THE SINIXT: ALIVE NOT ‘EXTINCT’ By LOUISE ALIDA POITRAS Integrated Studies Project submitted to Dr. Ken Banks in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts – Integrated Studies Athabasca, Alberta MAY 2007 Table of Contents Acknowledgments 3 Dedication 4 Prologue 5 Introduction 6 The Organization of the Paper 9 Important Materials 11 Section Ia) Archaeological Records 15 Ib) Historical Context 17 Section II) Documentary reality for the Sinixt 21 Section III) Collective support for the Sinixt 25 Section IV) Legal Position 29 Conclusion 30 End Notes 33 2 Acknowledgments My greatest appreciation and deepest respect for the following since without them this research paper would not have been possible. Thank you Sinixt Marilyn James for your acceptance and belief in the truth. My gratitude goes to my Algonquin blood, specifically the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Band in Maniwaki Quebec for their continued support. Thanks to Athabasca University and Dr. Ken Banks for your guidance and willingness to assist. Thank you to Dr. Brian Moulson for your clarity and compassion. Very special thanks to Dr. Arthur Bartsch for your irreplaceable knowledge and wisdom. Finally and most importantly Thanks to my Mom for everything. 3 Dedication ‘Cause grandmother’s blood is Algonquin, Mother’s blood is Algonquin. Half of her and half of her Half of me, I am Algonquin. The Sinixt are my relations, They are my sisters and my brothers. They are my Elders and my teachers. I acknowledge them and appreciate them. Thank you Sinixt for allowing me, Into your life and Onto your paradise land. All First Nations are my relations, I respect, speak and write, For all of my relations. For those who’s blood was before, For those who’s blood is now, But most importantly, For those who’s blood is tomorrow. I look forward… Louise Buckshot Poitras 4 Prologue We as a people have the ability to do great things on earth and it begins by doing little things with great love and patience, we need to acknowledge this nation’s First People, the Sinixt. “While contemporary ways of being have their basis in the ways of persons past, these things alone cannot make us who we are. True, concepts and practices can be tenacious, but above all else, it is the feeling of connectedness, the idea of a shared identity between past and present that is kept by living peoples who remember and commemorate their history”1. Ultimately, the present is already gone and the future is already here, certainly it is for the living, much like the Sinixt in the photograph below. Top left is Sinixt members Bob Campbell, daughter Lola and the latest addition granddaughter Agnice. Also appearing in the right corner is Robert Watt, who is the appointed caretaker of the burial grounds at the Vallican site. Agnice Sophia Campbell, born 9 October 2005. Photo: Nelson Express 1 Pryce, Paula. (1999). ‘Keeping the Lakes' Way’ Reburial and Re-Creation of a Moral World Among an Invisible People. Toronto, Ontario: U of Toronto Press, p. 147. 5 Introduction This paper examines a diversity of perspectives and scholarly resources to gain a greater understanding of the past and present injustices bestowed upon a West Kootenay’s First Peoples, the Sinixt (pronounced sin-eye-skt)1. The author will draw on sources that make the argument that the Sinixt are a live people with a thriving community but according to the Canadian government and many others these people are ‘extinct’. Anthropologists Paula Pryce says, “Virtually unknown of First Nations in Canada, the Arrow Lakes or Sinixt Interior Salish of the North American Columbia Plateau have been declared officially extinct”2. This inaccuracy in status lies at the heart of the matter for the Sinixt since it is the main barrier for recognition as the West Kootenay's First People. It is important to point out that there is a long list of significant other errors that help to create and perpetuate the Sinixt uniqueness. Pryce points out that “in the very first written records, an inconsistency of terminology causes disarray not only for anthropologists and historians but also for governments and public”3. Accordingly, attempting to achieve a cohesive and comprehensive understanding of the Sinixt is a complex and demanding task. Herein, the author will argue that in the field of archaeology, the Sinixt ancestral remains provide empirical and indisputable evidence of a past life. Historical documents, oral and written are traceable and suggest the Sinixt presence in the West Kootenay region. Collectively the disciplines of archaeology and history positively assist in bridging some of the gaps to the Sinixt past, but not consistently. To gain a deeper knowledge of the Sinixt, First Nations studies, environmental economics, political 6 science, and sociology are also studied. Certainly in studying the Sinixt, the research and development requires