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

qʷʋl čʼɛ tɑwθɛm kʷut tɑmʌs (They [Spirits] Just Came and Told You Something)

Visit “Three Narratives in Sliammon” to learn more about the English translation and linguistic analysis below.

This is an excerpt from a much longer recording of a conversation between Elsie and the late Mary George. Mary’s responses to Elsie, which were almost entirely interjections, have been removed from this version.

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4. 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.
5. Dedicated Work Partners
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4. Fine Craftsmanship
5. Basket for Baby Jeannie
6. 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.
8. 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.
9. Basket for Aunt Agnes’s Daughter
10. Baby Massage (1)
11. Baby Massage (2)
12. Baby Massage (3)
13. Baby Papoose (1)
14. Baby Papoose (2)
15. Important Medicine
16. Beautiful Baskets
17. Thank the Creator
18. Her Name Was Jane
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9. Sechelt Indian Reserve Church Opening
10. 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.
11. Basket for Baby Jeannie
12. Downtown Vancouver
13. Fine Craftsmanship
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. Makeshift Church
25. Willie and Daisy Paul
26. Elsie’s Great-Grandparents
27. Visiting with Annie and Norman Gallagher
28. Remains of the Fire
29. Away from Home
30. Rose and Alec Louie
31. Glen Paul, Stella Olney, and Sharon Paul
32. Baskets for Hawaii
33. Sliammon Sacred Heart Church
34. Class of 1917
35. tʼᶿɛwqʼ (Elderberries)
36. Making Music
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. Willie and Stanley
54. Patricia Theatre, Interior
55. Rodmay Hotel
56. Church House
57. 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.
58. 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.
59. Patricia Theatre
60. Repatriation
62. Sing Lee Building
63. Groundbreaking
64. Rodmay
65. Kora's Strawberry Farm
67. Cafeteria
68. Residential School Chapel (2)
69. Procession from Our Lady of the Rosary Church
70. Berry Picking (2)
71. Paul Family
72. Bill, Rose, and čine
73. Beautiful Baskets
75. Powell River Motor Traders
78. Contact Happened
79. Designated Area
80. Lonely and Homesick
81. The Chinese Restaurant
82. My Dog Patsy
83. Watch Your Children
84. Homebrew
85. tʼᶿɛwqʼ
87. Problems Handed down from History
88. Part of Our Survival
89. We Were Already Here
90. Her Name Was Jane
93. Police Patrol (2)
94. Police Patrol (1)
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3. ɬaʔamɩn Parade
4. Working Together
5. Mary George and Denise Smith
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
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