Odyssey to the Sacred Headwaters

In a rugged knot of mountains in northern British Columbia lies a spectacular valley known to the First Nations as the Sacred Headwaters. There, three of Canada's most important salmon rivers—the Stikine, the Skeena, and the Nass—are born in close proximity.

Now, against the wishes of First Nations, the British Columbia government has opened the Sacred Headwaters to industrial development. Imperial Metals is building an open-pit copper and gold mine called the Red Chris mine. This is all taking place while the Mount Polley mine disaster in August 2014, a mine also owned by Imperial Metals, is at the forefront of public debate.

Professor Wade Davis describes the beauty of the Sacred Headwaters, the threats to it, and the response of native groups and concerned citizens as part of UBC Reads Sustainability.

Davis’ message: no amount of gold, copper or methane gas can compensate for the sacrifice of a place that could be the Sacred Headwaters of all Canadians, and indeed, of all peoples of the world. Part book club, part lecture, Davis’ presentation goes beyond the visually stunning text, The Sacred Headwaters (2011), a collection of images by an array of photographers portraying the splendor of the region.

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Maps of Experience: The Anchoring of Land to Story in Secwepemc Discourse

By Andie Diane Palmer

In many North American indigenous cultures, history and stories are passed down, not by the written word, but by oral tradition. In Maps of Experience, Andie Diane Palmer draws on stories recorded during travels through Secwepemc ? or Shuswap ? hunting and gathering territory with members of the Alkali Lake Reserve in Interior British Columbia. Palmer examines how the various kinds of talk allow knowledge to be carried forward, reconstituted, reflected upon, enriched, and ultimately relocated by and for new interlocutors in new experiences and places.

Maps of Experience demonstrates how the Secwepemc engagement in the traditional practices of hunting and gathering create shared lived experiences between individuals, while recreating a known social context in which existing knowledge of the land may be effectively shared and acted upon. When the narratives of fellow travellers are pooled through discursive exchange, they serve as what can be considered a ?map of experience,? providing the basis of shared understanding and social relationship to territory. Palmer?s analysis of ways of listening and conveying information within the Alkali Lake community brings new insights into indigenous language and culture, as well as to the study of oral history, ethnohistory, experimental ethnography, and discourse analysis.

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