Annie York

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Annie York
Annie Zixtkwu York
Elder of the Nlaka'pamux people of the Spuzzum First Nation
Personal details
Born(1904-09-21)September 21, 1904
Spuzzum, British Columbia, Canada
Died(1992-08-19)August 19, 1992
Spuzzum, British Columbia, Canada
Cause of deathTuberculosis
Parent(s)Lucy Palmer York and William Benjamin
OccupationAuthor

Annie Zixtkwu York (September 21, 1904 - August 19, 1991) [1] was a distinguished elder of the Nlaka'pamux people (also known as Thompson) of the Spuzzum First Nation of Spuzzum, in Fraser Canyon located in the lower region of British Columbia, Canada. [2] York was raised by her Nlaka'pamux family where she came to be bilingual speaking English and Nlaka'pamuctsin. [1] [3] She dedicated herself to the Christian religion and the beliefs of the Nlaka'pamux people, Nle'kepmx. [4] York's family members educated her about the history of Spuzzum as well as the origin of its name, Spuzzum chiefs, and the ethnobotany of the region. [5] York was known to be a storyteller, always recording and sharing stories. [3] [4]

Contents

Annie York was a co-author of two published novels, Spuzzum: Fraser CanyonHistories 1808-1939 [1] and They Write Their Dreams on the Rock Forever: Rock Writings of the Stein River Valley of British Columbia. [6] She was the subject of the movie, Bowl of Bone: Tale of The Syuwe. [7]

Early life

York was born on September 21, 1904, in Spuzzum territory in British Columbia. [1] [4] She died August 19, 1991, due to tuberculosis in Spuzzum. [1] [4] York was the third of seven children born to William Benjamin and Lucy Palmer York. [1] Her mother was of English and Nlaka'pamux descent while her father was a Nlaka'pamux man whose family all originated from Spuzzum territory. [1] Though York's father was Nlaka'pamux, her mother's mixed heritage did not allow the family to live together in Spuzzum territory. [1] Therefore, York's family moved to Fraser Canyon in British Columbia. [3] In her time in Fraser Canyon, her family prohibited her to return to Spuzzum territory given the situation with her mother. [1] York grew up living with her mother's Nlaka'pamux family as well as with Amelia York, her grandmother from her father's side. [1] [3] York came to be bilingual speaking both English and Nlaka'pamux language. [1]

Personal life

York decided to return to Spuzzum territory and live with her aunt Rhoda Urquhart and her cousin Arthur Urquhart. [3] Annie dedicated herself to the Christian religion and the Nlaka'pamux beliefs. [1] [4] Because she was bilingual, she prayed and sang in Nlaka'pamuctsin as well as translated it to English. [5] Three songs she translated were "A Song of Seasons", "Simon Fraser's Song", and "The Song for Mount Baker". [4] York was never married nor did she have any children. [1] She spent the last of her years in Spuzzum with her cousin Arthur Urquhart, where they both took care of each other. [3]

Education

York's time was largely spent with her family, listening to family members' stories. [5] Through the stories told, she became educated about Spuzzum's history. [5] York explained that Spuzzum received its name due to how flat the area is and the word spuzzum means flat. [5] York was educated on Spuzzum chiefs and the impact that each chief had on their people. [5] She explained that Chief Paul was known for educating his people about manners and religion through prayers, [5] and Chief Peleck was known for teaching the people about religion by having hymns and prayers be translated to the Nlaka'pamux language. [5] York also was educated in botany. [5] [8] [9] [10] Lastly, in the 1920s, she studied nursing in Merritt, British Columbia, but did not graduate. [3]

Folklore

Annie York was known to be a storyteller who would share the tales about the lakes in British Columbia. [3] York was also known to tape record her stories. [4] One story she told was of a lake near Fraser Canyon, where the logs at the lake would mysteriously move to the center at night, and in the morning, the logs would be spread out again. [11] About Lake Nicola, York recounted the tale of a young girl who saw an eel in the lake and it mysteriously paralyzed her. [11]

Career

Annie York was a co-author of two published novels, Spuzzum: Fraser Canyon Histories 1808-1939 [1] and They Write Their Dreams on the Rock Forever: Rock Writings of the Stein River Valley of British Columbia. [6] York assisted and showcased her personal history in the film Bowl of Bone: Tale of the Syuwe. [7]

Spuzzum: Fraser Canyon Histories 1808-1939

The authors of Spuzzum: Fraser Canyon Histories 1808-1939 were Annie York and Andrea Laforet. [1] The novel takes place in Fraser Canyon and occurs during colonization [1] The novel emphasizes and preserves the history of the Nlaka'pamux people undergoing colonization. [1] The history is captured through York's experience along with her knowledge of her family's experiences. [1]

They Write Their Dreams on the Rock Forever: Rock Writings of the Stein River Valley of British Columbia

The authors of They Write Their Dreams on the Rock Forever: Rock Writings of the Stein River Valley of British Columbia are Annie York, Richard Daly, and Chris Arnett. [6] The novel takes place in Stein River Valley in British Columbia. [6] In the novel, Annie York showcases the writings on the rocks and explains the meaning of the writings, giving the reader insights into how people lived in Stein River Valley. [6] This novel was published with the intent of spreading awareness on the importance of the writings on the rocks found in Stein River Valley. [6]

