen) Indian Reserve #1. Joe has overcome many roadblocks to become a leader on the soccer field, in his community and beyond. He proudly represented the ɬaʔəmen Nation in the highly competitive First Nations Soccer circuit and played at an elite level with the University of Victoria and with several teams in the Vancouver Island Premier league. During his playing days Joe also represented Canada in Futsal. As a community leader Joe has worked with First Nations Peoples in areas of health, governance, community and economic development, business development, intergovernmental affairs, and treaty negotiations. He was the executive lead in the formation of a new health governance partnership between BC First Nations, the province of British Columbia and the government of Canada. This work, a first for Canada, led to Joe being the founding Chief Executive Officer for the First Nations Health Authority, supporting the health and wellness for the over 200 First Nations. Joe currently holds the role of Vice President of Indigenous Health and Cultural Safety at the Provincial Health Services Authority in BC.He has established himself as a visionary Executive Leader building a bridge between the First Nations and non-First Nations worlds based on cultural values and principles to advance issues for mutual benefit.Joe also continues his work today through his consulting firm Qoqoq Consulting Ltd. (www.qoqoq.ca).