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History General

Two Houses Half-Buried in Sand

Oral Traditions of the Hul'q'umi'num' Coast Salish of Kuper Island and Vancouver Island

edited by Chris Arnett

by (author) Beryl Mildred Cryer

Publisher
Talonbooks
Initial publish date
Dec 2008
Category
General, Native American
Recommended Age
17
Recommended Grade
12
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780889225558
    Publish Date
    Dec 2008
    List Price
    $29.95

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Description

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.

About the authors

Chris Arnett
Author and carver Chris Arnett is a fourth-generation British Columbian on his mother’s side and a member of the Ngai Tahu, a New Zealand Maori tribe, on his father’s side. With a lifelong interest in the prehistory and history of British Columbia and New Zealand, he has researched the archeology of the Stein River Valley for the “Nlaka’pamux Nation Development Corporation and has worked for the Sooke Region Museum and Archives on a historical survey of logging on Vancouver Island’s southwest coast, which was published in 1989.

Beryl Mildred Cryer
In addition to many newspaper articles on aboriginal myths and history, Beryl Mildred Cryer published one small book, Legends of the Cowichans, in 1949. She died in Welland, Ontario, in 1980.

Chris Arnett's profile page

Beryl Mildred Cryer was born Beryl Mildred Halhed in 1889 in Auckland, New Zealand. Her family immigrated to British Columbia, eventually settling down in the town of Chemainus where she married William Claude Cryer, a local businessman, and had one child. In addition to many newspaper articles on aboriginal myths and history, she published one small book, Legends of the Cowichans, in 1949. She died in Welland, Ontario in 1980.

Beryl Mildred Cryer's profile page

Editorial Reviews

“A book that provides some of the best accounts of Coast Salish mythology available.”– BC Studies

“…an engrossing and delightful book.”
Georgia Straight

Librarian Reviews

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

Beryl Cryer, a journalist and amateur anthropologist, recorded and published the Hul’q’umi’num origin and history narratives by Aboriginal elders in the early 1930s for the Daily Colonist.This collection of sixty stories preserves accounts of nineteenth and early twentieth century Central Coast Salish history and culture. Stories about women are presented in detail particularly in regards to their spiritual training, naming ceremonies, work and daily lives in the period 1860-1930. Articles cover topics such as marriages, fights, deaths, rock art and the origin of the Qhwimux Tribe.

Caution: The narratives reflect the vernacular of the time.

Source: The Association of Book Publishers of BC. Canadian Aboriginal Books for Schools. 2008-2009.