Film

Bowl of Bone: Tale of the Syuwe directed by Jan-Marie Martell and produced by Annie York takes place in the late 1900s. [7] The film brings the audience along Martell's journey in meeting York and in learning about the Syuwe under York's unique teaching style. [7]

In media

Annie York's knowledge about Spuzzum's history, lifestyle, and botany has led to her inclusion in several published works. [3]

Related Research Articles

Salishan oral narratives consist of the body of traditional narratives of the speakers of the Salishan languages, who inhabit British Columbia, Canada and in Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon in the United States. Each of the many peoples in these groups have their own stories and each storyteller may interpret them in their own ways, but many of the stories of the Salish peoples are similar and share themes and characters, and share their historical origins in the proto-Salishan culture long ago. The earliest descriptions of the oral traditions of the Salishan peoples were the collections of Nuxalk mythology by anthropologist Franz Boas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stein Valley Nlaka'pamux Heritage Park</span> British Columbia provincial park

The Stein Valley Nlaka’pamux Heritage Park is located near Lytton, British Columbia, northeast of Vancouver. The park was established in 1995. Currently, the park is being co-managed, operated, and planned through partnership between the Lytton First Nations and the British Columbia Government. The park provides recreational opportunities and cultural heritage activities.

Spuzzum is an unincorporated community in the lower Fraser Canyon area of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The place is on the west shore of the Fraser River and north shore of Spuzzum Creek. The locality, on BC Highway 1, is by road about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Hope and 69 kilometres (43 mi) south of Lytton.

British Columbia gold rushes were important episodes in the history and settlement of European, Canadian and Chinese peoples in western Canada.

Yale-Lillooet was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fraser Canyon</span> Canyon in British Columbia, Canada

The Fraser Canyon is a major landform of the Fraser River where it descends rapidly through narrow rock gorges in the Coast Mountains en route from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia to the Fraser Valley. Colloquially, the term "Fraser Canyon" is often used to include the Thompson Canyon from Lytton to Ashcroft, since they form the same highway route which most people are familiar with, although it is actually reckoned to begin above Williams Lake at Soda Creek Canyon near the town of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lillooet Ranges</span> Mountain range in the country of Canada

The Lillooet Ranges are the southeasternmost subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia. They are located between the drainage of the Lillooet River and Harrison Lake on the west and the canyon of the Fraser River on the east, and by the lowland coastal valley of that river on the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quiggly hole</span> Remains of an earth lodge built by First Nations people

A quiggly hole, also known as a pit-house or simply as a quiggly or kekuli, is the remains of an earth lodge built by the First Nations people of the Interior of British Columbia and the Columbia Plateau in the United States. The word quiggly comes from kick willy or keekwulee, the Chinook Jargon word for "beneath" or "under".

The Fraser Canyon War, also known as the Canyon War or the Fraser River War, was an incident between white miners and the indigenous Nlaka'pamux people in the newly declared Colony of British Columbia, which later became part of Canada, in 1858. It occurred during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, which brought many white settlers to the Fraser Canyon area. Largely ignored by Canadian historians, it was one of the seminal events of the founding of the colony. Although it ended relatively peacefully, it was a major test of the new administration's control over the goldfields, which were distant and difficult to access from the centre of colonial authority at Victoria in the Colony of Vancouver Island.

The Scwʼexmx ( Scw̓éxmx), meaning "people of the creek(s)", are a branch of the Nlaka'pamux (Thompson) people in the Nicola Country of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Together with the neighbouring branch of the Okanagan people the Spaxomin, who live in the upper, eastern reaches of the Nicola Valley, they are generally known in English as the Nicolas. They also share governmental institutions, and their alliance dates to before the time of Chief Nicola, for whom the river was named and whose father had led the Okanagan migration into the valley in the late 18th century. The Scw'exmx intermarried with the Okanagans, and also with the Nicola Athapaskans (Stu'wix), a now-extinct Athapaskan-speaking people who migrated into the valley in the 17th century.

Spuzzum First Nation is a Nlaka'pamux First Nations government located near Spuzzum, British Columbia. It is a member of the Fraser Canyon Indian Administration, one of three tribal councils of the Nlaka'pamux people. Other members of the Fraser Canyon Indian Administration are the Kanaka Bar, Skuppah and Nicomen First Nations.

The Scwʼexmx Tribal Council, officially referred to until May 27, 2019 as Nicola Tribal Association, also known as the Nicola Tribal Council and the Nicola Valley Tribal Council, is an official First Nations Tribal Council composed of bands in the Nicola Valley, Thompson Canyon and Fraser Canyon areas of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of three tribal councils of the Nlakaʼpamux (Thompson) people, the other two being the Nlakaʼpamux Nation Tribal Council and the Fraser Canyon Indian Administration. The Lytton First Nation and Lower Nicola Indian Band community, does not belong to any of the three Tribal Councils.

The Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council, formerly the Fraser Thompson Indian Services Society, is a First Nations government Tribal Council comprising bands in the Fraser Canyon and Thompson Canyon areas of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of three tribal councils of the Nlaka'pamux people, the others being the Nicola Tribal Association and the Fraser Canyon Indian Administration. The Lytton First Nation, which is the government of the largest Nlaka'pamux community, does not belong to any of the three.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Bar First Nation</span>

The Boston Bar First Nation is a First Nations government in the Fraser Canyon region of the Southern Interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Located near the town of Boston Bar, it is a member of the Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council.

The Fraser Canyon Indian Administration was a First Nations tribal council government composed of five bands in the Fraser Canyon and Thompson Canyon areas of the Canadian province of British Columbia.

Kanaka Bar First Nation is a First Nations government located at Kanaka Bar, British Columbia, Canada, between the towns of Boston Bar and Lytton in the Fraser Canyon region. It is a member of the Fraser Canyon Indian Administration, one of three tribal councils of the Nlaka'pamux people. Other members of the Fraser Canyon Indian Administration are the Spuzzum, Skuppah and Nicomen First Nations. Other Nlaka'pamux governments belong either to the Nicola Tribal Association or the Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council.

The Siska Indian Band is located in the Fraser Canyon region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was previously a member of the Scw’exmx Tribal Council, which is a tribal council of the Nlaka'pamux people. Other Nlaka'pamux governments belong either to the Fraser Canyon Indian Administration or the Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council, although the large Lytton First Nation, north of Siska, does not belong to any of the three.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siska, British Columbia</span>

Siska, also known historically as Cisco, is a locality in the Fraser Canyon, 9.4 kilometres south of the town of Lytton, British Columbia, Canada. It is at Siska that the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National Railways switch from one side of the river to the other, because it is impossible for both rail lines to occupy the same bank of the Fraser, due to the narrow and steep terrain. The resulting pair of bridges, with the CNR bridge just upstream of the CPR's, and the CPR's bridge's west foot entering the Cantilever Bar Tunnel into the side of Cisco Bluff, remains one of the most famous images of the CPR's route through British Columbia today and is easily viewable from the adjacent Trans-Canada Highway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nlaka'pamux</span> Ethnic group of British Columbia

The Nlakaʼpamux or Nlakapamuk, also previously known as the Thompson, Thompson River Salish, Thompson Salish, Thompson River Indians or Thompson River people, and historically as the Klackarpun, Haukamaugh, Knife Indians, and Couteau Indians, are an Indigenous First Nations people of the Interior Salish language group in southern British Columbia. Their traditional territory includes parts of the North Cascades region of Washington.

Botanie Valley is in British Columbia's southern interior near Lytton. It is a traditional food source for the Nlaka'pamux people. The name itself means "covering" possibly referring to the abundant plant life covering the area. Botanie Creek enters the Thompson River a few kilometres upstream of its confluence with the Fraser River, making Botanie the Thompson River's last tributary.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Laforet, Andrea Lynne (1998). Spuzzum : Fraser Canyon histories, 1808-1939. UBC Press published in association with the Canadian Museum of Civilization. ISBN   0-7748-5239-9. OCLC   1109324397.
  2. ↑ "Annie York » Authors » Talonbooks". talonbooks.com. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Bjerky, Irene. "Annie York on Broadback Mountain in Spuzzum". www.communitystories.ca. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Thompson, M. Terry; Egesdal, Steven M. (2008). Salish myths and legends : one people's stories. University of Nebraska Press. OCLC   1311143352.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Kluckner, Michael. "Vanishing B.C. Old spuzzum hotel". Archived from the original on April 5, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 York, Annie (2000). They Write Their Dreams on the Rock Forever : Rock Writings in the Stein River Valley of British Columbia. Talonbooks. ISBN   978-1-4593-1313-2. OCLC   923073579.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Bowl of Bone: Tale of The Syuwe - Full Cast & Crew". TV Guide.
  8. 1 2 Turner, Nancy J.; Loewen, Dawn C. (1998). "The Original "Free Trade": Exchange of Botanical Products and Associated Plant Knowledge in Northwestern North America". Anthropologica. 40 (1): 49. doi:10.2307/25605872. JSTOR   25605872.
  9. 1 2 Hayden, Brian (1991). "Thompson Ethnobotany: Knowledge and Usage of Plants by the Thompson Indians of British Columbia. Nancy Turner, Laurence Thompson, M. Terry Thompson, and Annie York. Memoir No. 3. Royal British Columbia Museum, 1990. viii + 335 pp., figures. Can '15.00 (paper)". American Antiquity. 56 (4): 750. doi:10.2307/281574. ISSN   0002-7316. JSTOR   281574. S2CID   164678047.
  10. 1 2 Turner, Nancy J. (September 24, 2020). ""That Was Our Candy!": Sweet Foods in Indigenous Peoples' Traditional Diets in Northwestern North America". Journal of Ethnobiology. 40 (3). doi:10.2993/0278-0771-40.3.305. ISSN   0278-0771. S2CID   221910131.
  11. 1 2 "The British Columbia Triangle: Part 3/6 – Indian Legends of the Interior Plateau". mysteriesofcanada.com. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
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