MAKING HISTORY VISIBLE Culture and Politics in the Presentation of Musqueam History
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MAKING HISTORY VISIBLE Culture and Politics in the Presentation of Musqueam History Susan Roy B.A., University of British Columbia. 1993 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFIL,LMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS In the Department of History O Susan Roy I999 SIMON F;RASER UNIVERSlTY November 1999 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. National Library Bibliith&que nationale 1*1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant a la National Library of Canada to Bibliotheque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prster, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette these sous paper or electronic formats. la fome de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format electronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriete du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protege cette these. thesis .nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent itre imprimes reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. ABSTRACT The ongoing struggle for aboriginal rights in British Columbia has been matched by an ongoing attempt on the part of scholars to analyze it. The focus of many of these studies has been the court room, that is, the legaI battles to define aboriginal title and sovereignty. While important, this research does not address the political content of aboriginal cultural expression as it occurs in varied contexts. Throughout the twentieth century, mainstream Canadian society has understood aboriginal culture and politics as separate areas of activity. This thesis suggests that First Nations have not made such a rigid distinction between culture and politics. Musqueam cultural forms such as houseposts, dances, and weavings were a form of political expression about the past. Indeed, the thesis argues that they were a form of public history, produced to identify the community to others and to further their land claims vis-i-vis non-Natives and other First Nations. While these cultural presentations served particular political ends, they did so without violating Musqueam boundaries between public and private knowledge. This thesis examines three instances of Musqueam presentations of their culture and history to non-Natives. In preparation of the 1913 visit of the Royal Commission on Indian Affairs to the reserve, the Musquearn decorated a community hall with two carved houseposts. In 1966, they organized a dance performance for a provincial centennial event. More recently, in the early 1980s a group of Musquearn women produced weavings for sale and display in non-Native contexts. Over the course of the last century, Musqueam's traditional territory has been engulfed by the City of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. This proximity to a major urban centre has tended to overshadow the community's visibility. Cultural presentation was a way to identify a distinct community with continuing ties to a territory - it was a way to make history visible. respeclfirlly dedicated to Dornitlic A. Point, March 7, 1916 - April 20. I998 A great hisloriatl who is missed by many ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 1 acknowledge the Musqueam Band Council for granting me permission to write about their community's history for an academic project. I would especially like to thank Howard E. Grant and Leona Sparrow for their careful reading and thoughtful comments regarding Musqueam culture, history, and politics. Both of these individuals have contributed greatly to my understanding of the past. In addition, I am pleased to acknowledge the assistance of many individuals who were willing to share with me knowledge about Musqueam history. These include Andrew C. Charles, Fran and Delbert Guerin. Bob Guerin, Wendy John, Dominic Point, Debra Sparrow, and Vincent Stogan. Others who offered helpful insights are Michael Kew, Dena Klashinsky, Robyn Laba, Louise Point, Rose Point, Paige Raibmon, lay Rankin, and Wayne Suttles. Michael Kew was especially generous with his time throughout the duration of this project. Elizabeth Johnson of the MOA and Jana BuhImann of the National Archives Record Centre assisted with archival research. Also of great support and encouragement has been John and Margaret Roy and Poonam Verma. I acknowledge the work and support of my advisors: Dr. Douglas Cole who gave direction in the development of this topic and Dr. Karen Ferguson who, as the secondary reader, asked challenging questions which reminded me about the larger significance of history writing. I thank Dr. Ruth Phillips for her helpful comments as the external examiner. Graduate secretary Mary AM Pope offered crucial support and encouragement. And finally, I acknowledge the contribution of Dr. Tina Loo who went far beyond the call of duty in her reading of many versions of this thesis and offered superb insights, editorial assistance, and helped me to better understand the making of history. I am grateful to the many people responded to my numerous questions and requests for information and clarification. Any mistakes and mis-interpretations are, of course, my own. TABLE OF CONTENTS Approval Abstract Dedication Acknowledgments v Table of Contents vi List of Photographs vii Introduction Chapter One: Tsimle 'rn~xw'sand Qeyepelemmv 's House posts: Cultural Presentations to the Royal Commission on Indian Mairs. 