Everything That Belongs to Us

Sto:lo elder, Elizabeth Phillips, sits against the camera lens. With ease, she recounts a Sto:lo legend of Bear and Coyote in Halq’ameylem. The Native language of the tribe from British Columbia sounds earthy. It’s one of the 7,000 indigenous languages in 5,000 cultures that hang by a thread. Decades of residential schools and cultural genocide left deep marks on First Nations. A Handful of men and women survived forced assimilation, retaining their culture. Mrs. Phillips, the last fluent speaker of Halq’ameylem is one of them.

UFV Sto:lo Place Names Tour 2016. Guided by Sonny McHalsie of the Sto:lo Nation

Every river, stone, and valley has its own spirit — a geography of the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia — found only in indigenous storytelling.

The most known Sto:lo folktale celebrates Mount Cheam, a snow-covered peak near town Chilliwack. Lílheqi was a tribe matriarch, worried about the well-being of her people. Every morning, she cried near Fraser River. One day, a spirit, Xals, heard her. And coming to Lílheqi, he asked her why she was upset. “I am old and worried about leaving my people. How will they provide for themselves?” Touched by the woman’s concern, the spirit transformed her into a mountain. Since then, the tribe could always come to her with collected berries.

Today, Sto:lo are rekindling their legacy, but they are hit by many dead ends. And so are Idaho’s Blackfoot tribe, New Zealand’s Maori, and Alaskan Inuits. For one complete story about Mount Cheam, there are hundreds of forgotten ones.

UFV Sto:lo Place Names Tour 2016. Guided by Sonny McHalsie of the Sto:lo Nation

Maybe there is no reason for Europeans to know about Lílheqi or Coyote and Bear. After all, sitting in Starbucks on Malostranské Náměstí, the problems of the River Tribe from British Columbia seems far enough. But, touching the massive cedar weaving with a thunderbird hanging at the Vancouver airport is just 9 hours away. Nothing is far in today’s world. The Death of the Australian Areba language is a loss for everyone. Our children won’t have a chance to learn about the names it had for crimson rosella and black cockatoo, or the dances that its people performed to thank the rising sun, the songs sung in it. The door to a unique worldview slammed shut, Areba vanished and its culture with it.

To save indigenous knowledge from following Areba, First Nations need help. The survival of their heritage will determine our own legacy. The United Nations recognizes the 9th of August as the International Day of The World’s Indigenous People. So, giving 5 minutes of this day to read about the First Salmon Ceremony or play Maori Hine e Hine can save a culture. In the words of the Sto:lo historian, Sonny McHalsie: “This is our land. We have to take care of everything that belongs to us.”

In 1981, Susan Point began her career with engravings. Her style of designs has been reflective of the art and ideals of her own people, the Coast Salish.

This medium post was written by an AAU Humanities, Society and Culture student, Klára Chmelařová who spent a Fall 2016 semester studying abroad in British Columbia at the University of the Fraser Valley, a partner university of AAU.

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