an integrated approach. Throughout the analysis of the resources, it is important to be apprehensive and critical of all the documentations. Though equally significant for the author is to remain vigilant of the limited resources available. In the Sinixt case, any information, inaccurate or not is clearly better than no information, but the author will endeavor to keep the reader informed if the sources are questionable. Aware of the Sinixt past and present challenges, this paper’s goal is to add to the Sinixt voice and struggle for survival, long enough to see future generations. This section emphasizes the greater collective voices of the people and communities that acknowledge and support the Sinixt. Here it is important to point out the uplifting spirit and increased support for the Sinixt arising from the Vallican confrontation. The conflict arose when “in 1987 the Ministry of Highways began construction of a new road at Vallican in the Slocan Valley. Construction was halted when many artifacts, skeletal remains and pit-house depressions were uncovered”4. Not surprisingly “the ancient village and burial grounds were studied, but no attempt was made to contact any Sinixt descendants. The remains were sent to museums and the government proposed establishing an information and picnic area at the site. When Sinixt elder Eva Orr learned of these events, she sent some of her people to investigate”5. Since 1989 the Sinixt continue to occupy and remain committed at the Vallican site, there will be more on that in section III. For now, it will suffice to say that few are capable of imagining the depth of emotion that accompanies these old and unhappy souls of the departed. 7 Surely it is possible to find a balance between traditional and modern ways of life and respect the West Kootenay Sinixt. It begins when “British Columbia entered the Confederation of Canada in 1871, but was the only province that was ever allowed to do so without any formal treaties. The Indian Act was established at this time, and it forced many undesirable laws and conditions upon native groups across Canada”6. At that time, a native was to register with the Department of Indian Affairs and they “recognized only a handful of Sinixt descendants”7. Thus in 1956 with the last ‘registered’ Sinixt member passing on, it formally and legally entitled the Canadian government to deem the Sinixt ‘extinct’. This, along with other oversights and errors in writings all add to the confusion combining to create the delusion that the Sinixt are no more. For example, “anthropologists have made a greater contribution to the obscurity than to the knowledge of the Sinixt. Indeed, although they are recognized, the Sinixt are usually discussed only briefly or as an aside to their cultural neighbours”8. In addition, “most historians, museums and archives focus research and displays on the heady days of mining and city construction”9. But more importantly and “the most frustrating reference of all ignores any specification of ethnicity: generic terms like ‘Indian’ and ‘native’ are used liberally in the”10 greater part of most writings. It is these views of inconsequentiality toward the Sinixt that has them continually burdened with little to no documented evidence on its People. Certainly this lack of literature does not bode well for the Sinixt, though as one can imagine, it does for a large percentage of people living on the Sinixt traditional lands. The West Kootenay land with its majestic mountains has the power to speak volumes therefore the First People’s research begins by listening to and searching the earth. The 8 mystery to hearing these particular sounds is simply to appreciate the guidance and welcome the voice of a land committed to memory. Though it is important to point out, whether it was for past generations or now, it takes a different and patient character to live and understand the West Kootenay region. One such person is historian Eileen Delehanty Pearkes and her book The Geography of Memory: Recovering stories of a Landscape’s First People. She brings awareness to the area and the Sinixt by revealing the memory imbedded deep within the land of the West Kootenay. Clearly, “even before European culture entered the area, stories of a pre- historical aboriginal culture inform the landscape. The memory of the region’s First People contributes to the landscape’s haunting but uplifting energy. In the long narrative which defines this place, a pre-contact culture lived here with dignity, determination and perseverance. As Pearkes says, this is nearly a forgotten story, but surely the mountains remember”11. More importantly this author will do her best to carefully listen to the land and remember the Sinixt with words of honour and respect. The organization of the paper For the next few pages the author will describe how she has organized the material of the study.