Teaching Through Toponymy: Using Indigenous Place-Names in Outdoor Science Camps
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Teaching Through Toponymy: Using Indigenous Place-Names In Outdoor Science Camps Karen Ann Heikkila B.A., University of British Columbia, 1994 B.Ed., University of British Columbia, 1995 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of The Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (Geography) The University of Northern British Columbia January 2007 ©Karen Ann Heikkila, 2007 For All who teach and make known the Dakelh language and culture Abstract The naming of places, be they landforms, villages or cities, is a cultural phenomenon dating back to the earliest of times. Naming to identify and differentiate places seems to be as basic a need as assigning names to the persons and objects that make up one’s world. In the Tl’azt’en culture, where oral transmission was the means of passing down knowledge, people developed particular strategies for recalling information. Routes to hunting grounds or fishing holes, for instance, were memorized with the aid of place-names and through the narratives that illumined the named places. This study examines the potential of Dakelh place-names as a tool for educating Tl’azt’en children and youth about the Tl’azt’en ancestral past, the Dakelh language and places on the land that have sustained Tl’azt’enne for generations. The processes of colonization, resistance and cultural reclamation as observed in the naming and re-naming of places provides a theoretical framework from which to explore the potential of indigenous place-names to address issues of cultural revitalization and identity-strengthening. Such theory enables understanding of the importance of indigenous language and places on the land in sustaining cultural identity and forming the basis for appreciating oral tradition. Nine of the eleven toponyms selected by Tl’azt’en Nation were used in this thesis research for analysis; interviews with Tl’azt’en cultural experts and secondary source material were used to assemble and verify the place-names information (their accuracy in terms of location, spelling and meaning), their geographical referents as well as the topographic, biotic and cultural use descriptions for the places they mark. This thesis shows that there is a considerable wealth of Traditional Ecological Knowledge contained in Dakelh place-names, namely knowledge linked to travel and subsistence, and information pertaining to spirituality and the ancestral past. Five guidelines for teaching i about Tl’azt’en history, language and territory through Dakelh place-names are identified in this thesis and illustrated with suggestions for implementation in the Tl’azt’en Nation outdoor science camp programme, Yunk’ut Whe Ts’o Dul’eh (We Learn from Our Land). ii Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to the many people who have generously given their time to commenting on drafts of this thesis and who have helped in other substantial ways in this project. Special thanks are due to my thesis supervisor, Professor Gail Fondahl, whose mentorship and supervision have been of great help in bettering the research design and analyses of the study. I am also grateful to the other members of my supervisory committee —Dr. Erin Sherry, Professor Angèle Smith and Professor Catherine Nolin— for their constructive appraisal of my work which served to improve the original manuscript. I am especially grateful to my Tl’azt’en partners, who have been a source of support and assistance throughout my research. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Beverly Bird, Beverly Leon, Morris Joseph, Deborah Page, Mona Anatole, Renel Mitchell, and Veronica Campbell who took the time and trouble to orientate me in the Dakelh language and culture, to provide feedback on the manuscript, and who also went out of their way to assist me with the logistical portion of the research. Several other people deserve to be acknowledged for their assistance: Susan Grainger and Dexter Hodder of the John Prince Research Forest for their help with maps and information; Dr. William Poser for taking the time to correspond with me about Dakelh place-names; Michelle Lockhead of the Takla Development Corporation for providing me with a Tl’azt’en Territory Dakelh place-names map and related information; Marlene Erickson of the Yinka Dene Language Institute for providing me with a copy of Nak’albun/Dzinghubun Whut’en Bughuni; Christopher Harvey (“the Language Geek”) of the Indigenous Language Institute for help with the Morice Phonetic and Carrier Linguistic Committee lettering in the thesis; and Kathleen Duncan and Nancy Black of the University of Northern British Columbia library, and Valerie Tomlinson of the Aurora Research Institute library for graciously responding to requests for documents. I owe a