Frontside

AKINMI AND SWARAK’XN: THE ARROWS AND THE FROG the ktunaxa and sinixt have walked the for millennia. so too have their legends. with the help of an intrepid filmmaker, two first nations storytellers recount the ancient creation of two of the region’s most renowned promontories.

by laura yale as told by marilyn james and joe pierre illustrations by ian johnston

from the banks of the St. Mary River, near Cranbrook, , I can see the small cabin where Joe Pierre Jr.’s great-grandfather used to live. Weathered and vacant, it leans towards his grandmother’s old house across the short meadow, next to where his mother’s current home stands, and his mother still lives. Pierre has since moved into town, but four genera- tions of his family grew up on this single acre in the traditional heartland of the Ktunaxa Nation, now known as the Kootenay region of British Columbia. “I think I have memory I was born with [that came] from my ancestors,” says the 47-year-old Ktunaxa educator and storyteller. “I think in certain places those memories come to the forefront, so you can hear them talking to you.” In 2015, I interviewed Pierre for the documentary film Jumbo Wild—a work that advocates for the right of First Nations to be part of land-use decisions within their historical territories. As part of this, Pierre shared the creation story of the mountain in whose East Kootenay shadow we stood: Mount Baker. A few weeks later, I sat with Marilyn James along the Little Slocan River, near Winlaw, British Columbia, where she shared a similar story about Frog Peak—one of the strongest fixtures in the ’s skyline. A 64-year-old Sinixt Nation elder and appointed spokesperson, James was equally patient, leading me through the long history of the Sinixt Nation, whose traditional territory includes the West Kootenay. Both storytellers believe sharing creation stories is a way to attain acknowledgement of their cultures’ ancient tenure on this land. It’s an intuitive form of resistance to colonization, a force still very much at play in the lives of First Nations peoples. Right now, the Ktunaxa are negotiating an arduous treaty process for greater control of their territory, and the Sinixt continue to pursue recognition under the after the Canadian government declared their band extinct in 1956. The following stories have been shortened and are shared in the non-traditional form of the written word.

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KMC 29 front (FA).indd 42 2016-04-07 10:12 PM akinmi (mount baker) Mount Baker is subtler in stature than the jagged back- drop of the East Kootenay, yet it has a strong presence sitting on the southeast edge of Cranbrook. Originally named after James Baker, a London-born soldier, businessman and politician who settled in Cranbrook in the 1880s, everything from the secondary school to the RV park has followed suit and shares this landmark’s namesake. However, the Ktunaxa Nation has always referred to this mountain as akinmi, prounounced “ah-kin-mee.”

As told by Joe Pierre:

Before there were human beings, the ani- mals and spirits of the world became aware that we would be here soon and began to prepare the earth for our arrival. All the animals — the crawlers, the swimmers and the flyers — decided to gather in the heavens. The birds were able to fly up, but the land and water-based creatures didn’t know how to get there. So together, they built a ladder of arrows. All except the mole took part in building the ladder, so they decided to leave her behind on earth. The mole was saddened and lonely, which quickly turned to anger. While everyone else was in the heavens, she knocked down the ladder of arrows. Now they were all stuck, except the winged ones. So the birds doled out their feathers, one by one, and each ani- mal was able to descend back down to earth with their gifted feather. There wasn’t quite enough to go around, and the suckerfish and bat had to figure out alternative routes. The suckerfish jumped, crashed to the ground, and broke the bones in his body. That is why the fish are no good to eat, too many bones. The bat happened to have her blanket, so she spread it around her shoulders and jumped. Now she has wings, and that’s why bats can fly but don’t need feathers. The crumbled mound of arrows formed the mountain called akinmi.

Today, akinmi’s broad peak is scattered with towers, satellite receivers and antennae, which can be seen from the valley bottom. Though one might think it sullies the mountain, as Pierre looks up at the tangled mess, he tells me he sees a ladder of arrows slowly building a path back to the heavens.

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swarak’xn (frog mountain) Sprouting disparately from the rolling green hills on the southern end of the Slocan Valley is a great granite monolith. Technically titled Mount Wilton, this peak was named after an old-time trapper who climbed it in October 1922. The locals still call this prominent Kootenay feature Frog Mountain, or Frog Peak, from the Sinixt word Swarak’xn.

As told by Marilyn James:

The story of Frog Mountain begins amidst a severe drought. The Sinixt people were starv- ing and being forced to leave their homeland in order to survive. The leader of the village could not bear to leave the land of their ances- tors, the land of their hearts and memories. He went alone into the woods to fast and pray to the creator for help. In his fasting and praying, a visitor came in the form of a frog. The frog said, “You and your people must go to the banks of the river, dig caves and spend the winter in them. We will come and help you. You will survive.” So the people of the village built caves along the riverbed. Winter was extremely difficult and eventu- ally they ran out of food. But instead of death coming to the caves, frogs arrived and offered themselves as food. The people survived through the winter. As the snows began to melt, the frog came and told the people it was time to leave the caves. The land would now be able to support them with everything they needed to live. The frog continued, “We are small creatures who do not seem to impact life, threaten life, or support life in any way. We have shown through our love and our offering to you that even something believed to be small and unimportant can become a powerful being in both deed and symbol. To honour your sur- vival in your homeland, we will give you a gift, a symbol that the Sinixt People should always remember and honour.” With these words the frog hopped and grew. Hopped and grew. The frog’s face rose up, pointed toward the sky, and as the frog grew and grew, it slowly became a mountain.

James says, “It tied my eyes and my being and my sense to my ancestors and the fact that they survived through pretty rough times and we’re surviving now.” For the full story visit sinixtnation.org.

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