Returning home: heritage work among the Stl'atl'imx of the Lower Lillooet River Valley

Gibson, E. (2016) Returning home: heritage work among the Stl'atl'imx of the Lower Lillooet River Valley. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 23(3), pp. 183-199. (doi: 10.1080/13527258.2016.1261921)

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Abstract

This article focusses on heritage practices in the tensioned landscape of the Stl’atl’imx (pronounced Stat-lee-um) people of the Lower Lillooet River Valley, British Columbia, Canada. Displaced from their traditional territories and cultural traditions through the colonial encounter, they are enacting, challenging and remaking their heritage as part of their long term goal to reclaim their land and return ‘home’. I draw on three examples of their heritage work: graveyard cleaning, the shifting ‘official’/‘unofficial’ heritage of a wagon road, and marshalling of the mountain named Nsvq’ts (pronounced In-SHUCK-ch) in order to illustrate how the past is strategically mobilised in order to substantiate positions in the present. While this paper focusses on heritage in an Indigenous and postcolonial context, I contend that the dynamics of heritage practices outlined here are applicable to all heritage practices.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Gibson, Dr Erin
Authors: Gibson, E.
College/School:College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > Archaeology
Journal Name:International Journal of Heritage Studies
Publisher:Taylor & Francis
ISSN:1352-7258
ISSN (Online):1470-3610
Published Online:13 December 2016
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2017 Taylor and Francis
First Published:First published in International Journal of Heritage Studies 23(3):183-199
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher

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