This content was created by Anonymous.

This site requires Javascript to be turned on. Please enable Javascript and reload the page.

As I Remember It: Teachings (Ɂəms tɑɁɑw) from the Life of a Sliammon Elder The Sliammon-language term for this label means “it is mine.” This book contains the teachings and history of the ɬaʔamɩn people as remembered and narrated by Elder Elsie Paul. The effort and care she takes in this work is important. She offers a counter-narrative to incorrect and inappropriate interpretations previously drawn by settlers. Please respect Elsie Paul’s right and responsibility to relate the history and teachings in her own words. She does so from her own perspective and does not attempt to speak for all ɬaʔamɩn people. Please attribute the stories shared in this book to Elsie Paul.

Some sections of this book are authored by other individuals and should be attributed to the appropriate person(s) as indicated. This label refers to a teaching that emerges throughout this book: “you learn from someone by example.” (The literal translation of tiʔiwš is “fast learner.”) The goal of this book is to share ɬaʔamɩn teachings and history widely with ɬaʔamɩn community members, students, and teachers at all levels, and with any other interested readers. This is Elsie’s goal in sharing ʔəms tɑʔɑw, and all of the authors hope the book serves an educational purpose. The authors ask readers to take care to use this information respectfully and in context. Material in this book may be culturally sensitive for a number of reasons. This label identifies such content by stating: “it is ours.”

ɬaʔamɩn teachings, laws, and practices that flow from them are subject to the ʔəms naʔ label because they are communally held and collectively stewarded by ɬaʔamɩn people for future generations. Much of this knowledge is captured in our legends, for example. The authors recognize that ɬaʔamɩn, Klahoose, and Homalco families have their own tellings of the legends.

Other parts of the book are labelled “ʔəms naʔ” because the ongoing nature of settler colonialism means that the histories discussed here are not part of a distant past. For close to a century, colonial laws and policies prevented community members from sharing teachings freely in their community without fear of punishment or retribution, imposing silences that remain even today. Thus this label also applies to chapters that discuss the genocidal practices that sought to interrupt the transmission of teachings and to sever ɬaʔamɩn sovereign rights to their territory.

Please treat information and photographs marked with this label with special care, especially if you plan to share them with others.

Baskets for Hawaii

This page has tags:

Contents of this tag:
Contents of this tag:
3. Clean Roots
4. Digging for Roots
5. Master Basket Makers
6. Basket for Baby Jeannie
7. Elders and Cedar Roots
8. Baby Baskets Baby baskets made by Molly Timothy (Granny Molly) in the early 1950s. The basket on the left was made for Jeannie, born to Elsie Paul in 1954, and has since been used for all of Elsie’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. The blue design is made with natural and dyed cherry bark. The basket on the right was made for a daughter of Elsie’s Aunt Agnes, and the design is woven with dyed reed.
9. Fine Craftsmanship
10. Granny Molly’s Baby Baskets Side by Side Baby baskets made by Molly Timothy (Granny Molly) in the early 1950s. The basket on the left was made for Jeannie, born to Elsie Paul in 1954, and has since been used for all of Elsie’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. The blue design is made with natural and dyed cherry bark. The basket on the right was made for a daughter of Elsie’s Aunt Agnes, and the design is woven with dyed reed.
11. Basket for Aunt Agnes’s Daughter
12. Learning by Watching
13. Root Cleaning
14. Working Together
15. Cleaning Roots
16. Baskets for Hawaii
17. Baby Papoose (1)
18. Baby Papoose (2)
19. Baskets in Progress
20. Repatriation
21. Beautiful Baskets
22. Masters
27. Root Digging
28. Part of Our Survival
29. The Chinese Restaurant
Contents of this tag:
Contents of this tag:
Contents of this tag:
Contents of this tag:
9. Sechelt Indian Reserve Church Opening
10. Basket for Baby Jeannie
11. Downtown Vancouver
12. Fine Craftsmanship
13. Baby Baskets Baby baskets made by Molly Timothy (Granny Molly) in the early 1950s. The basket on the left was made for Jeannie, born to Elsie Paul in 1954, and has since been used for all of Elsie’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. The blue design is made with natural and dyed cherry bark. The basket on the right was made for a daughter of Elsie’s Aunt Agnes, and the design is woven with dyed reed.
14. Granny Molly’s Baby Baskets Side by Side Baby baskets made by Molly Timothy (Granny Molly) in the early 1950s. The basket on the left was made for Jeannie, born to Elsie Paul in 1954, and has since been used for all of Elsie’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. The blue design is made with natural and dyed cherry bark. The basket on the right was made for a daughter of Elsie’s Aunt Agnes, and the design is woven with dyed reed.
15. ɬaʔamɩn Parade
16. Basket for Aunt Agnes’s Daughter
17. Sechelt Indian Marching Band
18. Berry Picking (1)
19. Buddies (1)
20. Berry Pickers' Cabin
21. ɬaʔamɩn Boys
22. Mary George and Denise Smith
23. Going to Work
24. Willie and Daisy Paul
25. Elsie’s Great-Grandparents
26. Makeshift Church
27. Remains of the Fire
28. Away from Home
29. Rose and Alec Louie
30. Glen Paul, Stella Olney, and Sharon Paul
31. Baskets for Hawaii
32. Sliammon Sacred Heart Church
33. Class of 1917
35. tʼᶿɛwqʼ (Elderberries)
36. Making Music
37. Visiting with Annie and Norman Gallagher
38. The Powell River Royal Canadian Mounted Police
39. Sechelt Residential School
40. Residential School Chapel (1)
41. A Day in Town
42. Death but Not Sin
43. Sliammon Day School In addition to attending the Sechelt Indian Residential School, Elsie Paul occasionally attended a day school in the Sliammon community in the winter months. The Sliammon day school teachers were Pat McGuiness and Mr. Gallagher. Back row: Unknown boy with hat, Katherine Blaney, Teacher Pat McGuinness, Rosaline Wilson, unknown girl, Marilyn Louie (tall in the very back behind unknown girl) Middle row: Ernie Galligos (shorter boy), Joe Paul, Agnes Paul, unknown girl, Front (Small Children): Sarah tom, Maggie Wilson, and Joe Francis (Elsie Paul's half brother)
44. Annie Blaney at Okeover
45. Shinglemill
46. Baskets in Progress
47. Boat to Westview When this photo was taken, it was quicker to get to town by boat than by foot, since people didn’t have cars yet. Peggy Harry is at the back of the group (with barrettes in her hair); Molly Timothy is on the right (with headband); Elsie Paul is in the centre (with flowers in her hair); Stella Timothy is centre right, beside Elsie; further right, holding a baby, is Agnes McGee, and in front of her is Sosen Galligos. Smokey John is on the left (wearing a hat), and lɑsɑ is in front of him.
48. Day School
49. Bows and Arrows Powell River community members commemorated British Columbia’s centennial by dressing up in costumes that reflected their imagination of how “Indians” and “pioneers” looked in the nineteenth century. This was a common practice in settler communities in Canada and the United States. Settlers “played Indian” for reasons that ranged from political protest to entertainment. The act of “playing Indian” expressed a settler sense of entitlement to the places that they or their ancestors had colonized. The costumes did not demonstrate meaningful relationship or engagement with Indigenous peoples or practices. Today, we understand these occasions to be forms of cultural appropriation.
