What are TK labels?

The internet is widely considered a place where information circulates freely. This assumption is at the core of the internet’s democratizing potential. The internet also offers the promise of two-way dialogue on all matters, a platform guaranteeing the citizen’s right to comment. But this open-access impulse and the right to debate exist in tension with Indigenous laws and protocols that govern the respectful treatment of knowledge, including how it is shared and circulated.

The TK labels used in this book are designed to bridge this potential divide. Adapted from the “Local Contexts” project directed by Jane Anderson and Kim Christen, they share with readers information from a ɬaʔamin perspective on the ownership, copyright, and fair use practices for the multimedia materials in this book. These labels help readers engage with this book in a manner that is respectful of the rights, governance, and cultural practices of the community.

Fundamental to our understanding as ɬaʔamin people is the recognition that communal knowledge is not individually owned so much as collectively stewarded. Our obligation as ɬaʔamin people and jeh jeh’s (family) is to collectively hold and responsibly steward knowledge for future generations. For example, No single ɬaʔamin person holds ownership to the qayχ (Mink) stories. These stories are owned collectively and each ɬaʔamin person must uphold responsibility in the telling.

The following four labels apply to this book: three to the book as a whole (attribution, outreach, and non-commercial) and one to specific pages (sensitive material).

ʔətᶿ naʔ (attribution)

The Sliammon-language term for this label means “it is mine.” This book contains the teachings and history of the ɬaʔamin 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 the 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 ɬaʔamin 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 as indicated.

tiʔiwš (outreach)

This label refers to a teaching that emerges throughout this book, “you learn from someone by example” (literal translation: fast learner). The goal of this book is to share ɬaʔamin teachings and history widely with ɬaʔamin community members, students and teachers at all levels, and any other interested readers. This is Elsie’s goal in sharing Ɂəms tɑɁɑw (“our teachings”) and all the authors hope the book serves an educational purpose. We ask that readers take care to use this information respectfully and in context.

xʷaʔ čxʷ xʷaǰišɛxʷ (non-commercial)

This label’s message is clear from its translation: “don’t be selling it, don’t be profiting from it.” It reflects the fact that this book was produced as a freely-available educational resource. The knowledge that it conveys is not to be used for any commercial purpose. Please respect this label.

ʔəms naʔ (culturally sensitive)

The ongoing nature of settler colonialism means that the histories that these pages discuss are not just part of a distant past. On certain pages of this book, this label calls attention to this fact by stating “it is ours.”

For close to a century, colonial laws have made it impossible for community members to share some of this information freely in their community without fear of punishment or retribution, imposing silences that remain even today. Some of the pages with this label are sensitive in this regard because they discuss ɬaʔamin knowledge, laws, and practices. Other pages bear this label because they discuss genocidal colonial practices.

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