Anthro Quiz 3 PDF

Gender Ideologies Gender Ideologies and Violence What is it about our society that tolerates gendered violence? Not a Love Story Toleration of violence ○ Victim blaming Disempowerment Taking action ○ Gendered violence happens less in societies that hav...

Gender Ideologies Gender Ideologies and Violence What is it about our society that tolerates gendered violence? Not a Love Story Toleration of violence ○ Victim blaming Disempowerment Taking action ○ Gendered violence happens less in societies that have less harsh dichotomies between the boundaries of male and female Case Study - “I’m so fat” Study of high school girls 24% thought about their bodies all the time, 31% most of the time Fat talk ○ “I’m so fat -- no you’re not” ○ Fat Talk is Expression of solidarity with each other, show they have common concerns Media plus food, fashion and diet industry By making it seem like young women are responsible for weight gain and health problems they are ignoring the wider issue of processed food factories Men and labouring at sea Fishing crews are overwhelmingly male “Women are women because they do not fish, men are men because they do” ○ “Girls simply grow into women while men are created by becoming not women” … Women who decide to fish must willingly enter a male dominated environment ○ Women fishing take on “masculine qualities”, reinforcing Androcentric cultures & Violence? Androcentrism - the practice, conscious or otherwise, of placing a masculine point of view at the center of one's world view, culture, and history, thereby culturally marginalizing femininity. ★ Extreme gender dimorphism ○ Majority of all ages reported victims of family violence are female ○ Violence towards women by men rates much higher than men by women ★ Competitive individualism ★ Private property ★ Social inequality Peggy Reeves Sanday - Fraternity Gang Rape book ○ Studying gender relations to end sexual violence In places where women moved into their husband’s family versus staying with their own family, women face much higher rates of violence Monday October 28 Traditional Ecological Knowledge Salmon come in “punctuated abundance”  Local scientific environmental knowledge → understanding of processes or functional relationships (knowledge of ecosystem relationships) → institutional knowledge, code of ethics governing appropriated human/environmental relationships ○ Observe, recognize patterns, test out patterns, modify practices, teach practices Film 1 Mountain Goats Goats become a proxy for people, follow the trails of animals to learn about how people used to live ○ Also goat fur trapped on bushes which was used to make blankets Only existing population of mountain goats on an island (Pit Island), 100-150 goats, not much human intervention Rocks arranged in geometric pattern more evidence of how people moved Film 2 Seals and Fish, hunting and harvesting practices Lived on sea food, mussels, fish, clams, seals, sea urchin etc ○ Dried Preparing seal; gutting, removing tail, cutting off meat Preparing fish Sea urchin - cut in half remove meat from inside Wednesday October 30 Traditional Ecological Knowledge Bilhaa/Abalone ○ Northern Abalone neither used nor harvested in any significant fashion prior to the emergence of the fur trade ○ Endangered in North America and illegal to harvest Gitxaala Perspective ○ Abalone - bilhaa have been harvested for millennia by Gitxaala people. This was done in specific areas and the bilhaa were processed for food in a prescribed fashion that typically removed the shell during processing ○ Gitxaala putting Abalone into the ground for at least 2500 years Stone Traps and Ecologically Appropriate Gear Throughout Gitxaala Territory one can find hundreds of examples of stone traps located in and near creek mouths Salmon traps - you have to understand where the salmon will move, be resilient and flexible to changes because fish don’t respond every time, preparation as you often get a huge rush of fish in a short period of time, have knowledge of your location and be present in the landscape Fishing at K’moda Commercial fishing has reduced smaller salmon runs, making them smaller and smaller until they disappear ○ Commercial fishing intercept salmon at sea, smaller sized runs disproportionately affected by overfishing BC fisheries focus on three major systems while ignoring smaller salmon creeks Monday November 4 Indigenous Governance What is governance? How people create and maintain processes of organization  Contrast to capitalist society where decision making is individualized ○ Political or social democracy, but no economic democracy ○ Primary difference is that instead of being driven by a need for relationships, people are driven by a need for individual ownership ○ In Gitxaala nation, all ownership is collective or communal Clans ○ Ghanada (raven) ○ Laskeek (eagle) ○ Gispuwada (blackfish) ○ Laxgibou (wolf) Wil’naat’al ○ Group of matrilineal linked walps Walps ○ Matrilineal house group Laxyuup ○ House territories Chief’s authority rests in their laxyuup Provisioning for feasts historically come from the laxyuup Wednesday November 6 Colonial Folklore “What is put into discourse through the artful storytelling of the colonists, is the same as what they practised on the bodies of the colonized” - Michael Taissig Indigenous governance Property is a culturally defined category Laxyuup is ultimately an indigenous form of property that is independent of the Capitalist property regime ○ Territory cannot be individually owned, no individual property rights ○ No selling or buying /alienation of property ○ Capitalism often attempts to exhume Indigenous laws It wasn't until First Nations began taking the government to court did they realize that the Crown actually permits them to defend themselves Under Capitalism, one of the states responsibilities is to make sure that the way is clear for accumulation of capital and therefore they want to help people who have innovative ideas, therefore when there is an idea for expansion they will not consult the people Environmental Assessment Process “Valued Components” refers to a technical indicator of environmental condition, can be measured identified and used to control negative effects or identify positive effects of something ○ Defined as fundamental elements of the physical, biological or socio-economic environment, including the air, water, soil, terrain, vegetation, wildlife, fish, birds and land use that may be affected by a proposed project ○ Considered objective, political and methodologically jbs ○ A category/Indicator Used in the EA process in BC ○ Manageable units appropriate for scientific study Relevant  Comprehensive Representative Responsive Concise ○ Gitxaala Valued Components Governance Sacred Places Harvesting Cultural Identity Potential Project Effects on Governance Potential Adverse Project Effects ○ Status and Position of Hereditary Leaders ○ Production of traditional foods from particular house territories Measurable Parameters ○ Access to and use of house territories ○ Potential changes in level of Feasting ○ Estimate change of food type at cultural gatherings ○ Reduction of rank in a house due to disruption of territory Public viewing of knowledge and information is essential in ensuring community trust Outcome Included use and occupancy field research Didn’t actually accommodate INdigenous authority and jurisdiction Did enter into an impact benefit agreement to secure Nation’s non-opposition November 18 Egalitarian Societies For millennia, humans lives in egalitarian societies ○ More than ⅔ of hunting gathering lifestyle spent on leisure, much more than capitalist society ○ Idea of “Affluent Society” ○ The kinds of disparities that occur in modern society today did not occur in hunter-gatherer societies ○ The rise of privatized ownership spurred massive social inequalities, which in turn caused more violence than any other type of society Class divided societies inaugurated violence into the world ○ Don’t get the idea of “Jobs” until Classified societies, when your job becomes what you do rather than who you are Stone Age Economics by MArshall Sahlins = wrong and problematic, implies that Indigenous societies are stuck in the past because they are unwilling or unable to implement newer ideas of culture ○ The idea that only certain people are capable of creativity and that those people have the right to rule over other is one of the 20th century ○ The idea that the time we are currently living in is greater than all other times before Agriculture and private property  Rise of inequality Anthropological Theorists of “Inequality” Karl Marx ○ Labour theory of value Idea that when a capitalist hires an employee they are extracting the labour power/taking advantage of that employee Worker enters freely into a labour contract of their own choosing Theft at heart of analysis, “Stealing Labour”, stealing of time and land ○ Idea that jobs are being created for and in spite of workers, instead of because of workers For the working class, time is being stolen. For Indigenous peoples, land is being stolen. Max Weber ○ Prestige – economic stratification Pierre Bourdieu ○ Habitus – set of common perceptions Leith Mullings ○ Intersectionality - mode that understands social class as a division of labour and how people are locked into a means of productions which drives the system Social class and how it shapes opportunities and experiences You can’t understand race if you don’t understand class and vice versa ○ Political theorist who put her life and academic theory together in one pool and lived her theories The Culture of Poverty ○ Blaming the person who’s actually suffering for their suffering You are poor because of your culture You are reproducing poverty