'We Shall Drink from the Stream and So Shall You': James A. Teit and Native Resistance in British Columbia, 1908-22

Abstract

James A. Teit (1864–1922) is known mainly for his anthropological work among the Aboriginal peoples of south-central British Columbia. Few are aware that he was also involved in an early Native political movement. From 1908 until 1922 Teit assisted a large community of predominantly monolingual Native leaders to negotiate in the Euro-Canadian political domain. Evidence of this collaboration exists in the documents -letters, petitions, declarations, and position papers - that survive from this period. These documents stand today not only as a record of Teit’s - and his Native contemporaries’ - political commitment but also as ethnographic texts worthy of study in their own right. Unlike the traditional salvage ethnography of the period which focuses mainly on an idealized pre-contact past, these documents draw attention to a highly charged political present. This article highlights the contents of the documents, as well as Teit’s role in their production. Abstract: On connait surtout James A, Teit (1864–1922) pour son travail d’anthropologue aupres des peuples autochtones du centre-sud de la Colombie-Britannique. Tres peu de gens savent qu’il a aussi fait partie d’un des premiers mouvements politiques autochtones. De 1908 jusqu’en 1922, teit a aide une importante collectivite de chefs autochtones pour la plupart unilingues a negocier sur la scene politique eurocanadienne. Des ecrits conserves de cette periode sous forme de lettres, petitions, declarations et memoires attestent de cette collaboration. Ces documents representent aujourd’hui non seulement un compte-rendu de l’engagement politique de Teit ainsi que de ses contemporains autochtones, mais aussi des textes ethnographiques ayant une valeur d’etude intrinseque. Contrairement a l’ethnographie de sauvetage traditionnelle de cette periode, qui s’interesse surtout a un passe preeuropeen idealise, ces documents appelant l’attention sur un present politique tres tendu. Cet essai souligne non seulement le contenu des documents, mais egalement le role qu’a joue teit dans leur production.

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