Tlowitsis Re-Imagined: The Use of Digital Media to Build Nation and Overcome Disconnection in a Displaced Aboriginal Community

The Tlowitsis Nation

The Tlowitsis Nation’s traditional territories spanned a large area of northern Vancouver Island from ancient history until the early 20^th Century. Prior to this time, Tlowitsis members engaged in a range of land-related subsistence activities such as gathering plants, fruits and berries, hunting and trapping fish, elk, deer and moose, and clam digging. They occupied a number of seasonal village sights scattered across islands along Johnson Straight and on Vancouver Island. Seasonal travel routes, food processing areas, burial and cultural sites and other named places extended across the entire territory. Most of their activities were concentrated along waterways, marine channels and passages, river systems and freshwater lakes (Galois, 1994).

In the 18^th Century British and Spanish explorations occurred in the area simultaneously. In July 1791, the ships Santa Saturnina and San Carlos explored the Strait of Georgia, identifying places along the east coast of Vancouver Island (Wagner, 1933; cited in Kennedy & Bouchard, 2008). This contact heralded the era of colonization that continues to influence Tlowitsis governance and decision-making until today. During the fall of 1879 the Indian Reserve Commission began to designate reserve lands for Tlowitsis. Despite the range of territories and resources utilized by the Nation prior to contact, only 11 reserves were allocated through an exclusionary process that did not consult Tlowitsis leadership. Many of these reserves are tiny in size (less than a few hundred square metres) and in remote and inaccessible locations (see map below). In 1914, Tlowitsis Chief Johnnie Clark petitioned the Royal Commission on Indian Affairs for the Province of British Columbia arguing the inability of reserve lands to meet the needs of the Nation and the failure of the Crown to consult his people.