SNUNEYMUXW (First Nation)

Chapter 18 SNUNEYMUXW (First Nation) The single most dangerous action you can take on this tour is failing to pay attention while travelling on the route. Do NOT read the following chapter while actively moving by vehicle, car, foot, bike, or boat. SNUNEYMUXW (First Nation) Driving Tour David Bodaly is a cultural interpreter for the Snuneymuxw First Nation, working on Saysutshun Island. Simon Priest is a past academic and Nanaimo resident with a passion for history and interpretation. Totem Pole, carved by Snuneymuxw Chief Wilkes James, outside the Bank of Montreal, in 1922 (moved to Georgia Park in 1949). Originally called Colviletown, Nanaimo was renamed in 1860. The new name was a mispronunciation of Snuneymuxw (Snoo-nay-mowck), which means “gathering place of a great people.” The Snuneymuxw are Nanaimo’s First Nation and one indigenous Canadian member, among many, of the Coast Salish. Traditional territory of the Coast Salish people COAST SALISH The Coast Salish people occupy coastal lands of British Columbia in Canada, along with coastal lands of Oregon and Washington States in the USA. This map shows the traditional territory of the Coast Salish and identifies the location of the Snuneymuxw people on the Salish Sea within that traditional territory. Coast Salish typically trace lineage along the father’s line of kinship. However, the neighbouring groups outside of Salishan territory, such as the Nuu-chah-nulth (west coast of Vancouver Island) and Kwakiutl/ Kwakwaka’wakw (north island) typically trace inheritance and descent through the mother’s blood line. The latter two groups also speak different languages than the Coast Salish, but share cultural similarities. The Coast Salish are well known for their use of the soft Western Red Cedar in architecture and art. The longhouse, home to a large and extended family, is built from carved house posts and split planks, with an earthen floor. Canoes, totems, and masks were also carved from cedar. The mask is a prominent part of ceremonial dances that express the spirit power of individuals and the community. Inner bark, stripped from one side of the cedar tree, was woven into baskets and hats, both waterproofed from Douglas fir sap. Some clothing was woven from cedar strips; others were woven from goat or dog wool. SNUNEYMUXW Snuneymuxw culture is founded upon a deep connection to… [and] …sacred relationship with all things in the natural world - the land, waters and air, and all of the plants and animals we live with. Respect for the spirit and life in each of these, and the intricate relationships and interconnectedness we are all in together is a key value and principle of our culture. (https://www.snuneymuxw.ca/nation/culture, retrieved April 17, 2019). Ancestral settlements and place names of the Snuneymuxw Enlargement of Snuneymuxw settlements in the Nanaimo city area, showing recent decades of landfill In their origin story, the initial male and female members of this vibrant First Nation came from atop Teytexen (Tay-ta-han), aka Mount Benson, to live at xwsaluxwul (_________________), or what is now the city harbour. The children of this original couple settled in several villages as extended families and radiated outward from there. Above are maps of those ancestral villages with connections retained to tribal hunting and fishing locations near Qualicum Bay to the north, Barnston Island/Fraser River to the east, and the Gulf Islands to the south, as Snuneymuxw moved in seasonal cycles to hunt and fish. The Snuneymuxw have lived here for thousands of years. Each settlement had at least one row (and many had several rows) of longhouses. The longhouse is the traditional home for a family. Between the longhouse and water would be collections of canoes, some in canoe houses. Sets of fishing nets and traps would be hung up to dry or be deployed in the currents to catch fish. Other nets were strung high between trees to catch flying waterfowl. Shellfish were harvested from the surrounding sand and mud. Small mammals were hunted in the nearby meadows and plants were gathered from the nearby forests. A midden (garbage heap) was formed off to one side and broken shells remained without decomposing. The Snuneymuxw speak Island Hul’q’umin’um’ (Hul-k-a-mee-n-um). Their tongue is one out of two dozen dialects within the Salishan language family. First Nation peoples on Vancouver Island to the north (Snawnawas/Nanoose & Qualicum) and south (Stz’uminus/Chemainus, Penelakut & Cowichan) also speak various dialects of Island Hul’q’umin’um’ and share much with Snuneymuxw culture. First Nations on the mainland speak several other dialects organized into the downriver group of Hunquminem (lower Fraser Valley) and the upriver group of Halqemeylem (upper Fraser Valley). The diversity of these dialects was united through the cross marriage of families as the ancient Snuneymuxw travelled back and forth to the