More communities should publish this kind of book

Page 16

Publishers Douglas & McIntyre promote the Sto:lo-Coast Salish Historical Atlas as "the first such atlas in the world," and the first historical atlas produced by an Aboriginal organization.

An added bonus is that the exceptional scholarship of this first edition, hard-cover atlas adds much to the documentation of Native life without the romanticized or distorted opinions that are sometimes found in popular works about Natives by non-Native writers.

The book then should serve to inspire other Aboriginal cultural groups to document their own history and customs as meticulously and with the same integrity as the standard set by the Sto:lo.

The Sto:lo-Coast Salish Historical Atlas establishes the people's connection to their homeland over a timeline of 15,000 years. Its 208 pages contain 46 chapters, more than 100 maps, 115 illustrations, 193 photographs, and more than 720 Halq'emeylem place names with English translations.

The project of writing and illustrating the origin, movement and increasingly complex lives of the Sto:lo people was completed in just 18 months by a team of Aboriginal authors, editors and advisors who are mostly members of the Sto:lo Nation's Aboriginal rights and title department and who have other job duties.

Their decision to create the atlas resulted from numerous requests for information about the nation. An historical atlas was decided upon as the best way to convey a wide range of information to a disparate group of inquirers.

"The atlas form offered the best way of presenting a body of cultural information in a manner accessible and palatable to Sto:lo community members, who continue to prefer oral and visual communication over written text," writes editor Keith Thor Carlson.

Carlson claims there was no political interference in the project. There was, however, sustained contact with all segments of Sto:lo society, as well as with librarians, archivists, technicians and support staff from a number of quality institutions.

Not everyone will agree with all aspects of the work, but that is to be expected anywhere that historical and cultural findings are subject to numerous interpretations.

For instance, there are three major Sto:lo dialects, but no standardized system of writing in the Halkomelem language. Because orthographic work had already been done for the "upriver dialect," however, the authors chose to adopt those spelling and grammatical conventions in translation and where Sto:lo words appear in the text. The downriver and Vancouver Island dialects are not represented.

In addition, some may question why portions of the book include analysis; other parts, Appendix 2, for instance, are left to readers' interpretations. Appendix 2 is a chronological list of petitions and letters from the Sto:lo and near Coast Salish people to British and Canadian government representatives between 1864 and 1976. They outline many concerns about land and resources and about cultural intrusions such as the Canadian government's banning of potlatches. These documents also reveal emerging differences of opinion between Native groups as a result of their regional perspectives on their relationship to the newcomers.

A few minor copy editing glitches-a missing word, the misuse of "effect" for "affect" for instance, are not serious and don't detract from the value of the book. These are the kinds of things that should be corrected in a second edition.

One limitation is the lack of information about the tribe on the American side of the present-day border.

Editor Carlson expresses some frustration that as a result of "colonial power-brokering" it was not possible to find, to obtain, or to receive permission to publish materials that pertain to Sto:lo-Coast Salish life south of the 49th parallel. These gaps also, perhaps, could be remedied in a subsequent edition.

Relatively scant information is available to explain Dreambook of a Sto:lo Chief, to which five full pages are reserved for drawings. Aso, some photos, a few less than two by two-and-one-half inches, should be larger. Enlarging pictures and adding text to the dreambook would have resulted in a larger atlas of 230 to 250 pages.

Already priced at $50 U.S., an enlarged atlas could be prohibitively expensive, but the book is invaluable for the scope of the material covered and the enduring use to which it will be put by teachers and anyone else who is interested in West Coast history, Aboriginal rights and land issues or the natural resources within the Sto:lo-Coast Salish territory.

Financial support for the project came from numerous, large, private-sector sponsors, from the Department of Indian Affairs Land and Trust Services and from the Sto:lo Nation itself. Net proceeds from sale of the book will be used in cross-cultural efforts.

It is a book that will go a long way in revealing the River People, as the Sto:lo are identified in their language, to others outside their territory. It may also serve as a spark that will encourage new generations of Sto:lo scholars to enlarge upon this historical record.

Although it validates the Sto:lo world view and experience, the Sto:lo -Coast Salish Historical Atlas does not fall into the trap of becoming an anti-European polemic. It does go a long way toward bridging information gaps about an Aboriginal population that heretofore has been a missing or misrepresented piece in the Canadian mosaic.