kiwitahi1
Jan 27, 2010
Research Papers / 1200-1500 Word Research Essay. Thesis: Native Culture in Conflict with European [2]
This is the first research essay that I have ever written, so I would appreciate any feedback.
The thesis was very broad (Native Culture in Conflict with European Culture) and I chose to look at the effect non-Natives have had on the Coastal Indian's Salmon culture, specifically BC.
Please ignore the higguilty-pigguilty citations - I will clean them up once the essay is finalized.
Thank you.
Throwing Back the Bones: Non-Native's Effect on the Role of the Salmon in the Coastal Indians.
Salmon played a major part in the life of the Coastal Indians. The arrival of Europeans to these shores was followed by overfishing and habitat degradation. The once plentiful salmon stocks have been reduced to an iota of what they once were, evidenced by the 2009 returns of the Georgia Straits Alliance which were the lowest in fifty years.20 This dual impact of wholesale reduction of one of the Coastal Indian's most important traditional harvests and the disruption to their traditional way of life have caused a major impediment to the cultural practices of the Salmon People.
Historically, salmon meant wealth from trade; health from nutritious omega-3 rich salmon meat; and a guard against famine, for the salmon runs provided a steady supply of food to preserve for the winter. Indeed, in 1904 on the banks of the Babine River a fishery inspector discovered acres of laden salmon drying racks as well as sixteen 800 square foot drying houses filled with tiers of smoking salmon.1 The rich salmon flesh was eaten fresh; smoked; or dried, pounded into powder and mixed with lard, and sometimes berries, to make pemmican - a long lasting food which was also used as currency amongst the tribes.
The regularity of the return of the salmon each season meant that the coastal Indians were able to dedicate time and energy to the development of their art and culture2. The weaving of the Coast Salish15, the dancing of the Vancouver Island Coast Salish, and the statuesque totem poles of the Haida stand testament, as the Aboriginal Tourism Association of BC states, to people with "enough leisure time to develop richly complex art forms."16
Like any natural resource, there were fluctuations in the run's numbers whether that be due to natural predation in the ocean, or changes in habitation affecting spawners and alevins, but the Natives were careful to never take more salmon than the runs could sustain, and to ensure that the streams and rivers were not polluted. To this end, stories, ceremonies and taboos invoked an attitude of respect and careful conservation.5 Joseph E. Taylor writes that "Indians were bound to salmon by a spiritual and material symbiosis. Humans depended upon salmon for subsistence, while salmon required deference to remain immortal."8
Believed to be a supernatural race which lived in either a village under the water16, or on a distant shore4, the myth holds that the salmon changed into piscine form and willingly sacrificed themselves that the People would not starve. The stories varied through the tribes but all treated the salmon with reverence to ensure the continuation of the cycle, and exhorted the people to throw the salmon bones back into the water to appease the salmon people.
Alexandra Morton suggests a scientific basis for returning the bones to the river is that the carcasses provide a source of nutrients for insects which will, in turn, feed the emerging alevins the following spring.14
Common to many coastal tribes is the First Salmon Ceremony. The first salmon of the season is seen as the leader of the salmon and treated with the reverence due another chief. After feasting, the salmon bones are returned to the river with the request to go and tell his brothers and sisters how well he was treated and thus to come and be honoured. In the late 1880s both Canadian and United States governments placed a ban against these First Foods Ceremonies, along with Potlatches and other religious ceremonies, which wasn't lifted until the mid twentieth century.13
The arrival of the Europeans, their trading posts, and desire for pelts changed the Natives relationship with the salmon; no longer did the Natives fish solely for the family's winter food supply, but traded some of the catch for tobacco, vermilion rings, and whiskey.19 Then, in the lean winter months the Natives would be forced to buy back that same fish, often even requiring in trade the prized beaver pelt.6 Joseph E. Taylor writes that by 1825, Governor George Simpson of Oregon noted multiple incidences of winter famine where the Indians had neglected to fish, preferring instead to trap for fur pelts. By 1841, Taylor states that the Hudson's Bay Company was supplying upwards of thirty barrels of salted fish annually to the Natives. (Ref?)
