TLA’AMIN HOUSING ARCHITECTURE AND HOME TERRITORIES IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: INVISIBLE SPACES SHAPING HISTORICAL INDIGENOUS EDUCATION A Dissertation Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree PhD In the Department of History University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon By Omeasoo Wāhpāsiw ≤ Copyright Omeasoo Wāhpāsiw November, 2016. All rights reserved. PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this dissertation in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this dissertation in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised my dissertation work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department or the Dean of the College in which my thesis work was done. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this dissertation or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my dissertation. DISCLAIMER Reference in this dissertation to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the University of Saskatchewan. The views and opinions of the author expressed herein do not state or reflect those of the University of Saskatchewan, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. Requests for permission to copy or to make other uses of materials in this thesis/dissertation in whole or part should be addressed to: Head of the History Department Room 619, Arts Building 9 Campus Drive University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5Af Canada OR Dean College of Graduate Studies and Research University of Saskatchewan 107 Administration Place Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A2 Canada i Abstract A revolution took place in Sliammon, BC, between the late 1800s and 1970s. As with colonialism elsewhere in Canada, this included changes in Indigenous religion, health, governance, and every other mechanism of life, including architecture. By the 1970s, the Tla’amin, who were once longhouse people, came to live in two-level former military base houses from Ladner, BC. Using oral history holdings at the former Sliammon Treaty Office and personal interviews, the impact that changes in housing architecture had on individual, family, community life and relationships to environmental territories, is reviewed. Tla’amin housing is first seen as a site for displaying personal power and territory, both physically and metaphorically in stories. Through decades of housing architecture changes, including a transition to single-family dwellings and then to segregated spaces, including bedrooms, consequent shifts in power and authority impeded the ability to pass on cultural knowledge through intergenerational sharing, which once happened in open spaces within the longhouse or one-room shack. Additionally, residential school attendance disrupted family relationships and transformed how Tla’amin young people carried out coming of age ceremonies. Throughout these challenges, Tla’amin people used strategies to maintain cultural continuity and Indigenous knowledge, including emphasizing accessible ceremonies, enforcing intergenerational relationships, ensuring strong connections to their territories and natural environments both through travel and symbolism, and encouraging youth to maintain knowledge that could be found in the environments and within themselves. This dissertation examines the Tla’amin relationship to created and naturalspaces, developing a deeper understanding of human–architecture and human-land relationships. Additionally, it demonstrates historical approaches to Indigenous education. The Tla’amin have their own residential school stories, and this dissertation reveals some of them, and the impact these particular experiences had on the community. Oral history is extensively used. ii Acknowledgements I owe great thanks to Dr. Keith Thor Carlson, my supervisor, as an academic and scholarly visionary, a guidance counselor, and a mentor who has provided me with multiple opportunities for growth as a scholar and teacher, as well as in the work force. To my committee, Dr. Valerie Korinek, Dr. J. R. Miller, and Dr. Rob Innes, thank you for inspiring this array of topics and themes. To Debbie Dan, Nikita Johnston, and Teedie Kagume, thank you for your help at the Powell River Historical Museum and Archives. Thank you to my parents, Peter Butt and Louise Halfe, for encouraging me to work within both academia and Indigenous communities, and for providing your love and guidance throughout, as well as to my partner, Victor Carter, and dear friends and mentors, Kathryn