Kwakwaka’wakw Settlements, 1775-1920: A Geographical Analysis and Gazetteer

Description

The Kwakwaka’wakw, speakers of the Kwak’wala language, lived on northern Vancouver Island and the adjacent mainland of British Columbia long before the arrival of non-Natives. This important book, newly back in print, provides a geographic overview of the changing demography and settlement patterns of the Kwakwaka’wakw between 1775 and 1920 and is a reference guide to the location and use of Kwakwaka’wakw settlement sites. Robert Galois has utilized a vast quantity of unpublished archival data to show that much changed in the 150 years after contact, and he examines some of the consequences of the interaction of Native and non-Native peoples.

This book is an invaluable tool for anyone investigating documentary sources dealing with Native peoples in British Columbia and elsewhere. In places as environmentally diverse as British Columbia, such detailed regional analyses are essential in order to unravel the complexities of the contact process.