Ironically, where the salmon once meant wealth, it now meant poverty.
But, the impact to the Salmon People's culture was not restricted to that done through trade; the greater damage was inflicted by horrific over fishing and the inadvertent destruction of thousands of acres of habitat up and down the coast. Prior to the establishment of the canneries, Hugh W. McKervill states that the Fraser River was "the most prolific sockeye river in the world," 3 but that "as the number of canneries and fishermen increased the fish decreased."7 The avaricious fishing set in motion in 1870 by the establishment of the first cannery on the Fraser, soon caused the first cries of stock depletion to be heard around the 1880s9.
The salmon stocks had more than just rapacious over fishing to contend with: the discovery of gold in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest caused "environmental calamity"9.Hydraulic mining flushed away tons of gravel and earth to access gold, while hand panners diverted streams and dug channels through gravel spawning beds. Hugh W. McKervill states that "acres of splendid spawning beds were smothered under mud, or washed away completely."7 Natives congregating at Hill's Bar in time for the traditional salmon run came directly into conflict with miners resulting in several Native deaths.
Then came the building of the Great Canadian Northern Railway: the debris blasted as the railway was cut along the eastern side of the Fraser Canyon tumbled down into the river, causing such turbulent water that the returning salmon were unable to continue their journey and died in the tens of thousands before reaching their spawning beds. The Hell's Gate Slide of 1914 sealed the fate of the salmon run; 76,000 cubic metres of debris effectively dammed the Fraser River leaving water to course furiously through a gap the size of a creek. It only took two cycles for the Sockeye runs to be decimated. 10What had been in place for thousands of years was destroyed in a few.
The Indians knew that water was life. Dan Lindeen and Allen Pinkham write that "traditional Indian cultures teach that to be productive water must be kept pure. When water is kept clean and cold, it takes care of the salmon. It takes care of the humans as well.18" Non-Natives have not kept the waters pristine, and we see the result.
Damming of many major waterways, such as the Okanagan and Columbia Rivers physically blocked the passage of those few salmon remaining, and the practise of First Salmon Ceremonies became compromised by the absence of the revered guest; the salmon. Jeanette C. Armstrong, an Okanagan Indian, remembers seeing her last salmon harvest on the Okanagan River when she was a child, even though her relatives continue to perform the First Salmon Ceremony.21
Commercial salmon harvesting for the canneries created employment for many Natives; husband and wife teams fished for salmon, and many Indian women were employed on the production lines. But by the first half of the twentieth century low wage immigrants had replaced many of the Native workers, and increasingly efficient yet expensive fishing equipment pushed the Native fishers out of the commercial fisheries.12 In 1970 the Ministry of Fisheries attempted to reduce the impact of the commercial fisheries through a small boat buyback23, with the result that many Native fishers were unable to afford licenses and the fishery became even more tightly concentrated in the hands of the large corporate fishers. John Sutton Lutz writes that the province "attempt[ed] to make fishing a 'white man's' industry." 27
Salmon fishing still plays an important role to Natives today, albeit in a vastly different form than has been practised for centuries. Restrictions placed upon them, whether for conservation, racism, or pure greed have colluded with this environment to drastically alter the role the salmon play in Native life. Alter, but not remove. According to BC Salmon, currently about one third of all commercial salmon licence holders are Native, and "the fishing industry is the largest single source of jobs for BC's Aboriginal peoples."24 Since 1993, a small scale Native commercial salmon fishery has been allowed, but this has caused dissention between non-Native and Native fishers over who has priority of rights to the salmon.25
Today, treaty negotiations are attempting, amongst other things, to restore to Natives their traditional harvest rights and practices. Dams, diversions and desecration are being rectified through fish ladders and rehabilitation projects such as the Theodosia Salmon Enhancement Project, in Sliammon Traditional Lands22.
First Salmon Ceremonies continue to be performed across the tribes; the myths are being passed down from the Elders, as at the Sliammon community and education continues to be paramount, only today it is not just the young Natives who are listening, but non-Natives, too - finally seeing the importance of respecting the salmon resource; of throwing back the bones.
