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Distributed for University of British Columbia Press

The Many Voyages of Arthur Wellington Clah

A Tsimshian Man on the Pacific Northwest Coast

First-hand accounts of Indigenous people’s encounters with colonialism are rare. A daily diary that extends over fifty years is unparalleled. Based on a transcription of Arthur Wellington Clah’s diaries, this book offers a riveting account of a Tsimshian man who moved in both colonial and Aboriginal worlds. From his birth in 1831 to his death in 1916, Clah witnessed profound change: the arrival of traders, missionaries, and miners, and the establishment of industrial fisheries, wage labour, and reserves. His many voyages – physical, cultural, and spiritual – provide an unprecedented Aboriginal perspective on colonial relationships on the Pacific Northwest Coast.


324 pages | © 2011

Biography and Letters


Table of Contents

Chronology

Introduction

1 The Life and Times of Arthur Wellington Clah

2 Keeping Account: The Diary

3 The Fur Trade Era

4 Chasing Gold

5 Food Production and Wage Labour

6 Land Matters

7 Becoming a Christian

8 Parading and Preaching

9 Clah and the Missionaries

10 The Changing World of Feasting

11 Ligeex, Chief of the Gispaxlo’ots

12 Old Age: The End of Voyaging

Conclusion

Appendices:

1 Clah’s Trade Records for 24 and 25 December 1865

2 Key People in Clah’s World

Notes

Bibliography

Index

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