COAST SALISH SENSES OF PLACE: Dwelling, Meaning, Power, Property and Territory in the Coast Salish World by BRIAN DAVID THOM Department of Anthropology, McGill University, Montréal March, 2005 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy © Brian Thom, 2005 Abstract This study addresses the question of the nature of indigenous people's connection to the land, and the implications of this for articulating these connections in legal arenas where questions of Aboriginal title and land claims are at issue. The idea of 'place' is developed, based in a phenomenology of dwelling which takes profound attachments to home places as shaping and being shaped by ontological orientation and social organization. In this theory of the 'senses of place', the author emphasizes the relationships between meaning and power experienced and embodied in place, and the social systems of property and territory that forms indigenous land tenure systems. To explore this theoretical notion of senses of place, the study develops a detailed ethnography of a Coast Salish Aboriginal community on southeast Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Through this ethnography of dwelling, the ways in which places become richly imbued with meanings and how they shape social organization and generate social action are examined. Narratives with Coast Salish community members, set in a broad context of discussing land claims, provide context for understanding senses of place imbued with ancestors, myth, spirit, power, language, history, property, territory and boundaries. The author concludes in arguing that by attending to a theorized understanding of highly local senses of place, nuanced conceptions of indigenous relationships to land which appreciate indigenous relations to land in their own terms can be articulated. i Résumé La présente étude traite de la question des liens qui unissent les peuples autochtones à la terre. Elle explique les implications juridiques de ces liens sur les questions relatives aux titres et aux territoires autochtones. Elle se penche également sur le concept de « lieu ». Ce concept est abordé suivant une approche phénoménologique d’habiter, laquelle sous- entend des attaches profondes à l’égard du foyer, élément fondamental façonné par l’orientation ontologique et l’organisation sociale de la collectivité. L’auteur souligne la signification du terme « lieu » d’un point de vue théorique en mettant l’accent sur les rapports qui existent entre cette signification et les pouvoirs qui habitent ce lieu et qui agissent sur les personnes qui fréquentent ce même lieu. L’étude s’attarde également aux systèmes sociaux liés à la propriété et qui gouvernent la titularisation des territoires. Pour approfondir la notion théorique de « lieu », l'auteur réalise une ethnographie d’une collectivité autochtone faisant partie des Salish de la Côte de l’océan Pacifique, située plus précisément dans la partie sud-est de l’île de Vancouver, en Colombie-Britannique (Canada). À partir de cette ethnographie d’habiter, on examine la façon dont les lieux s’imprègnent de sens riches et profonds et comment ils façonnent l'organisation sociale tout en produisant de l'action sociale. Les récits des Salish, étudiés dans le contexte plus large des revendications territoriales, fournissent certains éléments permettant de mieux comprendre le sens du terme « lieu » lorsque l’on dit qu’un lieu donné est imprégné de mythes, d’esprits, de pouvoirs, d’une influence linguistique, de récits historiques, de la connaissance ancestrale et de concepts tels que la propriété, le territoire et les frontières. Dans sa conclusion, l’auteur affirme qu’en se donnant un compréhension théorisée de la signification du terme « lieu » qui accorde une importance particulière à ses caractéristiques locales, il est possible de se faire une idée plus nuancée des liens qui unissent les peuples autochtones à la terre. Cette affirmation peut se vérifier, pour autant que l’on accepte de prendre en compte la façon unique dont les indigènes expriment les liens qui les rattachent à la terre. ii Acknowledgements So many people in the Coast Salish community have shared with me the wealth of their stories and the wisdom of their experiences. I am humbled and honoured to have had the opportunity to share the words, ideas and experiences of Philomena Alphonse, the late Dennis Alphonse, Simon Charlie, Dennis Charlie, Arvid Charlie, Jerome Crocker, Henry Edwards, Roy Edwards, Bob Guerin, Irene Harris, George Harris, Rose James, Florence James, Abraham C Joe, Marjorie Louie, Mabel Mitchell, Ross Modeste, Fred Modeste, Frank Norris, the late Dave Page, Ruby Peters, Peter Seymour, Willie Seymour, George Seymour Sr., Angus Smith, Chief Rick Thomas, and Abner Thorne. Though I have not printed their words in this study, many more elders and community members have given me the opportunity to reflect on their stories and perspectives. For this, I would like especially to thank Bob Ackerman, the late Elizabeth Aleck, the late Mabel Aleck, Harvey Alphonse, Christine Edwards, the late George Elliott, Larry