This is the first research essay that I have ever written, so I would appreciate any feedback.
The thesis was very broad (Native Culture in Conflict with European Culture) and I chose to look at the effect non-Natives have had on the Coastal Indian's Salmon culture, specifically BC.
Please ignore the higguilty-pigguilty citations - I will clean them up once the essay is finalized.
Thank you.
Throwing Back the Bones: Non-Native's Effect on the Role of the Salmon in the Coastal Indians.
Salmon played a major part in the life of the Coastal Indians. The arrival of Europeans to these shores was followed by overfishing and habitat degradation. The once plentiful salmon stocks have been reduced to an iota of what they once were, evidenced by the 2009 returns of the Georgia Straits Alliance which were the lowest in fifty years.20 This dual impact of wholesale reduction of one of the Coastal Indian's most important traditional harvests and the disruption to their traditional way of life have caused a major impediment to the cultural practices of the Salmon People.
Historically, salmon meant wealth from trade; health from nutritious omega-3 rich salmon meat; and a guard against famine, for the salmon runs provided a steady supply of food to preserve for the winter. Indeed, in 1904 on the banks of the Babine River a fishery inspector discovered acres of laden salmon drying racks as well as sixteen 800 square foot drying houses filled with tiers of smoking salmon.1 The rich salmon flesh was eaten fresh; smoked; or dried, pounded into powder and mixed with lard, and sometimes berries, to make pemmican - a long lasting food which was also used as currency amongst the tribes.
The regularity of the return of the salmon each season meant that the coastal Indians were able to dedicate time and energy to the development of their art and culture2. The weaving of the Coast Salish15, the dancing of the Vancouver Island Coast Salish, and the statuesque totem poles of the Haida stand testament, as the Aboriginal Tourism Association of BC states, to people with "enough leisure time to develop richly complex art forms."16
Like any natural resource, there were fluctuations in the run's numbers whether that be due to natural predation in the ocean, or changes in habitation affecting spawners and alevins, but the Natives were careful to never take more salmon than the runs could sustain, and to ensure that the streams and rivers were not polluted. To this end, stories, ceremonies and taboos invoked an attitude of respect and careful conservation.5 Joseph E. Taylor writes that "Indians were bound to salmon by a spiritual and material symbiosis. Humans depended upon salmon for subsistence, while salmon required deference to remain immortal."8
Believed to be a supernatural race which lived in either a village under the water16, or on a distant shore4, the myth holds that the salmon changed into piscine form and willingly sacrificed themselves that the People would not starve. The stories varied through the tribes but all treated the salmon with reverence to ensure the continuation of the cycle, and exhorted the people to throw the salmon bones back into the water to appease the salmon people.
Alexandra Morton suggests a scientific basis for returning the bones to the river is that the carcasses provide a source of nutrients for insects which will, in turn, feed the emerging alevins the following spring.14
Common to many coastal tribes is the First Salmon Ceremony. The first salmon of the season is seen as the leader of the salmon and treated with the reverence due another chief. After feasting, the salmon bones are returned to the river with the request to go and tell his brothers and sisters how well he was treated and thus to come and be honoured. In the late 1880s both Canadian and United States governments placed a ban against these First Foods Ceremonies, along with Potlatches and other religious ceremonies, which wasn't lifted until the mid twentieth century.13
The arrival of the Europeans, their trading posts, and desire for pelts changed the Natives relationship with the salmon; no longer did the Natives fish solely for the family's winter food supply, but traded some of the catch for tobacco, vermilion rings, and whiskey.19 Then, in the lean winter months the Natives would be forced to buy back that same fish, often even requiring in trade the prized beaver pelt.6 Joseph E. Taylor writes that by 1825, Governor George Simpson of Oregon noted multiple incidences of winter famine where the Indians had neglected to fish, preferring instead to trap for fur pelts. By 1841, Taylor states that the Hudson's Bay Company was supplying upwards of thirty barrels of salted fish annually to the Natives. (Ref?)
