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ISLANDS OF RESISTANCE: CHALLENGING HEGEMONY FROM THE JOHNSTONE STRAIT TO THE SALISH SEA RONALD WALTER HOWE Bachelor of Arts, University of Lethbridge, 2005 A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in INDIVIDUALIZED MULTIDISCIPLINARY Department of Women and Gender Studies University of Lethbridge LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA, CANADA © Ronald Walter Howe, 2020 ISLANDS OF RESISTANCE: CHALLENGING HEGEMONY FROM THE JOHNSTONE STRAIT TO THE SALISH SEA RONALD WALTER HOWE Date of Defence: August 4, 2020 Dr. Bruce MacKay Assistant Professor Ph.D. Thesis Supervisor Dr. Jodie Asselin Associate Professor Ph.D. Thesis Examination Committee Member Dr. Jo-Anne Fiske Professor Emerita Ph.D. Thesis Examination Committee Member Dr. Glenda Bonifacio Professor Ph.D. Chair, Thesis Examination Committee DEDICATION Dedicated to the memory of Barb Cranmer, Twyla Roscovitch, and Dazy Drake, three women who made enormous contributions to their communities, and to this thesis. You are greatly missed. iii ABSTRACT This thesis examines how three unique, isolated maritime communities located off the coast of British Columbia, Canada have responded to significant obstacles. Over a century ago, disillusioned Finnish immigrants responded to the lethal conditions of the coal mines they laboured in by creating Sointula, a socialist utopia. The ‘Namgis First Nation in Alert Bay, a group of the Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, have recently developed a land-based fish farm, Kuterra, in response to an ocean-based fish farming industry that threatens the wild salmon they have survived on since time immemorial. Lasqueti Island residents have responded to exclusion from access to traditional power sources by implementing self-generating, renewable energy into their off-grid community. Through contemporary and historic analysis, a common theme emerges that explains what unites these three disparate cultural communities in response to impediments faced: “Your neighbours are your insurance.” iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the assistance of a number of organizations and individuals along my journey, many of whom I am unable to publicly identify due to privacy concerns outlined in the Methods section. In particular, I want to thank those community members who provided me with accommodations in each community, their hospitality and generosity far exceeded anything I could have expected. My gratitude and indebtedness to the endless guidance, support, and editing provided by my Thesis Committee, in particular the exceptional efforts of Dr. Jo-Anne Fiske through numerous readings, re-readings, revisions, and advice imparted. Despite retiring from teaching over the course of my graduate studies, her devotion to this paper never wavered. I also want to thank Dr. Leora Bar-el, Dr. Vanessa Lehan, Professor Peter G. Prontzos, Michael Springate, Dr. Anthony J. Hall (who lit the candle but was not able to watch it burn), Dr. Bruce Mackay (Thesis Committee Supervisor), Dr. Jodie Asselin (Thesis Committee member), Dr. Kimberley Mair, Dr. Glenda Bonifacio (Chair, Thesis Committee), Aaron Trozzo and CKXU-FM, Justin Sharpe, Sointula Museum, Sointula Public Library, Sointula Resource Centre, ‘Namgis First Nation, U’mista Cultural Centre, the carving shed in Alert Bay, Alert Bay Public Library, June Sports, Lasqueti Free Store, Lasqueti Internet Access Society, the communities of Sointula, Alert Bay, and Lasqueti Island that opened their doors and lives to me, Hiram Mariner, Vancouver Public Library - Central and Britannia branches, Josh Parachnowitsch and Devin Murphy, Rhonda Ruston QC, Elizabeth Arnold, Dr. Richard Wolff, and Adam Payne. Most importantly, I am grateful for the eternal support of my wife, Peggy Watkins, whose belief in me and this project was invaluable through the many obstacles faced along this journey. Without you, none of this would have been possible. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication.......................................................................................................................................iii Abstract...........................................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgements..........................................................................................................................v List of Figures ...............................................................................................................................vii List of Abbreviations....................................................................................................................viii Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................................................................................................1 Notes on Terminology…………………………………………………………………………4 Theory.........................................................................................................................................6 Literature Review......................................................................................................................19 Methods.....................................................................................................................................27 Chapter 2: Sointula – Place of Harmony.......................................................................................38 Chapter 3: Alert Bay – Gilakas’la .................................................................................................82 Chapter 4: Lasqueti – Bush Hippies............................................................................................127 Methodological Reflections and Interpretations..........................................................................151 References....................................................................................................................................161 Appendix 1: Map of Vancouver Island and Salish Sea Area.......................................................171 Appendix 2: Map of Broughton Archipelago Area.....................................................................172 Appendix 3: Interview Questions................................................................................................173 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Anissa Reed’s iconic bumper sticker design..................................................................60 Figure 2: Memorial to Sointula fishermen.....................................................................................67 Figure 3: Lady Liberty leading the workers to freedom................................................................69 Figure 4: Sisiutl emblem on BC Ferry.........................................................................................101 Figure 5: Sisiutl carving at Alert Bay ferry terminal...................................................................104 Figure 6: Alert Bay boardwalk rest area......................................................................................105 Figure 7: Gukwdzi - ‘Namgis Big House....................................................................................106 Figure 8: Kitgora beached at Alert Bay Indian dock...................................................................108 Figure 9: Poster for Edward Curtis’ 1914 film In the Land of the Head Hunters.......................113 Figure 10: Downtown Eastside Street Soccer Team...................................................................116 Figure 11: Free Store Research Hub...........................................................................................138 Figure 12: Lasqueti Workers Paradise........................................................................................145 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AGM Annual General Meeting BC British Columbia BCH British Columbia Hydro DFO Department of Fisheries and Oceans DIA Department of Indian Affairs FINN Friends in Need Now FO Finnish Organization FSOC Finnish Socialist Organization of Canada HBC Hudson’s Bay Company LCA Lasqueti Community Association LIAS Lasqueti Internet Access Society LIRA Lasqueti Island Ratepayers Association NDP New Democratic Party NERP Nimpkish Ecological Restoration Program NIDA Nimpkish Integrated Development Approach PRV piscine reovirus RCMP Royal Canadian Mounted Police RSS Residential School System SARA Species at Risk Act SCC Supreme Court of Canada SFU Simon Fraser University SI Symbolic Interactionism SLAPP Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation TRC Truth and Reconciliation Commission UBC University of British Columbia UFAWU United Fishermen and Allied Workers’ Union viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This thesis explores, examines, and analyzes three unique maritime communities located off Canada’s west coast in the province of British Columbia. All have faced significant obstacles in their development, and constructed creative, pragmatic, unique solutions in response. How had these relatively small, isolated communities overcome political, economic, institutional, environmental and social adversity, and evolved into the vibrant cultures they are today? I investigate each community from historic, cultural, theoretical, and fieldwork perspectives, which leads to the conclusion that, “your neighbours are your insurance,” a statement I heard during my fieldwork. I argue that the success of these communities is a result of cultivated social relations and networks, in which neighbours can be counted upon to provide protection