"Having oneness on your face" -- The living text : traces of Jane Cook -- Dukwa'esala (Looking around on the beach) : ancestors -- Stranger than fiction : surviving the missionary -- "Children of the potlatch system," 1888-1912 -- "We as the suppressed people," 1913-18 -- "We are the Aboriginee, which is not a citizen," 1918-27 -- "With the potlatch custom in my blood," 1930-39 -- One voice from many : citizenship, 1940-48 -- A tower of strength : word memorials, 1951 -- Dlaxw'it'sine' (For your standing), feasting.
Summary:
"Standing Up with Ga'axsta'las is a compelling conversation with the colonial past initiated by the descendants of Kwakwaka'wakw leader and activist, Jane Constance Cook (1870-1951). Working in collaboration, Robertson and Cook's descendants open this history, challenging dominant narratives that misrepresent her motivations for criticizing customary practices and supporting the potlatch ban. Drawing from oral histories, archival materials, and historical and anthropological works, they offer a nuanced portrait of a high-ranked woman who was a cultural mediator; devout Christian; and activist for land claims, fishing and resource rights, and adequate health care. She testified at the McKenna-McBride Royal Commission, was the only woman on the executive of the Allied Indian Tribes of BC, and was a fierce advocate for women and children. This powerful meditation on memory documents how the Kwagu'l Gixsam revived their dormant clan to forge a positive social and cultural identity for future generations through feasting and potlatching."--Back cover.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.