13 Chapter Two: The Warrior Dance: Performance as Indian Entertainment and Aboriginal Protest. Chapter Three: Making History Visible: The Reappearance of Weaving at Musquearn. 78 Conclusion Bibliography Appendix A: Musqueam Declaration, June 10, 1 976 Appendix B: Musqueam Indian Band Research Agreement, October 13, 1998 Appendix C: Musqueam Indian Band Research Agreement, December 13, 1999 LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS Figure 1 Musqueam elders Vincent Stogan and Dominic Point ... greet Princess Diana and Prince Charles, 1986 WII Figure 2 Presentation of Musquearn houseposts at UBC, 1927 40 Figure 3 Musqueam leader during Royal Commission9 19 13 4 1 Figure 4 Musqueam leaders during the Royal Commission, 19 1 3 42 Figure 5 The Catechism House decorated for the visit of the Royal Commission, 19 13 Figure 6 Housepost at the Museum of Anthropology, undated 44 Figure 7 Warrior Dance performed at Tsawwassen, 1 966 75 Figure 8 Dominic Point in the Vancouver Sun, 1966 76 Figure 9 Musquearn dancers pose at UBC, 1936 77 Figure 10 Delegation of Salish leaders, 1906 106 Figure 1 1 Native Display at the Vancouver Folk Festival 107 Figure 12 The Musquearn Weavers, 1986 108 Figure 13 Musqueam Protest at the University of Endowment Lands, 1989 1 13 vii Figure I : ~Musqueameiders Vincent Stogan and Dominic Point greet Princess Diana and Prince Charles during Expo '86. Ruth Point and Vancouver Sun. viii INTRODUCTION This thesis is about public history. It examines the Musqueam First Nation's presentation of history and culture to non-Native audiences. While many histories are produced and told within the community or within specific families, Musqueam people have presented their past to non-Natives most often, it appears, in relation to their land c!airn. Since the colonial period, Musqueam people have petitioned the state, sent delegations to speak with government oficials, and taken their land claims to court. But throughout the twentieth century the Musqueam have also made selective use of material and performative culture to tell their history to non-Natives. They have displayed carvings, performed dances or made speeches at public events, and produced weavings for display in non-Native settings to identify their community to others. In the same period, mainstream Canadian society tended to decontextualue aboriginal culture fiom its political and social context. For example, ancient carvings became artifacts of a frozen past when exhibited in museums; dance performed at public events became spectacles of difference; and ceremonial textiles became decorative wall hangings. This thesis presents the argument that while non-Natives have made a distinction between culture and politics, for Native people they are not as easily separated. Musquearn cultural expression in the public realm should be read as a form of political expression. The term Musqueam has been used to define both a people and a place. The Musqueam are a distinct group within the Coast Salish linguistic category,' and they are a First Nation in British Columbia. Today, there are approximately one thousand registered band members, the majority of whom live or have relatives who live at the Musqueam Reserve No. 2, a reserve of 416 I See Wayne Suttles, "Central Coast Salish," in HandtKlok of North American Indians, Volume 7: Northwest CW, ed. Wayne Suttles (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1990), 453-475. 1 acres located at the mouth of the Fraser River in British Columbia. Archaeological evidence indicates that this village has been the site of uninterrupted residency for some 3,000 years.* Musqueam oral tradition tells us that their ancestors have lived in the area "fiom time immemorial. "3 The Musqueam speak Hunq'umin'um, a dialect of the Hallcomelem language spoken on the east coast of Vancouver Island from Victoria to Comox, along the Fraser River to Yale, and in parts of northern Washington. Today, Musqueam's traditional territory is more widely known by its Euro-Canadian designations, encompassing the Fraser River Delta, Burrard Inlet, English Bay, and the site of a major Canadian urban centre, the City of Vancouver. Vancouver's proximity to Musqueam has posed a unique problem for the community in terms of their visibility. Non-Native settlers began to populate this area in large numbers following the 1858 Fraser River gold rush and the establishment of New Westminster and Burrard Inlet as international ports for the area's lumbering and salmon canning industries.