Our Tellings

Interior Salish Stories of the Nlha7kápmx People

Edited by Darwin Hanna & Mamie Henry
Categories: Social Sciences, Anthropology, Indigenous Studies
Publisher: UBC Press
Ebook (EPUB) : 9780774842600, 236 pages, November 2011
Ebook (PDF) : 9780774854078, 236 pages, January 1996

Table of contents

Foreword

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