Labelle, Amy Samson, Elizabeth Scott, Tasha Hubbard, Nancy VanStyvendale, and Marie Lovrod. Thank you to my best friend, Ruby Dhand, for your constant inspiration, insight, support, and kindness. Additionally, I thank my friends and colleagues Kimberly Booker, Kit Bevan, Harry Dhand, Marnie Howlett, Laura Larson, and Nan Lee, who offered critical technical and editing support as well as friendship. I received much-needed financial support from the Department of History at the University of Saskatchewan, College of Graduate Studies and Research, Government of Saskatchewan, Freehorse Family Wellness Society, University of Saskatchewan Faculty Association, the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA), Dr. Mona Holmlund at Dalhousie University, Dr. Brenda MacDougall at University of Ottawa, Canada Research Chair in Native–Newcomer Relations, Dr. J. R. Miller, the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation (NAAF), and the INDSPIRE Foundation. Thank you additionally to Kay Lerat and Beverly Lemire for your encouragement and kindness. Finally, I depended heavily on the support and knowledge of Tla’amin community Elders and members, including Peter August, Charlie Bob, Floyd George, Phil George, David Louie, Eugene Louie, Fred Louie, John Louie, Larry Louie, Corinne Mitchell, Leslie Adams, Melvin Mitchell, Elsie Paul, Michelle Washington, Alvin Wilson, their families, and all of the Elders that came before. iii DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to the people of Tla’amin, who made me feel like family, to their ancestors and people to come, and to my own grandmothers, Madelaine Moyah and Ruth Marie Butt, and all of my grandmothers and grandfathers who came before. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Permission to Use …………………………………………………………………………i Disclaimer ……………………………………………………………………………….. i Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………. ii Acknowledgements .……………………………………………………………………. iii Dedication .……………………………………………………………………………....iv List of Tables ….……………………………………………………………………….. vi List of Figures ….……………………………………………………………………… vii Introduction …….…………………………………………………………………………1 Chapter 1: “Big Houses” or “big houses”: Housing Sizes and Their Implications for Tla’amin Status and Expression in the Twentieth Century ..……………………… 28 Chapter 2: If These Walls Could Talk: What Tla’amin Stories Reveal about Tla’amin Housing, 1969–2015 ………………………………………………..… 62 Chapter 3: Educating Children in the Tla’amin House: A Spatial Approach to Education through a Century of Change ………………………..............................…85 Chapter 4: Finding Spaces for Tla’amin Teachings: The Challenges of Residential School ……………………………………………………......................…119 Conclusion ...……………………………………………………………………….…. 154 Bibliography.……………………………………………………………………….…. 159 v LIST OF TABLES 1.1. House Sizes in Sliammon, 1915 ………………………………………………..... 44 vi LIST OF FIGURES 0.1. Map of All Tla’amin Lands, 2006 ………………………………………...………4 0.2. Sliammon from the Air, circa 2015.……………………………………………..... 5 0.3. Longhouse at K’omoks, circa 1878……………………………………………… 10 0.4. Sliammon in the Morning, October 2015 ……………………………………….. 12 0.5. John Louie Preparing for the Governance House Opening Ceremony, April 9, 2016…………………………………………………………….………….... 27 1.1. Bella Coola Longhouse, circa 1890………………………………………………38 1.2. Looking out at Harwood Island (Ahgykson) from Sliammon….……….………..47 1.3. Sliammon after the Fire of 1918………………………….…………………..…. 49 1.4. Sliammon Shoreline Showing Rebuilt Houses and Church Two Years after the Fire of 1918 …..……….…………...……...…….…………...……...……… 49 1.5. Chief Tom and Mary with Sliammon Houses in the Background, 1930–1938…………..……….…………..……….……………..……….…….….…. 51 1.6. Young Men in front of Sliammon House, circa 1948 …………………...……... 52 1.7. Two Boys in front of Tla’amin House, circa 1948 ……………………………... 57 2.1. Johnny George and Leslie Adams in front of Tla’amin House, circa 1945 …..... 65 2.2. Mink ……………………………………………………………………………...75 2.3. Wolf with Catch ………………………………………………………………… 77 3.1. Fieldschool Students Learning from Elders, 2013 ………………...……...…… 106 3.2. Cedar “Nurse Tree” with New Cedar Growth Inside.………………………..… 111 4.1. Kuper Island Industrial School ………………………………………………… 131 4.2. Indian School, Sechelt, BC, circa 1920………………………………………… 138 5.1. Hegus Clint Williams Opens Governance House, April 9, 2013 ……………… 158 vii Introduction This study is tightly bound by the Canadian government’s attempt to place the Coast Salish Tla’amin people on one designated spot, Indian