because you are reproducing bad cultural practices Kin ordered Society Ownership bestowed on House Groups, the collective. While people may have individual belongings, larger things are owned collectively Primary and essential relations are defined by who is related to who and in what matter Chapter 3 Importance of place name and territory in modern Gitxaala identity and way of life All of territory = Home ○ Home is a sentiment rooted in connection to the Laxyuup rather than a physical place Use of rtaditional territory has become more centralized due to allocation of reserves Imposition of Canadian Fisheries Act in the late 1800s and the British Columbia Wildlife Act and the subsequent criminalization of aboriginal food harvesting and resource management practices have infringed upon the capacity and practice of Gitxaala community members to access the extent of their laxyuup  Reserves often used by consultants and the federal government to restrict the territorial extent of laxyuup, demarcating traditional territories ○ Territories not only significant in terms of resources, but also symbolic manifestation of Gitaala’s history, linker through named hereditary leaders and their house territories ○ Reserve approach to demarcating traditional territories ignores the relevance of the linkage between history, name, and territory, drawing instead from a Eurocentric perspective Sebassah (T’sibasaa) was pivotal in establishing reserves. He and William Duncan of teh christian community at Metlakatla were concerned that settlers were taking over aboriginal fisheries for cannery purposes and that the injustices had to stop before they went further, and so they convinced the Indian Reserve Commissioner O’Reilly to continue to allotment of Indian Reserves T’sibasaa was not only the hereditary leader among Gitxaala but also among the coastal Tsimshianic peoples ○ At first only three reserves set, one of which is only a burial ground, but more were set over time ○ The establishment of these reserves is clearly tied to ensuring access to salmon fishery, furthermore each of these fishing stations is also a sockeye salmon creek, which was the prime species of harvest for the commercial fishery. Because of this the Gitxaala fishers needed to protect and control access Establishing of reserves more tied to salmon commercial salmon fishing, which Gitxaala people were critical for, than defining the extent of traditional territories The Land and Waters of Gitxaala as Recorded by Beynon in 1916 Beynon = Tsimshian of the wolf clan, provides glimpse into the nature and extent of Gitxaala’s core territory in the early 20th century Recorded that the hunting territories of Gitxaala are different from what his mentor Barbeau claimed, also describes the 4 Gitxaala clans (Ganhada, Gispawudwada, Laxkiok, Laxkibo). Includes descriptions of house groups, traditional territories (land and water) and identification of whom the various locations belonged to. Experiencing a Gitxaala Social Landscape Laxyuup of Gitxaala is not simply a physical space, but a place through which stories and histories pass and are passed along. ○ The linkage of place, history and personal experience was present in the materials Beynon recorded in 1916 and lives today in the oral history of contemporary Gitxaala Lach Klan considered to be the longest continually inhabited community on the BC coast ○ Many more villages recounted throughout Gitxaala territory in oral history, and remian important places socialy, culturally and materially ○ Ks’waan = large village central to stories and encounters with some of the first European visitors on the south end of Banks Island, consists of three distinct houses and archaelogical research shows extensive harvesting of abalone and sea urchin for at least five millenia Chapter 4 History is integral to Gitxaala identity  Appropriate approach to research involves requesting permission of the named title holder to the territory in question and that any conversation with community members should include groups of people who hold the rights to tell the history ○ The transmission of history and related information needs to take place in a collective setting with appropriate individuals in place to acknowledge and witness what is being said Learner listening, not questioning, observing and then doing Beynon’s research project was placed on hold until the hereditary leader Joshua Tsibasaa granted approval ○ Informants relaying history to him first had to get permission from Tsibasaa, then gave their payment to the chief and took only what the chief allowed ○ Informants often needed to stop and reaffirm approval with the chief when asked further questions Ensures maintenance and continuity of an oral history over time Oral history referred to as ADAAWX,, lineage histories or “true tellings”, and they relate the origin and central events of lineage ○ Adaawx refers to places, events, people, privileges (crests, songs, stories, etc), things (tangible and intangible) that for property and rights within Gitxaala society Also refers to traditions and laws that govern social behaviour and relations between humans, or humans and other beings (animals, spirits) Authority to relate narratives rests on the idea of MALSK (“telling”), in the act of relating ○ The authority to tell arises from an encounter with NAXNOX (supernatural) wherein rights, privileges or property are granted to the named hereditary leader who is the protagonist of the history MALSK signifies ownership, thus the right to tell stories ○ Provides authority to named hereditary leaders and mirrors the structure of authority and hierarchy that resides among the NAXNOX -- which is the ultimate source of authority and power LAGYIGYET = old people, or people of long ago and tradition Transmission of history in formal settings Transmission of oral history occurs in a range of settings, including but not limited to formal settings such as feasts and training or instruction of youths The FEAST is the primary formal setting in which history is shared ○ Hereditary leaders and hosts relate their lineage histories through song and dance ○ Public disagreement takes the form of SILENCE; to stand up and acknowledge history is to agree with it The speaker with rephrase in order to elicit an overt expression of agreement in any important situation This often causes complications for researchers who do not understand the significance of silence meaning that someone does not agree Transmission of Narratives in the Context of Training and Education Those who are in line to inherit hereditary names are expected to learn their history as part of the process of taking on their name; all members of a house are expected to learn the general history of their lineage  ○ There are aspects of history that are restricted according to one’s rank and position within a house group ○ Training of heirs takes place in a manner of contexts including home, work, play, harvesting and processing foods, learning dances and songs within family and local dance and drum groups Three Stories of Oral History Research First two stories arose from the need to identify and defend the laxyuup Gitxaala from the Canadian state and Indigenous neighbours who have adopted a more Euro approach Place Names Workshop Gathered 20 hereditary leaders and matriarchs in a classroom in Prince Rupert, taped a marine chart of Gitxaala laxyuup to front of classroom, has translators to translate the sm’algyax that he does not speak Asked them to give him a place to start, a place and time to link history to events, people, names within the laxyuup Naming the Harbour Task: to take a group of hereditary leaders on a tour of the harbour and to record their stories, memories and histories of this place ○ Stories told AT the places where they occurred In each of these examples the places become something more than merely a setting, understanding the importance of place is critical in comprehending history Summary 2 phrases: “history lives here” and “a story lies over this place” CHAPTER 5 SIHOON CATCHING FISH Fishing is what defines the core of being Gitxaala ○ Gitxaala world revolves around the marine places and practices that provide a phenomenally rich and abundant source of marine foods 1st: the doctrine of respect that guides Gitxaala fisheries ○ Gitxaala fisheries are framed in terms of relations between social beings Behaviours is regulated through social relations, which are kin-like, with the animals one harvests and the people one harvests with Oral histories reinforcing the lesson of obligation and reciprocity; ex Raven always having enough food as long as he respects his Salmon Person wife and they respect the salmon by burning their bones so that they can be restored, children drowning after disrespecting trout ○ If the salmon or trout are treated inappropriately, they will leave or exact retribution. If respected, they will reward the harvester 2nd: the thousands of years of resource harvesting and the crucial role of trade and exchange of marine resources ○ There is no known time in the millennia long fishing practice during which the Gitxaala have not harvested marine resources More than 12 unique species of invertebrates and more than 24 species of fish, plus marine mammals and terrestrial vertebrates and birds Charcoal samples date these faunal remains to over 5000 years old ○ Ancient Gitxaala harvesting techniques included  Passive (or static) gears -- are set in place and use the action of fish or current to trap and chase the fish Gill nets, made from nylon, are set along shorelines or across creek mouths so that migrating fish become trapped within them Active gears -- not fixed in place, and the fisher uses them to actively chase and trap the fish Dip