Sliammon Indian Band - Aboriginal culture & history in the Powell River region
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Sliammon Indian Band
Content courtesy of Coast Salish Journeys
The Coast Salish inhabit the coastal regions of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest. Within the Coast Salish, there are approximately 20 nations, all with their own individual language and culture. The Sliammon at the northern tip of the Sunshine Coast are one of these peoples.
Traditional Cedar Bailer
Sliammon is located 160 km north of Vancouver and 12 km north of Powell River. The community is situated at the gateway to beautiful Desolation Sound Marine Park, the Copeland Islands and the myriad of inlets, bays, river estuaries and sheltered coves of the northern part of the Strait of Georgia.
The Nation's Traditional Territory extends from the vicinity of Stillwater and Texada Island northward along Malaspina and Gilford Peninsula to the southern area of Homfray Channel and part of Cortes Island.
Today there are approximately 860 Sliammon band members. Before the contact with the European settlers, the band was about 20,000 people strong. Dinner fires illuminated the sky from Sarah Point in the north to Saltery Bay in the south. The Sliammon people inhabited more than 10 permanent villages and numerous seasonal camp sites throughout the territory. Some of the high-ranking families kept houses, built out of giant red cedar, at more than one village site. Seasonal village sites were inhabited based on the availability of natural resources like fish, berries and roots.
Sliammon Canoe
The Sliammon people flourished in a land abundant with these resources and made use of them with highly efficient technology. There was a lot more to catching a fish than being able to make the right hook. The Sliammon's intimate knowledge of their land, weather patterns, water levels and even the effect of the moon on fish and animal behavior enabled them to plan their daily and seasonal acquisition and preparation of food. In addition to the close connection to the land, the ability and willingness to share and cooperate made this culture succeed. Value and virtues like cooperation and sharing were passed on in form of legends and traditional stories. Story telling was an essential part of the cultural heritage and communicated all knowledge, traditional and new.
Today the traditional territory of the Sliammon People is one of the most beautiful and protected nature sites in the world. Travelling in ancient fashion by dugout canoe, the traditional way of life can be experienced by following the ancestral travel routes, using the old campsites and beaches.
Archaeological sites stand silent witness to the old ways. Shell middens indicate the size and age of an old settlement. A midden site is a pathway from the shoreline to the village site made out of dark soil mixed with crushed shells, bones of birds animals and fish. This way even "garbage" served a purpose. Culturally Modified Trees (CMT's) show tool marks and scars where bark has been removed. Especially cedar bark was and is used for tools like canoe bailers, ropes and shelter. Petroglyphs and pictographs tell indigenous stories preserved in stone.
There are many interesting places worth visiting to learn about
Sliammon history and culture
Notes:
- The current land base of the Sliammon
people was established in the 1880's as part of the undertaking
of the Indian Reserve Commission. As many British Columbia First
Nations, Sliammon is in the process of negotiating a final treaty
with provincial and federal governments.
- Archaeological sites are protected by law in British Columbia. If you see a site being disturbed, notify the local RCMP or the Archaeology Branch immediately.
OTHER ONLINE RESOURCES:
- Powell River Community Network's excellent
Sliammon site
http://www.prcn.org/sliammon/index/ - Band contact information and Treaty information,
BC Government web site:
http://www.aaf.gov.bc.ca/nations/sliammon/sliammon.stm - Sliammon Treaty Site: http://www.sliammontreaty.com
THINGS
TO KNOW:
Sliammon Indian Band
Mailing Address:
RR #2,
Sliammon Road
Powell River, BC
V8A 4Z3
Phone:
(604) 483-9646
Fax:
(604) 483-9769