Our Tellings

Interior Salish Stories of the Nlha7kápmx People

Edited by Darwin Hannah & Mamie Henry
Categories: Social Sciences, Anthropology, Indigenous Studies
Publisher: UBC Press
Paperback : 9780774805230, 236 pages, January 1996

Table of contents

Foreword
Acknowledgments

Introduction

SPTAKWELH (CREATION STORIES)

Ntl'ik'semtm (Coyote's Son)
Coyote and His Son
The Trip to the Moon
Coyote and the Three Sisters
Coyote and Wolf
Coyote and Buffalo
Coyote and Wood Tick
Coyote Visits His Daughter in the North
Coyote and the Two Sisters
Why Newborn Animals Can Walk
Grizzly and the Bear Cubs
Grizzly and the Black Bear Cubs
The Four Bear Brothers
Transformers
Transformers
Transformer Footprints
How Chipmunk Got His Stripes
Screech Owl
Raven
The Boy Who Was Abandoned
Sore Man
Man and Owl
Dog Travels to the Sun
The Country Divided
Grandfather and Grandson Work for Gold and Silver

SPILAXEM (NON-CREATION STORIES)

The Lost Hunter
Smuymn (Person with a Cane)
Why There Are Nlha7kapmx in Spokane
Sexpinlhemx's Wife Foretells the Coming of the White Men
Simon Fraser
First Encounter with Missionaries
The Coming of the White Man
Sun Dance
Nkw'i7tsutn (A Place to Dance)
Archdeacon Small
Xitl'ix (Nlha7kapmx Court)
Old Ways
Powers of the Sexwna7m (Healer/Doctor)
On the Boston Bar Trail
Listening to Stories
On the Trapline
Our Tellings
Making Baskets
Native Foods
Trips to Petani
The Road to Petani Valley
Ways of the Old People
Memories of Lytton
Passing on the Knowledge

Tellers and Translators

Afterword

Appendices
1. Orthographic Key for the Nlha7kapmx Alphabet, Lytton Dialect
2. Key to Tapings, Translations, and Transcriptions

Glossary of Nlha7kapmx Words
Bibliography

This collection of traditional oral legends of the Nlha7kápmx
people, the original inhabitants of southwestern British Columbia, aim
to inspire others to create stories and to contribute to the cultural
revitalization of Canada's Native peoples.

Description

The Nlha7kápmx people are among the original inhabitants of the
Fraser, Thompson, and Nicola river valleys in southwestern British
Columbia. In this collection of traditional oral narratives and
legends, which have been passed from generation to generation for
centuries, the elders tell the story of their people. Put together
entirely by Nlha7kápmx people, Our Tellings reveals how they
perceive their own history. It is their hope that through sharing these
stories, they will inspire others to continue to create stories and to
contribute to the cultural revitalization of Canada's Native
peoples.

Reviews

This fascinating work offers keen insights into the thought processes of the Nlha7kápmx people. Of value to all those interested in Native Americans and especially to those interested in the groups extending from the northwest US through British Columbia and Alaska.

- N.C. Greenberg

This is a beautiful book combining elegant understated design with eloquently direct voices. The delightful quality of the stories rests in the sharpness of tone and informality of presentation.

- Jim Herrington