nets, gaffs, spears, and drag seines were used to target fish and animals less likely to be caught by passive techniques ○ All of these require local understanding of fish behaviour and the environmental setting in order to work ○ Salmon and herring are the most important fish Herring eggs have been harvested using seaweed, kelp and hemlock branches Salmon are harvested in traditional house territories that are owned and managed by ranking hereditary leaders Salmon harvesting techniques include gaffing and spearing, using stone traps and wooden weirs, and using a range of net and hook and line gear types Salmon and Herring constitute ⅔ of identifiable fish bones that have been recovered in Gitxaala ○ Halibut and other bottom fish were a significant component of pre-contact diets Halibut dried in thin pieces starting in May (called WOKS), and is stored for household consumption and traded with people who either don’t fish or don’t have access to halibut ○ Abalone and other mollusks and sea urchins are harvested throughout the year ○ Clams and cockles mostly harvested in winter months Evidence of extending intertidal zone through use of rocks and creating “clam gardens’. Many places indicate the possibility of direct human contact in shaping the beach prior to and immediately after European contact ○ All parts of seal and seal lion used ○ Seaweed important part of diet; it is incorporated into almost every meal. Harvested in May on outer exposed rocks on the seaward portions of Gitxaala territory Typically dried on the rocks where it is picked or transported back to Lach Klan for drying on special seaweed boards made from cedar plans Gitxaala people express deep pride and pleasure when talking about, sharing, and eating seaweed ○ Gitxaala is a society tat values wealth and is focused on a system of rank and prestige based in large measure on the capacity to harvest surpluses. They get offended at the term “subsistence” because it connotes a small amount of fish 3rd: the transformation of Gitxaala fisheries since the arrival of K’amksiwah ○ Prior to and at the time of European contact, the practice of exchange for benefit was an integral aspect of Gitxaala culture and society. The exchange of food and other items like shells either at a Yaawk or in more explicit trading contexts is trade for economic benefit  It is in these practices that the social values of the accumulation of wealth, prestige and social rank occur and are maintained ○ 3 types of evidence for trade exist: Ethnographic data (including adaawx and published records) Adaawx describe the development of trading relations with neighboring Ts’msyen and others ○ These adaawx include a history of alliances and conflicts, also document the various types of goods traded between different first nations and describe who had rights to trade with whom and under what conditions Linguistic data (concerning words and phrases used to identify trade items) Used to identify terms for trade and exchange and terms for varieties of food products in the Tsimshianic languages ○ Establishing that terms for trade and exchange exist in a language is important because if these exist, it can be inferred that a people were indeed participating in trade. Sm’algyax language lists more than 3o words for various types of exchanges ○ Descriptions of variety of food items is equally important for demonstrating the existence of trade for economic benefit. Variety of terms describing types of fish, their run and colour, texture and taste indicates the existence of finely tuned aesthetic appreciation of differences between fish products, some of which are recognized as more desirable. This form of product differentiation would be important in the establishment of networks of trade in fish products Archaeological data (regarding distribution of food products) Substantiate the significance of fishing and the likelihood of trade prior to Euro contact Archaeological work in laxyuup Gitxaala has demonstrated extensive marine harvests of more than 40 different marine species, as well as regional variations in faunal assemblages that create potential for regional exchange systems in which one community specializes in abalone, while another focuses on salmon and anchovies ○ When Euro merchants ventured into Gitxaala staring in late 1700s they found that Gitxaala were more than able negotiators, and that they had a strong sense of proprietorship and retaliated when their protocols were violated either through direct physical attacks or punitive actions the Euros considered theft Gitxaala and the Contemporary Fishing Industry Over the course of the late 19th-20th century Gitxaala people shifted their commercial fishing operations from trade and exchange benefit within a long-standing regional Indigenous economic system to participation within an emerging industrial extractive fishing industry  Gitxaala