Fri May 7 detailed schedule

“We Have to Take Care of What we Have": Identity, Fish Hatcheries, and the Interconnected Relationship between Past, Present, and Future Amongst the Stó:lō

Abstract

This paper argues that the Skowkale fish hatchery functions as both a resource-replenishing enterprise alongside wider representations of Stó:lō identity. Founded in 1978, the small band in Chilliwack received funding from the Salmonid Enhancement Program to begin work on restocking the Little Chilliwack River, a subsidiary stream of the Fraser River, with salmon. Through the efforts of volunteers and local organizations Skowkale has maintained the hatchery and seen steady returns of fish to the river. The work in mind goes beyond fish populations, however. Through ethnohistorical and oral history work (Sqwelqwels) a broader image of Stó:lō identity emerges with Skowkale at the center of a large, multi-generational effort to protect and maintain a vital part of the Stó:lō experience. Through concepts such as Tomiyeqw (seven generations forward and back) and st’áxem (a worthless person who lacks knowledge of relevant culture or history), an Indigenous identity emerges transcending the physical confines of the small hatchery. Instead, the action of restocking fish to the Fraser River represents a hopefully reckoning with the future of Stó:lō place. As the hatchery simultaneously looks back for advice and forward for motivation, it is the actions of the present moving Tomiyeqw along to the next generations. 

Presenter(s)

Harris Ford (University of Saskatchewan, MA student)

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