Author Tags: First Nations

Smithers arose from a swamp at the base of a mountain. Early white settlers in this railway town made efforts to exclude the indigenous Witsuwit’en.  As a third generation Smithers man who now teaches at the University of Florida, Tyler McCreary has orchestrated interviews with more than 50 Witsuwit’en and non-indigenous families about the past for Shared Histories: Witsuwit’en - Settler Relations in Smithers BC 1913 - 1973 (Creekstone $24.95). To celebrate the launch of the book, the neighbouring community of Witset (formerly Moricetown) and the Liksilyu clan organized a 34 km. Walk to Witset and a feast hosting more than 400 guests (over 50% non-Indigenous) to celebrate the launch of the book. Ut’akhgit Henry Alfred, the last living Witsuwit’en plaintiff in the Delgamuukw – Gisdaywa court case, hosted the feast, in spite of illness. He died soon afterward. "This collection of hidden histories reveals how generations of Witsuwit’en made a place for themselves in town despite local, provincial, and national efforts push them, and indeed all Indigenous peoples, to the fringes," says McCreary. 978-1-928195-04-7

[BCBW 2018]