Andy and Phyllis Chelsea met during their years spent at the St.
Joseph's Mission School in Williams Lake, BC. Like the thousands forced
into the church-run residential school system, Andy and Phyllis are no
strangers to the ongoing difficulties experienced by most Indigenous
peoples in Canada. The couple married in 1964 but brought the trauma of
their mission school years into their marriage. The Chelseas' struggle
with alcohol came to an abrupt halt in 1971 when their daughter, Ivy,
then aged seven, stated that she and her brothers did not want to live
with their parents because of the drinking, that they would stay with
their Grandmother, their Kye7e. Andy and Phyllis chose sobriety to
preserve their family. This decision sparked a lifetime of activism for
the couple, which included overcoming the challenges caused by Canada's
disregard for their community. Throughout the twenty-seven years Andy
was Chief of the Alkali Lake Esk'et First Nation, the Chelseas worked to
eradicate alcoholism and took steps to overcome the rampant
intergenerational trauma that existed for the people of Alkali Lake.
Their efforts, their story and the perseverance of the members of their
village have inspired Indigenous groups facing similar struggles
throughout the world.
Resolve: The Story of the Chelsea Family and a First Nation Community's
Will to Heal explores the harrowing, personal journey of the Chelseas.
By combining personal interviews and historical records, biographer
Carolyn Parks Mintz shares the Chelseas' transition from residential
schools to state-sanctioned reservations to international recognition of
their activism in the face of ongoing repression. A simultaneous
celebration of strength and a condemnation of systemic racism, Resolve
is a personal and deeply moving story thatcalls for a closer look at the
status of Canada's reconciliation efforts from the Chelseas'
perspective.