people licensed traders to harvest fish and sell to fur traders in early period of contact, however It was with the emergence of the salmon canning industry in the late 19th century that Gitxaala involvement in the industrial industry began in earnest At the start industrial fisheries combined with Gitxaala traditional practices and occurred on and within traditional fishing locations ○ Gitxaala fishers adapted to change in the technical structure of the fisheries, yet at each moment of change more and more Gitxaala people have found themselves pushed out of the industrial fishery and restricted in their ability to profit from their own resource Gitxaala and other Indigebous peoples provided the bulk of the labour power for the fishing industry on the north coast until the middle of the 20th century, and the fishery was dependent on their participation as knowledge holders and wage labourers ○ The reserve system and fishery regulations contributed to a structure that first encouraged Indigenous production for these industries, but then increasingly restricted Indigenous participation Canneries could make use of Indiagsn as cheap wage labour because of the traditional subsistence economy’s effective subsidy of their low cannery wages Reserve system and natural resource regulations worked to expropriate Gitxaala land and resources and to transform Gitxaala people into a dependent labour force for the developing industries ○ The reserve system appears designed to restrict First Nations’ access to the resources of most of their traditional territories ○ First Nations participation in the fishing industry peaked around WWII. Aboriginal fishermen were gradualy displaced and replaced after 1900 ○ The increasing capitalization of the fishing fleet put Gitxaala fishers at a disadvantage due to being unable to obtain credit based on property (reserve system), they were less able to keep up with tech advances including the shift to motorized boats in the early 20th century. They were thus forced to operate cannery owned boats which prevented them from enjoying advantages of independent fishermen’s organizations Their ability to effectively negotiate fish prices was also restricted, their dependence on canneries as a source of credit adn boats contributed to the decline in Native participation in the fishing industry Canneries steadily centralized after 1930s, and offered less and less employment to FN In 1968, the Davis Plan restructured the commercial fishing industry in BC. License limitation was introduced which increased the value of salmon licenses, and many people lost their jobs and boats. FN fishermen were forced out of the industry at higher rates than Non IND. Gov support progams failed to counteract the damage Chapter 6 Herring, Herring Roe ★ Coastal herring stocks collapsed by the end of the 60s because of overfishing ○ Lights were used while fishing and hundreds of tons were harvested at a time during the reduction fishery ★ Variation in herring from inlet to inlet, cove to cove; different sizes, sheens  ○ Fishermen loaded their boats as much as they could and took their catch to port where it was reduced to animal feed ★ Herring found to be as important a constituent of the faunal assemblage as is salmon Historical Utilization ★ Herring harvested with passive and active gear ○ Intertidal stone traps along shorelines during spawning season → using the behaviour of the fish and the action of the tide, they trap the fish ○ Active gears include a rake-like device that was armed with sharp teeth to impale the herring and shake them into canoe ○ Processed by drying, smoking or rendering to oil ★ Rendering to oil– stored in wooden containers for several days, then boiled in large open containers and the oil floated on the surface. Then stored in special boxes and consumed as household food item or traded ★ Roe - branches are secured along the shoreline from April to May ○ Processed to store by drying. Branches are removed from water once a layer has been deposited, then hung to air dry. Once dry the roe is removed from the branches and packed in bentwood boxes for storage, though today people use plastic bags ★ Augers used to collect soil samples 5-6 metres deep into ground ○ NISP = Number of individual specimens Narrowing of Utilization ○ Though herring is easy to catch, it requires a relatively high intensity of labour power to harvest usable qualities. Requires more effort per unit harvested than salmon or halibut ★ After a large portion of Indigenous population has been killed off by smallpox, there were not enough people available for and capable of engaging in the processing of foods in Gitxaala society ○ By the late 1800s, herring were being harvested only as roe due to the labour shortage because roe requires significantly less work to harvest Contemporary Utilization ★ In the 1970s, roe was harvested at an