particular debt to the Tl’azt’enne who contributed, through interviews and verification sessions, to the place-names content of this thesis. My sincere thanks are due to Catherine Coldwell, Betsy Leon, Pierre John, Walter Joseph Sr., Robert Hanson, Stanley Tom, Alexander Tom, Margaret Mattess, Pauline Joseph, Helen Johnnie, Mildred Martin, Sophie Monk, Frank Duncan, Louise Alexis and Elsie Alexis, who were willing to participate in the research and who offered me the chance to learn about the Tl’azt’en people and territory through Dakelh place-names. Finally, I thank my family for their faith in me, and in particular, my husband, Dr. Jari Heikkila, whose mind, character and loving support offered solace and hope—our conversations were a constant source of discernment which kept me inspired as the thesis gradually took form. This project was funded in part by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Community-University Research Alliance grant, and by the Aurora Research Institute. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract………………………i Acknowledgements………....iii List of Figures………………vii List of Interviews…………..viii Notes…………………………ix INTRODUCTION 1 Chapter One: INDIGENOUS PLACE-NAMES: A CONTEXT FOR UNDERSTANDING CONQUEST, CHANGE AND LIBERATIVE ACTION THROUGH EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES Introduction 7 Understanding Colonization Through Place-Names 8 Imperial Benevolence and Representations of “Other” in the Landscape 10 The Totalizing Gaze and the Writing of Power 12 Place-Names as Text and Clues to Culture 14 The Meaning of Place and Place-Names to Indigenous People 15 Locations of Indigenous Identity 18 Toponymy as an Articulation of Indigenous Memoryscape 20 Perpetuating Indigenousness through Re-Knowing the Land 23 The Role of Place-Names in Educating about Indigenous Knowledge 25 Place-Names and Traditional Ecological Knowledge 27 “Indigenizing” Science Education: Advantages and Obstacles 29 “Indigenizing” Science Education via On-The-Land or Culture-Based Camp Programmes 33 Conclusion 35 Chapter Two: THE TL’AZT’EN LANDSCAPE: AN OVERVIEW OF THE LAND, LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND HISTORY OF TL’AZT’ENNE Introduction 37 The Geography of Tl’azt’en Territory 37 The John Prince Research Forest 39 People 42 Athapaskan Origins, Coastal Borrowings 43 The Significance of Places to Tl’azt’enne as Relayed through Dakelh Place-Names 46 Dakelh Place-Names in Father Morice’s Writings 46 Dakelh Place-Names in the Works of Steward, Kobrinsky, and Akrigg and Akrigg 49 iv Dakelh Place-Names in the Works of the Carrier Linguistic Committee, Nak’azdli First Nation, Hall and Poser 52 Regaining Place, Language and Identity 57 Yunk’ut Whe Ts’o Dul’eh 59 Conclusion 62 Chapter Three: RESEARCH WITH TL’AZT’EN NATION: A COLLABORATION IN PLACE-NAMES RESEARCH Introduction 63 The Research Process 64 Collaborative Research with Tl’azt’en Nation 64 Selection of Dakelh Toponyms to Research 65 Extant Sources of Dakelh Toponymic Information 67 Participant Selection 70 Interviews 72 Data Management, Analysis and Verification 77 Content Analysis 77 Guidelines for the Incorporation of Dakelh Toponymy into Yunk’ut Whe Ts’o Dul’eh 80 Conclusion 82 Chapter Four: THE LAND IN LANGUAGE: DAKELH GEOGRAPHICAL NOMENCLATURE AND PLACE-NAMES Introduction 84 Dakelh Geographical Nomenclature 84 Geographical Terms Associated with Dakelh Toponyms Researched 89 Tizdli (lake outlet) 91 Took’eche (river mouth) 92 Tl’at (no English equivalent) 93 ’Ukoh (river) 94 Bunghun (lake) 95 Noo (island) 95 Dzulh (mountain) 96 Profiles of Dakelh Toponyms Researched 97 Chuzghun 100 Chuz tizdli 104 K’uz koh 105 Hadoodatelh koh 108 Chuzghun koh 110 Tesgha 111 Bin tizdli 116 Bintl’at noo 117 K’azyus 118 Conclusion 121 v Chapter Five: USING DAKELH TOPONYMIC KNOWLEDGE IN YUNK’UT WHE TS’O DUL’EH CULTURE-BASED SCIENCE CAMP PROGRAMME Introduction 122 Categories of Dakelh Toponymic Knowledge 123 Place-Names as Indicators of Dakelh Geographical and Historical Knowledge 123 Place-Names as Navigational Aids 123 Place-Names Containing Environmental Information 124 Place-Names Offering Clues to the Dakelh Subsistence Round 126 Place-Names Commemorative of the Ancestral Past 127 Place-Names Alluding to People and Events in the Past 127 Place-Names Associated with Narratives 129 The Role of Place-Names in Educating About Land and Language 131 Patterns of Land Use and Occupancy as Revealed through Place-Names 131 Toponymic Clusters 131 Toponymic Chains 132 The Functionality and Lyricism of Keyoh Place-Names 133 Place-Names as Symbols of Authority and Knowledge 134 Place-Names Illustrative of the Intricacies of the Dakelh Language 135 The Role of Place-Names in Educating about Conquest and Re-Conquest 138 An Altered Landscape, An Altered Lifestyle, An Eroded Toponymy 138 Place-Names as Identifiers of Belonging 140 Guidelines