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As I Remember It: Teachings (Ɂəms tɑɁɑw) from the Life of a Sliammon Elder 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. 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.

Mending the Net

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Twins Are Gifted
“Because they were twins – our people have always believed that twins carry good energy. They are gifted. They come with gifts.”
This healer, him and his twin brother, they could really read each other so well, they could feel, they could sense what the other one was doing. Because twins are very sensitive to each other. They share the same feelings. And because people travelled and camped quite a lot, the other brother went over to the other side of Texada Island. They were fishin’ out there and a storm came up. So they decided just to camp there, on the far side of Texada, decided just to stay put and wait out the storm. And they had been gone for a couple of nights, and the mother got really worried. She was becomin’ very concerned – it’s been two days, maybe three days, and he hasn’t come back from his trip. There’s him and this other man that had gone on this trip. So she said to her son, to Felix, said, “Why are you not worried about your brother? You should be doing something. He’s been gone for several days and you should be worried. You should be concerned. You should find him – go and find him.” “Oh,” he says, “oh, I’ll meditate on it.” And he did. He went out to his fire, lit his fire and called upon the energy, the spirits around him, and reached out to his brother. Looked for him: “Where are you?” When he came out of his trance he said to his mother, “Oh, I found him. He’s okay. He’s camped way over there, outside of Texada Island, or that island over there. That’s where he’s at.”
And when the brother came back home, he told his story of how his brother found him over there. He said while they were camped, he seen a lightning way at the point – point of, like, Blubber Bay end there. He seen a lightning there. It just flashed there and there was thunder. And then it came closer to where they were. And then it came very close to where they were. Three times that hit. And it was gone. So he said to his travelling companion, “That was my brother. He’s looking for me. Now he’s gone. He’s found us.” So that was his story when he came back.
“You do not belittle the work that the worker does, the healer does. Respect that healer. Honour what he does. Believe in it. Only then will good things happen.”
And to me I don’t doubt that that happened. That was the story that was always told in our family. So workin’ with things, like, workin’ with nature, that they were able to use the resources – that nature was the resources of the people. So to me, that’s a very special story. It doesn’t happen if you are not a believer. And that’s what we were always told: “You have to believe. You have to honour. You have to be serious. It’s not a laughing matter. You do not belittle the work that the worker does, the healer does. Respect that healer. Honour what he does. Believe in it. Only then will good things happen. Or only then will you hear what is the truth.” And these are proven facts as far as I’m concerned. That because people believed, and they went into it believing, and getting the answer they were looking for. They were rare. They were gifted people. They were very gifted people. Like in this incident with the two brothers. Because they were twins – our people have always believed that twins carry good energy. They are gifted. They come with gifts. So in this case, it was proven that they were gifted.
Old-Timers
“I’d see old people down the beach gathering wood for their fire with a cane. They’re walking around with a cane.”
The old-timers, years ago, I used to see a lot of them, they were very, very independent. They were really up and moving, and self-reliant, and as old as some of them were, they were still able to get out. I’d see old people down the beach gathering wood for their fire with a cane. They’re walking around with a cane. And I used to see an old lady always – every day in the summer, walkin’ along the beach packing the big basket on her back and gathering wood, piling it for later use. With her cane she’d be walking along the beach gathering driftwood. She didn’t go and expect someone – “Come cut my wood for me,” or “Bring me wood.” She was self-reliant! So a lot of the older people were very, very hard, where they were used to hard work. They were used to doing things for themselves. And that has become different now too, you know, that there’s more resources – or more help for people that are getting on in age, and more services for people. In a way it’s good. Our Elders need that service today. But it’s there now, whereas it wasn’t there before.
But thinking back on how resourceful the older people were, the Elders, back in the day of my grandmother, they never sat down. They never said, “Come and do this for me,” or “Do that for me.” They did everything to the best of their ability. Hard work. There was a lot of hard work. But that was the lifestyle. It was the lifestyle, it was acceptable. It was good. Life is so precious that you utilize your every waking moment doing something constructive. And I think today that it’s pretty difficult to bring the two, the youth and the Elders, together, for the Elders to share with the youth the kind of lifestyle they had, and how hard it was for them growing up – or the expectations, maybe, from the Elders to the youth that “this was how I grew up, and it was hard. We worked hard. But we were resourceful.”
“Life is so precious that you utilize your every waking moment doing something constructive.”
And to be saying that to the youth that have totally different outlook in life, sometimes I think can be hard on the youth? The children? It’s like you’re judging them and where they are today. And I think it’s really important to just share your history and how you grew up and what times were like when you were growing up, and what times were like in my grandmother’s time, and the stories that I hear about how things were in my great-grandparents’ time. It was totally different lifestyle. And in order to honour the youth today, we need to just share that history with the young people, with our grandchildren, that this is how it was, and it’s good for them to know all that. That’s history. But not to condemn their lifestyle today. ’Cause it’s totally different. It’s a different world.
“It’s important for them to know that history, our history, which was never really documented.”
But one thing that never changes is the respect for one another. Whether it was that lifestyle and how they lived, and where you came from – that’s where you came from. That’s your roots. That you respect that. That’s history: “That was my great-grandparents!” And it’s a good thing. It’s important for them to know that history, our history, which was never really documented. There’s nowhere that says, to show them, “This is how it was.” But I think it’s important for them to know.
And those same kind of rules and guidelines needs to apply to young people. No matter what they do in life. That respect is the most important thing. That boundaries – other people’s boundaries – to respect people no matter what colour or race or who they are in life. That first of all they’re human beings. That they are just as important as you or anyone else. And that you treat them accordingly. To live in harmony with nature and every living thing. To be respectful to everything around you. To be always, I don’t know, just to respect who you are as a person. But not to be boastful of who you are. It’s be yourself, just do the best you can in life, and not to put yourself above anyone else: “Oh I’m better.” Or to be judgmental to other people.
That was our teachin’. That was the life. It’s not so much teachin’, but you lived it from the time you’re little, to treat other people this way, to treat the animals this way, to treat life this way, to treat the universe this way.