mainland for seasonal hunting and fishing. These dialects were once dangerously close to becoming extinct. At the turn of this last century, only a handful of elders were considered fluent in their language. Island Hul’q’umin’um’ revitalization initiatives are bringing the dialects back to becoming more common in the Snuneymuxw culture. For example, Hul’q’umin’um’ is taught in Snuneymuxw schools and a Voices of Snuneymuxw project aims to capture language in audio recordings and to develop a local language dictionary. RECORDED HISTORY Halq̓eméylem Halqemeylem UP hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ Hunquminem DOWN The Snuneymuxw keep their history through sacred stories. A few of the common ones are retold in this chapter. However, other stories can only be shared orally by an interpreter. Many remain private. Documented history begins with the arrival of the Europeans. The first to visit were Spanish explorers in 1592. The British followed later when James Cook landed at Nootka Island and declared all of Vancouver Island to be a British Colony in 1778. The Spanish soon returned with navigators to map the water and land in 1791. The British came back with the 1792 Vancouver expedition and mapped “their” new lands. The dispute with the Spanish was settled in 1819, as Britain controlled the coastline north of California. Chief Che-wech-i-kan shared the presence of coal with the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) in Victoria. They sent an agent to prospect and exploit this resource in 1852. Chief Che-wech-i-kan received the nickname Coal Tyee (Coal Chief) from the HBC, but the Snuneymuxw later ostracized him, because he was not at liberty to share this knowledge outside of their community. Touching coal was forbidden. Coal on the beaches, land and underwater was thought to be connected to the black whales or Quon- as/Qwunus, of which the Snuneymuxw were afraid. So, they chose not to touch the coal, in case this would upset the black whales that might kill them. One day, they had a cooking fire on the beach and they noticed that the smoke had a bad smell that was making some people sick. Investigating by moving the logs in the fire, they found a large black rock that appeared to be burning like wood. The discovery of this pungent smell and a rock that could easily burn reinforced the dangers of touching coal. In the years that followed the coal “discovery,” the Snuneymuxw played a positive role in the growth and success of Nanaimo as a coal mining town. Without their assistance in mining and loading coal, the city would not have become famous for the quality of its exports. Unfortunately, the Snuneymuxw paid the ultimate price for their generosity. As mines expanded, they were successively resettled in new, less desirable locations to make room for each colliery (coal works where coal was sorted and washed). Since they moved around seasonally, they would often return to find encroachment on their villages. During the 1850s, smallpox epidemics broke out in BC. In an effort to control the disease, police forcibly removed First Nations people, encamped around Victoria. Unknowingly infected, they left town and returned home to their traditional territories and spread the sickness. On average, half the populations of reserved lands died from smallpox and the act of forced removal was labeled “deliberate genocide.” During these periods of diminished population, illness, and cultural destruction, several treaties were established, but these have been challenged in the courts, because some terms were left blank, other terms were added after signature, most indigenous people had little comprehension of what they were giving, and the purchase price was paltry in comparison to the vast value of the lands being ceded. Excerpts of the signed Douglas Treaty with the Saalequun (note most signatures by marking an ‘X’) For example, the Douglas Treaties of 1854 were written agreements between a few indigenous groups and the British Colony of Vancouver Island. One treaty between the Saalequun (previous name of the Snuneymuxw) and the Colony affirmed the rights of the indigenous population to keep their settlements and maintain hunting and fishing access, in exchange for 668 blankets and an undisclosed amount of money (likely less than $100). Here is an example of the wording used in these Douglas Treaties. Know all men that we, the chiefs and people of the Saalequun Tribe, who have signed our names and made our marks to this deed on the twenty third day of December, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, do consent to surrender, entirely and for ever (sic), to James Douglas, the agent of the Hudson’s Bay Company in Vancouver Island, that is to say, for the Governor, Deputy Governor, and Committee of the same, the whole of the lands extending from Commercial Inlet, 12 miles up the Nanaimo River….

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