George, Ray Harris, Lydia Hwitsum, Earl Jack, Debbie Jackson, Myrus James, Mary Joe, Warren Johnny, the late Ben Joseph, Veronica Kauwell, Cyril Livingstone, the late Madeline Louie, Percy Louie, Joe Norris, Sally Norris, Tom Peters, Pat Peters, Ernie Rice, Sr., Robert Sam, Terry Sampson, Elmer Sampson, Ed Seymour, August Sylvester, Laura Sylvester, Norbert Sylvester, Bert Thomas, Tom Underwood, and Dora Wilson. Those who are no longer with us will be dearly missed and remembered. I would like to recognize the support I have felt from the chiefs who have sat at the Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group table, including Penelakut Chief Earl Jack; Chemainus Chiefs Terry Sampson and Peter Seymour; Cowichan Chiefs Lydia Hwitsum and Harvey Alphonse; Lake Cowichan Chief Cyril Livingstone; Halalt Chiefs Joe Norris and Bert Thomas; and Lyackson Chief Rick Thomas. During my research in Island Hul'qumi'num communities, the staff and leaders of the Hul'qumi'num Treaty Group have been wonderful supporters and friends. I cannot understate the contributions that Robert Morales and Joey Caro have made as thoughtful colleagues and patient friends. Both have, in many ways, made this study possible. Robert’s trust in me and the strength of his vision for the Hul’qumi’num people have been inspiring. Joey’s deep interests in Coast Salish history and culture and passionate care for his Island Hul’qumi’num community has, from the inception of my fieldwork on the Island, shaped the outcome of my work. During my research collaboration and employment with the Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group, many other people have provided their great support. Working with me in many of the interviews and focus group sessions were supportive Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group research assistant staff. Brenda Underwood, Chrystal Nahanee, Lea Joe and Edna Thomas helped introduce me into their elders’ homes and provided excellent assistance in documenting the results of our research. The impressive coordination and careful proofreading of the transcripts by Brenda Underwood merits special thanks. Lea Joe gave excellent additional assistance in compiling biographies for Appendix C. Thanks also to Hillary Rudd and Rob Flemming, who exercised their considerable cartographic iii skills to draw the maps in Figures 2.1 and 8.4, respectively. I am also happy to recognize the linguistic skill of Mabel Mitchell, Ruby Peters and Florence James, who worked as translators for the Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group. Without their hard work much of the subtlety of the narratives presented here would have been lost. Huy tseep q’u. Finally, both of the executives at the Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group, Jack Smith and Audrey Henry, have been personally supportive of me, helping me achieve balances between my life as an employee, a student and a father. My graduate committee at McGill University has equally been supportive and insightful over the many years over which my studies have developed. My graduate supervisor Colin Scott has been a mentor and a friend. His particularly lucid insights into Aboriginal politics and worldviews have helped crystalize my own thinking. His skill as an editor and anthropological critic has assisted in deepening the insights and refining the prose of this study. Toby Morantz, from the day I started at McGill, has been energetically interested in and supportive of my work, pushing me to explore new areas of anthropological analysis, and encouraging me to reflect on my assumptions. I am also grateful to Carmen Lambert for her insights into Aboriginal politics and culture, and her frank guidance in developing the terms of the study and its final results. I am fortunate to have had the benefit of all these scholars’ experiences and expertise in developing my own skills as an anthropologist. During the preparation of the manuscript, many additional hours were spent by my friends and colleagues proofreading, providing conceptual feedback and lending their technical skills. I would like to give special thanks to Eric McLay, whose detailed knowledge of the Coast Salish ethnographic and historical record was a frequent touchstone as I developed the ideas here. I was additionally fortunate to hire Suzanne Villeneuve who worked diligently through hot summer days assisting me in copy-editing and organizing an early draft manuscript. Sarah Kell lent her skills as a phonologist and linguist in a contract I provided to draft the orthographic key and pronunciation guide provided in Appendix B. My wanting abilities in German and French were amply supplemented by my friends Mechthild Maczewski and Denis Leberge. Thanks to Mechthild who translated Boas’ German text in chapter 8, and to Denis who translated my abstract into French. Though my understanding of Hul’q’umi’num’ grammar is developing, I benefited greatly from insights of Wayne Suttles, Tom Hukari and Su Urbanczyk who provided useful discussions and linguistic analysis of several key Island Hul'q'umi'num' terms.