Two Houses Half-Buried in Sand: Oral Traditions of the Hul'q'umi'num' Coast Salish of Kuper Island and Vancouver Island

by Beryl Mildred Cryer, Chris Arnett (Editor)

A vital collection of writings about First Nations people and culture as it existed on the island coasts of the Depression-era Pacific Northwest and originally published in the pages of Victoria’s oldest newspaper, the Daily Colonist, the sixty stories included here are the result of a unique collaboration between a middle-aged woman, Beryl Cryer, of upper-class British ancestry, and well-known Hul’q’umi’num’-speaking cultural elders, keenly aware of the punitive anti-land claims legislation passed by the Canadian Parliament in 1927, and therefore eager to have their stories told and published.

Mary Rice from Kuper Island, who lived next door to the Cryer family home in Chemainus, BC, is well remembered even today for her storytelling abilities; she taught Beryl Cryer, with whom she became close friends, countless aspects of indigenous culture, particularly as experienced by women. An elder in a thriving native culture, she introduced Cryer to the many other authorities from whom these stories were gathered for the newspaper.

Although she was not a trained anthropologist, Beryl Cryer was an honest observer and careful recorder. She embellished the material she collected with minor anecdotal introductions that give the reader a vivid sense of the person telling the story. The accounts themselves are valuable documents of Coast Salish oral traditions dealing with a wide range of subject matter from known sources, almost all of whom were well-versed in English.

Genres: Indigenous

352 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2007

Reviews

[Kristine Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extraordinary account of what Central Vancouver Island was like before and after contact with Europeans. Told in the form of accounts written by an English woman who lived in Chemainus, it is a series of stories told to her by Mary Ryce and other First Nations storytellers who explain not only their encounters with European explorers but their own traditions, customs and stories about their lifestyle in the 1800s and early 1900s. It is a fascinating account of local places and their history, from attacks from the Haida and Bella Bella warriors to shaman cures, hunting practices, and cooking practices. Each story is 2-3 pages long, printed originally in the Victoria Times Colonist in the 1930s. Each story is an interview with Mary Ryce and others, recorded in detail. A fascinating insight into Vancouver Island history. Anyone reading this book will have a respect for First Nations and their rich , complex cultural practices as well as their resilience and pride in an amazingly rich history.

[Clivemichael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating collection of previously published stories.

[Jocko · Rating 5 out of 5]

A valuable historic record of First Nations life on the British Columbia coast before and during the arrival of Europeans.