(LYTTON) Chris O’Connor was an original – unafraid to speak his mind, unintimidated by people in powerful positions and possessing a vision of Indigenous Reconciliation ahead of its time. So it is with great sadness that the New Pathways to Gold Society (NPTGS) Board of Directors mark his passing.

O’Connor died in hospital on April 29 He had faced a number of health challenges in the last few years, but that did not stop him from campaigning for the rebuilding of his beloved Village of Lytton (he served as its mayor from 1999-2008) and the Lytton First Nation community.

“Chris gave many years of service to Lytton and the Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities from Hope to Barkerville as well as well as the entire Fraser-Thompson region as a mayor, regional district representative and Co-Chair of our Society,” said NPTGS Co-Chair Brent Rutherford.

“He was an original thinker, always coming up with something outside the box. He will be sorely missed.”

O’Connor was the driving force behind (and founding Co-Chair of) NPTGS, bringing together a coalition of like-minded Indigenous and non-Indigenous community activists and leaders to form the non-profit organization in Lytton in 2007. Originally conceived as an 18-month project, NPTGS has for 16 years worked to build local economies in the Hope-Barkerville corridor via Indigenous Reconciliation, heritage tourism development and Multiculturalism. Since its founding, the Society has put Indigenous Reconciliation into action.

Byron Spinks, current NPTGS Secretary, was the founding Indigenous Co-Chair and worked with O’Connor to build the Society, making it a powerful voice for Indigenous Reconciliation. And that commitment showed itself in other ways.

“Chris was instrumental in developing an accord with all the Indigenous communities in the Lytton area to promote unity as we strived to gain control of our local services in health and education, something I as the former chief appreciated,” said Spinks, also a Lytton First Nation Councillor.

“His idea of reconciliation was breaking down the artificial barriers that divided the community. He recognized that rural residents – Indigenous and non-Indigenous – needed each other to counter economic forces and the urban pull of government.”

O’Connor served as NPTGS Co-Chair from 2007 to 2010 and was instrumental in the Society’s early successes. He conceived and organized NPTGS’ first public event, “Canada Day in The Canyon,” held in Yale in 2007 and featuring then-Lt.-Governor Iona Campagnola dressed in Governor James Douglas19th Century uniform delivering the famous “Stump Speech” of 1858 to a huge crowd.

But perhaps his most notable event was the “Proff vs. the Toff” debate in 2008 that pitted Professor Scott Rice of San Jose State University (founder of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest that mocked the prose style Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, namesake of the village of Lytton) against the Honourable Henry Lytton Cobbold, the great-great-great-grandson of the Victorian novelist and politician. The event generated international media coverage and O’Connor was interviewed by radio and TV outlets all over the globe.

O’Connor was instrumental in the decision to rename the Thompson River Bridge linking Lytton with Lillooet to the Chief Spintlum Bridge in 2008. He encouraged all British Columbians and Canadians to listen to hitherto untold stories such as the Canyon War of 1858 and pivotal role of Indigenous Peoples in the founding of modern British Columbia.

“Nowadays, we have the UNDRIP provincial legislation and a new appreciation for meaningful Indigenous Reconciliation in B.C. Chris and NPTGS were having those conversations years before many others and helped contribute to where we are today,” said NPTGS Indigenous Co-Chair Chief James Hobart.

“He was ahead of his time in many ways.”

Chris O’Connor is survived by his wife, current Lytton Mayor Denise O’Connor, and their daughter, Sarah. A date for his Celebration of Life has yet to be announced.