Ironically, where the salmon once meant wealth, it now meant poverty.
But, the impact to the Salmon People's culture was not restricted to that done through trade; the greater damage was inflicted by horrific over fishing and the inadvertent destruction of thousands of acres of habitat up and down the coast. Prior to the establishment of the canneries, Hugh W. McKervill states that the Fraser River was "the most prolific sockeye river in the world," 3 but that "as the number of canneries and fishermen increased the fish decreased."7 The avaricious fishing set in motion in 1870 by the establishment of the first cannery on the Fraser, soon caused the first cries of stock depletion to be heard around the 1880s9.
The salmon stocks had more than just rapacious over fishing to contend with: the discovery of gold in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest caused "environmental calamity"9.Hydraulic mining flushed away tons of gravel and earth to access gold, while hand panners diverted streams and dug channels through gravel spawning beds. Hugh W. McKervill states that "acres of splendid spawning beds were smothered under mud, or washed away completely."7 Natives congregating at Hill's Bar in time for the traditional salmon run came directly into conflict with miners resulting in several Native deaths.
Then came the building of the Great Canadian Northern Railway: the debris blasted as the railway was cut along the eastern side of the Fraser Canyon tumbled down into the river, causing such turbulent water that the returning salmon were unable to continue their journey and died in the tens of thousands before reaching their spawning beds. The Hell's Gate Slide of 1914 sealed the fate of the salmon run; 76,000 cubic metres of debris effectively dammed the Fraser River leaving water to course furiously through a gap the size of a creek. It only took two cycles for the Sockeye runs to be decimated. 10What had been in place for thousands of years was destroyed in a few.
The Indians knew that water was life. Dan Lindeen and Allen Pinkham write that "traditional Indian cultures teach that to be productive water must be kept pure. When water is kept clean and cold, it takes care of the salmon. It takes care of the humans as well.18" Non-Natives have not kept the waters pristine, and we see the result.
Damming of many major waterways, such as the Okanagan and Columbia Rivers physically blocked the passage of those few salmon remaining, and the practise of First Salmon Ceremonies became compromised by the absence of the revered guest; the salmon. Jeanette C. Armstrong, an Okanagan Indian, remembers seeing her last salmon harvest on the Okanagan River when she was a child, even though her relatives continue to perform the First Salmon Ceremony.21
Commercial salmon harvesting for the canneries created employment for many Natives; husband and wife teams fished for salmon, and many Indian women were employed on the production lines. But by the first half of the twentieth century low wage immigrants had replaced many of the Native workers, and increasingly efficient yet expensive fishing equipment pushed the Native fishers out of the commercial fisheries.12 In 1970 the Ministry of Fisheries attempted to reduce the impact of the commercial fisheries through a small boat buyback23, with the result that many Native fishers were unable to afford licenses and the fishery became even more tightly concentrated in the hands of the large corporate fishers. John Sutton Lutz writes that the province "attempt[ed] to make fishing a 'white man's' industry." 27
Salmon fishing still plays an important role to Natives today, albeit in a vastly different form than has been practised for centuries. Restrictions placed upon them, whether for conservation, racism, or pure greed have colluded with this environment to drastically alter the role the salmon play in Native life. Alter, but not remove. According to BC Salmon, currently about one third of all commercial salmon licence holders are Native, and "the fishing industry is the largest single source of jobs for BC's Aboriginal peoples."24 Since 1993, a small scale Native commercial salmon fishery has been allowed, but this has caused dissention between non-Native and Native fishers over who has priority of rights to the salmon.25
Today, treaty negotiations are attempting, amongst other things, to restore to Natives their traditional harvest rights and practices. Dams, diversions and desecration are being rectified through fish ladders and rehabilitation projects such as the Theodosia Salmon Enhancement Project, in Sliammon Traditional Lands22.
First Salmon Ceremonies continue to be performed across the tribes; the myths are being passed down from the Elders, as at the Sliammon community and education continues to be paramount, only today it is not just the young Natives who are listening, but non-Natives, too - finally seeing the importance of respecting the salmon resource; of throwing back the bones.