Tiná7 Cht Ti Temíxw: We Come From This Land: A Walk Through the History of the Squamish People

by Squamish Nation

A story of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation): past, present, and future.

One hundred years after Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) leadership signed an amalgamation agreement that declared several communities in Squamish territory as one nation, this accessible history of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh people traces our stories from ancient times to the present. Tiná7 Cht Ti Temí We Come from This Land offers the culmination of generations of knowledge about the Squamish People and Sḵwx̱wú7meshulh Temíx̱w (Squamish People’s Territory).

Today, we are over 4,100 people and growing, living within Sḵwx̱wú7meshulh Temíx̱w and beyond. Our 6,732-square-kilometre territory includes the watersheds of the Squamish River, Mamquam River, and Howe Sound in the north, and English Bay, False Creek, and Burrard Inlet in the south. It encompasses saltwater and rushing rivers, old-growth forests at valley bottoms, and alpine forests high above the ocean.

Oral histories and archaeological sites demonstrate our relationship with the lands and waters going back over twelve thousand years. Here, we introduce ancient Squamish stories and ways, as well as describe relationships with our neighbours from time immemorial. We discuss early contact with Europeans and the disastrous effects of racism and colonialism, the Indian Act, reserves, and residential schools. We detail our engagement with the imperfect tool of the Canadian judicial system in several significant court cases that have advanced Indigenous rights. And we show how the Squamish Nation is taking back ownership and stewardship within our homelands.

Tiná7 Cht Ti Temí We Come from This Land is a powerful introduction to our vast history and a launching point for discovering more about the different places, people, and stories offered here.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Indigenous

416 pages, Paperback

Published January 16, 2024

Reviews

[Jan Priddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am grateful for this book for answering my questions about the Squamish people and providing a history of Canadian abuses, specifically as it has affected their homeland. First Nations and other native peoples did not fare any better under this European white government than they did here in the U.S. That is to say, it's shocking and abusive.

However, that was not why I ordered and read this book. More useful to me was how this book focuses on how the SquamishPeople have worked to recover control of sacred lands and to care for their people, language, culture, and the stories that bind them. The stories are wonderful. And, as in other PNW cultures and cultures around the world (Babba Yaga, Dzunukwa), there is mention in passing of the dangerous wild female. I was glad of that.

I might have wished that the glossary gave some guidance to pronouncing Squamish words, though I doubt it would have been within my power to replicate them. My husband was at one time semi-fluent in Puget Coast Salish while he was involved in the Tulalip effort to reestablish that language in Washington State. He could not help me with the written form of Squamish—either he wasn't sure of the sound [the 7] or he guessed—but I can't form the sounds anyway. Ah well, a friend has directed me to their YouTube pages where they demonstrate how to speak the language, which is now taught in preschools through universities. I can at least listen.

The star I took off is for the smell of the paper and ink. Not nice.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

phenomenal starter to Squamish history. required reading for all.