The First Nations of British Columbia: An Anthropological Survey

160 Pages·1998·13.74 MB·English

by  Robert James Muckle

The First Nations of British Columbia
This page intentionally left blank
The First Nations
of British Columbia:
An Anthropological
Survey
Robert /. Muckle
UBCPress /Vancouver
© UBC Press 1998
Reprinted 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, without prior written permission of the publisher, or, in
Canada, in the case of photocopying or other reprographic copying,
a licence from Access Copyright (Canadian Copyright Licensing
Agency), www.accesscopyright.ca.
Printed in Canada on acid-free paper oo
National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data
Muckle, Robert James.
The First Nations of British Columbia
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-7748-0663-X
1. Indians of North America - British Columbia. 2. Indians of
North America - British Columbia - History. I. Title.
E78.B9M82 1998 971.1'00497 C98-910172-X
Canada
UBC Press gratefully acknowledges the financial support for our
publishing program of the Government of Canada through the
Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP), and
of the Canada Council for the Arts, and the British Columbia Arts
Council.
This book has been published with the help of a grant from the
Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, using
funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council of Canada.
UBC Press
The University of British Columbia
2029 West Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2
(604) 822-5959 Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]
www.ubcpress.ca
Contents
Maps and Illustrations / vii
Preface / xi
Part 1: First Nations Defined
What Is a First Nation? / 2
Two Kinds of First Nations People / 3
Population, Reserves, and Settlements / 4
Bands, Ethnic Groups, Tribal Councils,
and Other Affiliations / 5
Suggested Reading / 10
Part 2: Archaeology and First Peoples
First Nations and Archaeological Perceptions
of the Past/ 12
The Nature of Archaeological Research in
British Columbia / 12
Early Migrations through British Columbia / 15
Here to Stay / 17
Settling Down / 17
Prominent Sites / 18
Tracing Ancestry / 22
Suggested Reading / 22
Part 3: Ethnology in British Columbia
Anthropology and Oral Tradition / 26
Traditional Culture Areas of British Columbia / 32
Languages / 34
Population / 37
Settlement Patterns / 37
Diet / 42
Technology / 43
Social Organization / 46
Myths, Spirits, and Shamans / 48
Health and Healing / 49
Art /51
The Potlatch and Other Important Ceremonies / 54
Trade, Slavery, and Warfare / 56
Suggested Reading / 58
Part 4: Culture Change and Modernization
Population Loss / 60
The Impact of the Fur Trade / 61
The Impact of the Gold Rushes / 62
The Impact of Non-Native Settlement / 64
Missionaries and Residential Schools / 65
Government Relations with First Nations / 69
Assertions of Aboriginal Rights / 77
Negotiations in the 1990s / 80
Economic and Cultural Initiatives / 82
Outstanding Issues / 83
Suggested Reading / 87
Appendices
1 The First Nations of British Columbia / 90
2 Major Ethnic Groups / 117
3 Excerpts from the Royal Proclamation, 1763 / 123
4 Excerpts from the Laurier Memorial, 1910 / 125
5 Excerpts from the Nisga'a Agreement-in-Principle,
1996 / 128
6 First Nations Involved in Treaty Negotiations,
January 1998 / 134
Glossary/ 136
Selected Bibliography/ 141
vi Contents
Maps and Illustrations
Maps
1 First Nations in British Columbia / 7
2 Archaeological Sites and Early Migration Routes in
British Columbia / 20
3 Culture Areas of North America / 32
Illustrations
4 Qtsaya (Sara Tweedie) and Lorelle Brett Snow on a
Nuxalk reserve near Bella Coola, 1997. Courtesy of
Banchi Hanuse
8 Sel Sil Se Mat (Flo Williams) and her nephew,
Gabriel Moody-Thomas, 1997. Courtesy of Samaya
Jardey
8 Chester Thomas, 1997. Courtesy of Samaya Jardey
13 First Nations archaeologist John Jules, 1992.
Courtesy of George Nicholas, Simon Fraser
University/Secwepemc Education Institute
14 Three Secwepemc archaeologists, 1997. Courtesy
of George Nicholas, Simon Fraser University/
Secwepemc Education Institute
21 Sproat Lake petroglyphs. Courtesy of the Royal
British Columbia Museum, Victoria, British
Columbia PN11733
27 Nuxalk dancers in costume, 1886. Courtesy of the
Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, British
Columbia PN4606
28 George and Francine Hunt, 1930. Courtesy of the
Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, British
Columbia PN9533
30-1 Haida village of Masset, 1890. BC Archives D-09210
34 Members of McLeod Lake Nation in a cottonwood
dugout canoe, c 1912. Courtesy of the Royal British
Columbia Museum, Victoria, British Columbia
PN3376
36-7 Haida village of Skidegate, late nineteenth century.
BC Archives B-03660
38 Hul'qumi'num village, turn of the century.
BC Archives D-00692
39 A recent chiefs pole and house, Masset. Courtesy
of Gillian Crowther
40 Men wearing traditional clothing outside a summer
lodge near Spences Bridge, early twentieth century.
Photograph by James Teit. Courtesy of the Royal
British Columbia Museum, Victoria, British
Columbia PN14833
41 Ktunaxa men, late 1880s. BC Archives C-00782
41 Ktunaxa settlement, turn of the century. BC
Archives B-03802
44 Cedar dugout canoe in a Gitxsan village, c 1910.
BC Archives A-06896
45 Straits Salish men in goat hair robes, turn of the
century. Courtesy of the Royal British Columbia
Museum, Victoria, British Columbia PN11743
46 Haida woman, 1884. Courtesy of the Royal British
Columbia Museum, Victoria, British Columbia
PN5320
50 Nuu'chah'nulth woman shaman, early twentieth
century. Courtesy of the Royal British Columbia
Museum, Victoria, British Columbia PN5410
viii Maps and Illustrations
51 Sweatlodge, early twentieth century. Courtesy of the
Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, British
Columbia PN999
52 Wooden sculptures in Halq'emeylem cemetery,
turn of the century. BC Archives E-04581
53 Haida man, 1881. BC Archives D-06324
55 Tahltan people, turn of the century. BC Archives
D-08961
57 Warrior in protective clothing. Photograph by
Edward Curtis. Courtesy of the Royal British
Columbia Museum, Victoria, British Columbia
PN7369
63 Gold miners along the Thompson River, late
nineteenth century. Courtesy of the Royal British
Columbia Museum, Victoria, British Columbia
PN8770
66 Metlakatla, 1880s. BC Archives G-04699
67 Church and totem pole, Old Masset. Courtesy of
Gillian Crowther
81 Reconstructed pithouse at Secwepemc
Archaeological Heritage Park. Courtesy of George
Nicholas, Simon Fraser University/Secwepemc
Education Institute
82 Aboriginal students from the Sk'lep School on the
Kamloops Reserve, 1997. Courtesy of George
Nicholas, Simon Fraser University/Secwepemc
Education Institute
86 Nuxalk woman wearing a mask by Ray Martin,
1997. Courtesy of Banchi Hanuse
Maps and Illustrations ix