The Royal BC Museum has published What Was Said to Me: The Life of StiB次元官网网址檛umB次元官网网址檃tulB次元官网网址檞ut, a Cowichan Woman, by linguist Ruby Peter, in collaboration with Helene Demers.
What Was Said to Me blends memoir, oral history and ethno-autobiography into a narrative of resistance and resilience, spanning seven decades in the life of an advocate for Indigenous language preservation.
B次元官网网址淭his first-person oral history is the first of its kind published by the Royal BC Museum,B次元官网网址� says Mischelle vanThiel, vice president of inclusion and community engagement at the Royal BC Museum. B次元官网网址淚t is a remarkable narrative about a remarkable person who dedicated her life to maintaining and sharing her language.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址�What Was Said to Me is a beautiful and generous gift our Aunty, StiB次元官网网址檛umB次元官网网址檃tulB次元官网网址檞ut has shared with us,B次元官网网址� says Samaya Jardey, director of language and cultural affairs, Squamish Nation. B次元官网网址淚t is rich with teachings from beginning to end. It is an example of the love she had for the people.B次元官网网址�
What Was Said to Me documents a period of profound social change through the lens of StiB次元官网网址檛umB次元官网网址檃tulB次元官网网址檞utB次元官网网址攁lso known as Dr. Ruby PeterB次元官网网址攁 Cowichan elder who made it her lifeB次元官网网址檚 work to share and safeguard HulB次元官网网址檘B次元官网网址檜miB次元官网网址檔umB次元官网网址�, the language of her people.
StiB次元官网网址檛umB次元官网网址檃tulB次元官网网址檞ut mentored hundreds of students and teachers and helped thousands of people to develop a basic knowledge of the HulB次元官网网址檘B次元官网网址檜miB次元官网网址檔umB次元官网网址� language.
She contributed to dictionaries and grammars, and helped assemble a valuable corpus of stories, sound and video files, with more than 10,000 pages of texts from HulB次元官网网址檘B次元官网网址檜miB次元官网网址檔umB次元官网网址� speakers. StiB次元官网网址檛umB次元官网网址檃tulB次元官网网址檞ut was the associate editor of The Cowichan Dictionary.
In 1997, Vancouver Island University anthropologist Helene Demers recorded StiB次元官网网址檛umB次元官网网址檃tulB次元官网网址檞utB次元官网网址檚 life stories over nine sessions. She prepared the transcripts for publication in close collaboration with StiB次元官网网址檛umB次元官网网址檃tulB次元官网网址檞utB次元官网网址� and her family.
Although StiB次元官网网址檛umB次元官网网址檃tulB次元官网网址檞ut passed away on January 8, 2021, just a few months before her book rolled off the press, she consulted closely on every stage of editing and image collection. Royalties from the book now go to StiB次元官网网址檛umB次元官网网址檃tulB次元官网网址檞utB次元官网网址檚 family.
What Was Said to Me retails for $24.95 as a trade paperback and $11.99 as an ebook. The 224-page book is available through local bookshops, the Royal Museum Shop and online at rbcm.ca/books.
