Overview

Songhees Pictorial presents the story of the Songhees people, the original Salish inhabitants the southern tip of Vancouver Island, since their first contact with Europeans in 1790. It is an insightful ethno-historical account of a people and the place where they lived. When the Songhees Reserve was established in 1843 across the harbour from Fort Victoria, it became a gathering place for First Peoples throughout the region seeking trade with Europeans. This new commerce brought prosperity, conflict, disease and cultural upheaval to the Songhees and other coastal First Nations. Focusing on the old reserve, Grant Keddie presents these rapidly changing times through the eyes of outsiders, as expressed in newspaper reports and private journals, as depicted in sketches, paintings and photographs. The book features almost 200 archival images - many published here for the first time. Though these views of First Peoples in Victoria were taken through the biased lenses of non-aboriginal photographers, Grant Keddie gives them context and perspective. Songhees Pictorial offers a rich visual history of the old Songhees Reserve, the people who lived there and the city that grew up around them.

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9780772649645

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Reviews

Songhees Pictorial is fascinating, and a valuable contribution to the study of local history. Dave Obee, Victoria Times Colonist I highly recommend this superb book to both academic audiences and the general public, particularly to those seeking to learn about the capital city beyond the tea-time imperialism of Victorias present-day trade with tourists. Daniel Marshall, The Canadian Historical Review Keddies handsome book adds a new dimension to aboriginal history in Canada by focusing on a previously ignored urban aboriginal community and by meticulously using photographs as its central primary source. John Lutz, BC Studies

Author Information

Grant Keddie has been curator of archaeology at the Royal BC Museum for more than 35 years, and has undertaken archaeological excavations in many parts of the province. He has a broad interest in the cultures of First Nations in BC, and has published numerous articles on ethnohistory and archaeology. Songhees Pictorial is his first book.

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