50. Boat Ramp at the Shinglemill
51. Willie and Alec
52. Children “Playing Indian” Powell River community members commemorated British Columbia’s centennial by dressing up in costumes that reflected their imagination of how “Indians” and “pioneers” looked in the nineteenth century. This was a common practice in settler communities in Canada and the United States. Settlers “played Indian” for reasons that ranged from political protest to entertainment. The act of “playing Indian” expressed a settler sense of entitlement to the places that they or their ancestors had colonized. The costumes did not demonstrate meaningful relationship or engagement with Indigenous peoples or practices. Today, we understand these occasions to be forms of cultural appropriation.
53. Rodmay Hotel
54. Church House
55. Golfing “Indian” Powell River community members commemorated British Columbia’s centennial by dressing up in costumes that reflected their imagination of how “Indians” and “pioneers” looked in the nineteenth century. This was a common practice in settler communities in Canada and the United States. Settlers “played Indian” for reasons that ranged from political protest to entertainment. The act of “playing Indian” expressed a settler sense of entitlement to the places that they or their ancestors had colonized. The costumes did not demonstrate meaningful relationship or engagement with Indigenous peoples or practices. Today, we understand these occasions to be forms of cultural appropriation.
56. Society Lady “Indians” Powell River community members commemorated British Columbia’s centennial by dressing up in costumes that reflected their imagination of how “Indians” and “pioneers” looked in the nineteenth century. This was a common practice in settler communities in Canada and the United States. Settlers “played Indian” for reasons that ranged from political protest to entertainment. The act of “playing Indian” expressed a settler sense of entitlement to the places that they or their ancestors had colonized. The costumes did not demonstrate meaningful relationship or engagement with Indigenous peoples or practices. Today, we understand these occasions to be forms of cultural appropriation.
57. Patricia Theatre
58. Willie and Stanley
59. Patricia Theatre, Interior
60. Repatriation
62. Groundbreaking
63. Sing Lee Building
64. Rodmay
65. Kora's Strawberry Farm
67. Cafeteria
68. Procession from Our Lady of the Rosary Church
69. Berry Picking (2)
70. Residential School Chapel (2)
71. Paul Family
72. Bill, Rose, and čine
73. Beautiful Baskets
75. Powell River Motor Traders
77. Contact Happened
78. Designated Area
80. tʼᶿɛwqʼ
81. Problems Handed down from History
82. Part of Our Survival
83. We Were Already Here
84. Her Name Was Jane
86. Lonely and Homesick
87. The Chinese Restaurant
88. My Dog Patsy
89. Watch Your Children
90. Homebrew
92. Police Patrol (2)
94. Police Patrol (1)
Contents of this tag:
3. ɬaʔamɩn Parade
4. Mary George and Denise Smith
5. Working Together
6. Baskets for Hawaii
7. Language Work Linguist Honoré Watanabe stands behind ɬaʔamɩn Elders at the Elders Lodge. Elsie was caretaker and lived at the Elders Lodge for many years. From left: Marion Harry, Mary George, and Elsie Paul. Honoré worked extensively with these three women over more than two decades, living with Elsie during his time in Sliammon. Marion was Elsie’s “little sister” at residential school and worked with Honoré to transcribe and translate the selections in Sliammon language included in this publication.
8. Baskets in Progress
9. Party Time
11. Masters
12. Watch Your Children
Contents of this tag:
Contents of this tag:
1. Master Basket Makers
2. Elders and Cedar Roots
3. Learning by Watching
4. Root Cleaning
5. Working Together
6. Cleaning Roots
7. At the Elders Lodge Elsie Paul with ɬaʔamɩn Elders when she was running the Elders’ program. Front row, from left: Elsie Paul, Henry Bob, Katherine Blaney, Mary Harry, Rose Louie (behind Mary), Joe Paul Sr. (behind Rose), Willie Bob, Calvin Harry. Back row, from left: Louise Bob, Marie Hackett (behind), Nora Wilson, Annie Dominick, Dave Dominick, Agnes McGee, Rose Peddie, Peta Francis (Okee Dokee), Johnny George, Charlie Charlie, Peggy Harry.
8. Baskets for Hawaii
9. Sliammon Day School In addition to attending the Sechelt Indian Residential School, Elsie Paul occasionally attended a day school in the Sliammon community in the winter months. The Sliammon day school teachers were Pat McGuinness and Mr. Gallagher. Back row: Unknown boy with hat, Katherine Blaney, Teacher Pat McGuinness, Rosaline Wilson, unknown girl, Marilyn Louie (tall in the very back behind unknown girl). Middle row: Ernie Galligos (shorter boy), Joe Paul, Agnes Paul, unknown girl. Front row (small children): Sarah Tom, Maggie Wilson, and Joe Francis (Elsie Paul’s half brother)
10. Going to Church (1)
11. Elders
Contents of this tag:
1. Baskets for Hawaii
Contents of this tag:
1. Baskets for Hawaii