alarming rate and sold to Japan (Herring gold rush) ★ When seine and pumps started being used in the Inlet, it greatly disturbed the bottom because the nets would drag along the floor tearing out eelgrass. Now there is far less roe there ★ Commercial seine fishery took a heavy toll on Kitkatla Inlet herring stocks and community harvesters felt it, and in the 90s Chief Councilor Matther Hill sued the federal gov seeking an end to the commercial harvesting of herring on the Inlet, but the court didn’t hep Abalone Bilhaa is one of a set of Kitkatla culturally important species that play a role in shaping the identity of the people who rely on them. It is embedded in cultural practices and narratives, ceremonies, dances, songs and discourse Rapid expansion of commercial dive fishery in 70s and 80s brought bilhaa stocks close to extinction, and the Department of Oceans and Fisheries banned the total bilhaa fishery including Indigenous Harvesting, Processing and Use  Organized to ensure the continuation of species, Abalone as a social being with whom we share relations, ranked member of society Adaawx. Ceremonial Practice, and Use of Bilhaa Bilhaa is symbol of prestige and rank ○ Use of bilhaa as decoration and adornment is restricted to minority of high ranking community members Obligates harvesters to treat bilhaa with respect - unrestrained harvesting = a violation of social norms ○ Prestigious people wore abalone shells on their clothing Contemporary Accounts of long-standing practice Harvesting methods involved hand picking at low tide or use of a passive trap set at low tide and then harvested at the next low tide ○ This trap method involved the use of either sealskin or a flat, liket-coloured plank. The trap was laid out at low tide and as the water covered it, the bilhaa would gather on teh ligt-coloured material Typically picked at low, low tides. It is TABOO to pick bilhaa from in the water or under the water beyond what a person can normally reach along the beach or form a small canoe or skiff moving around the water’s edge Sentiment that it was the fishery’s fault that abalone is now illegal to harvest, and Gitxaala people should still be allowed since they were never harvesting it for commercial gain Increased and excessive monitoring of their food harvesting practices and lack of sufficient attention placed on monitoring commercial diver fishermen SALMON Misperception that prior to contact the natural world was untouched, reality is that the idea that Indigenous peoples had to impact on their environment is a persistent Euro-American myth ○ World that the cololists entered in the 1700s was no “natural world but the outcome of a deliberate and direct human-environment interaction over millenia Because of the reproductive strategy of salmon, the fish can react quickly to changes in their environment ○ A surplus of fish can be harvested without affecting sustainability The following case studies explore the interconnection between locally appropriate gear types, Indigenous history and knowledge systems related to each fishing site, and the implications of all this for the idea of cultivating salmon Fishing at K’moda K’moda is a lake and river system at the head of Lowe Inlet In the 1880s one of the earliest salmon canneries in BC was established here Gitxaala harvesters have always harvested for domestic consumption, gift exchange, and exchange for benefit. The development of the K’amksiwah commercial salmon fishery actually fit well with the entrepreneurial culture of Gitxaala and neighbouring Indigenous communities, contrary to popular misconception Over the course of 20th century the fishing patterns at K’moda evolved from customary harvesting for consumption and exchange for benefit to a period of intense industrial harvesting  coexisting with customary harvesting to locally controlled drag seining and finally to less intensive, occasional customary harvest using gill nets 3 customary fishing techniques at K’moda: gaffs, stone tidal traps, and drag seinees ○ STONE TRAPS: USE TIDAL DRIFT TO CATCH FISH - a series of stones arranged in a semicircular design Salmon gather near the mouth of their birth river or stream in preparation to spawn. As the tide comes in, the salmon are pushed toward the shore and the waiting trap AS the tide recedes, the salmon move downstream, away from the shore. As they swim away from the shore with the current they become trapped by the stones K’moda stone trap located in a small cove near the opening of creek STREAMSCAPING Kxooyax = a stream and lake system located on southeastern shore of BANKS ISLAND Colnett’s crew fished here without permission from local title holder and dismantled part of the trap ○ Colnett’s inability to recognize the existing Indigenous regulations and customs related to use of local resources ultimately resulted in conflict between his crew and Gitxaala people