The Story of The Squamish People

About the Book

We are writing about the Homulchusun people’s history. The unpacking and decolonizing of the research and dialogue that has been recorded in the more than 100 plus years since full colonial settlement. The colonial settlement period and beyond brought about cultural genocide, which was the focus of the missionaries, Indian Affairs and colonialists and carried on into the 21st century. This process is revealed throughout this book. This book discusses oral storytelling and archival information researched by the author. Readers of this publication agree that neither Barbara Wyss nor her publisher or editors will be held responsible for damages that may be alleged to result directly or indirectly from the use of this publication. This book is based on factual events, indigenous oral memory, archival research, and historical events; however, in some instances, locales, names, details and identifying characteristics have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

About the Author

Kultsia Barbara Wyss Skwxwu7mesh/Sto: Lo/Hawaiian Skwxwu7mesh Matriarch of her Nahanee family through Lorne Whitton Sr and Eva Nahanee [nee: Williams] Kultsia Barbara Wyss is a defender of human rights for indigenous people, specifically women and children, as they had their rights prevented from being recognized at a time when indigenous men had much more afforded to them. Kultsia Barbara has spent years supporting indigenous food sovereignty as well as land and water rights for many indigenous communities throughout Canada and specifically for small communities along the coast and the central interior for close to 25+ years. Amongst her many accomplishments, Kultsia Barbara worked with these small indigenous communities on developing employment skills, guiding them into small business developments and promoting them working on cultural projects that helped to highlight and honour their cultures through their desired employment activities. Kultsia Barbara Wyss wrote multi-year business plans that focused on traditional food security ventures that helped communities to see how valuable their resources were, including traditional foods such as raspberries as a crop that could be easily grown to produce a positive economic impact for interior peoples, a cultural museum for and by the Secwepemc people and salmon fishing as a career that was in line with commercial fishing standards for coastal fishermen. She is a 5-year survivor of Indian Residential School abuse, sexual abuse and brutal physical punishments, and survived another 5 years of Indian Day School. Kultsia Barbara Wyss survived several breast cancer operations, chemo and radiation therapies and has continued to fight numerous health conditions which resulted from the intense suffering she endured through colonial violence at a young age. Kultsia Barbara Wyss is a prolific writer and has dedicated her elder years to her lifelong research of the herstory and history of the Homulchusun people. She has written 2 books on her father’s lineage of her people along with a cookbook of Indigenous recipes to encourage indigenous people to eat traditional foods to fight colonial health-based issues. She worked with First Nations on the Central Coast and the Fraser Valley for 10 years to continue to promote cultural economic development projects that focused on fishing and other traditional foods and medicines to promote sustainability in their nations. Everything Kultsia Barbara Wyss has ever done has been a healing journey from her traumatic childhood experiences and has been to help others find positive ways to stay healthy and safe in cultural ways and to feel cultural and spiritual pride as indigenous peoples. Her work stands out as being an inspiration to become literate in culture, spirit and in all ways that carry indigenous people forward. She continues to educate people to seek their cultural identities and to feel strength and pride in who they are.