Maps are traditionally seen as colonial tools that lay claim to lands, lakes and rivers; however, a new map in UVic’s Mearns – McPherson Library tells a different story. The map created by cartographer and geography PhD candidate Leah Fulton and anthropology Professor Brian Thom challenges us to see the region the university is situated in from a different point of view.
Gracing an entire wall in the library, the six-foot-tall and 18-foot-long map highlights the Salish Sea region to illustrate an intricate picture of Indigenous communities and the areas of treaty and non-treaty relations. The Salish Sea treaty landscape is complex: there are 16 treaties from the 19th century (12 in Canada, four in the US), and two modern-day treaties, and many other communities that have never entered into treaty relations.
The visually striking sepia-tone map is intended to offer students a starting point to learning what historic and modern-day treaties are about, and how Indigenous title and rights continue across the region. Local Indigenous students can see themselves and their histories in the names and places represented on the map.
TRC Calls to Action
The idea of the map originated with Ry Moran, associate university librarian – reconciliation, who sought ways to put into practice findings from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
“In creating this, the map responds to the TRC Calls to Action which call on all peoples to recognize the rights of Indigenous Peoples’ unique relationships to the land and to reject ideas such as terra nullius and the Doctrine of Discovery,” says Moran.
“The size and location of the map indicate the importance of recognizing where we live, and the profound responsibility involved in being a good guest in these territories,” adds Moran.
Thom, founder of UVic’s Ethnographic Mapping Lab who has worked for over three decades with Coast Salish communities, was approached by Moran to collaborate on a project for library visitors. Moran envisioned a map that would help visitors reflect on the lək̓ʷəŋən territories on which the University of Victoria stands, and Coast Salish territories where much of our learning happens.
“After much discussion with Ry, we decided to focus on treaties in the Salish Sea,” says Thom.
Salish Sea treaty relations
The history of treaty-making in the Salish Sea is quite different than other areas of Canada and the US. Starting with the names of all the present and historic communities of the Salish Sea, Thom thought a map could visualize where those treaty relations extended, and also highlight the many communities that have never entered into a treaty.
Unlike other areas of Canada, the legacy of historic, modern-day and non-treaty relationships is complex and nuanced here in the Salish Sea region. Understanding these gives further depth to the work we are doing in territorial acknowledgements, extending our recognition of land relations to include something of the layered implications of ongoing Indigenous and treaty rights.
Brian Thom, anthropology professor
Thom drew on the legacy of the important event UVic and Songhees Nation hosted in 2017 on the Vancouver Island Treaties to provide the English and lək̓ʷəŋiʔnəŋ-translated text for the Čeqʷəŋín (Cheko’nien) treaty and how it applies to the UVic campus lands. Reading these texts reminds the campus community about the unfulfilled promises and commitments made to Indigenous Peoples by the Crown.
“Those Indigenous people living in the Sŋéqə (Sngequ) village in the 1850s agreed to share the land, but that sharing has not gone equitably,” adds Thom, “leaving a legacy that we all need to understand in our work toward better relationships.”
Complex storytelling
Once Thom and Moran decided on the map’s focus, they turned to the geography department to find a grad student who could deploy techniques of ethnographic mapping.
“Leah Fulton came highly recommended by her supervisor,” said Thom. “Their skill and interest in this project have been outstanding.”
Fulton is fascinated by the complex storytelling that can be achieved through non-conventional forms of mapping.
“The question I grappled with was how do we represent Coast Salish peoples and their relationships to campus in a good way,” says Fulton.
Moran, Thom and Fulton all agreed the project aimed to ignite dialogue and create a better understanding of the relationships that exist with Indigenous people, as the university as a whole works toward reconciliation.
Ethnographic mapping shifts perspectives
For over eight months, Fulton worked on complicated cartographic details while Thom crafted text to provide factual context for the different kinds of treaty relationships in the Salish Sea. Along the way, they had to make a variety of cartographic decisions about what to include on the map.
An early and significant decision was to stay within the boundaries of the Salish Sea, highlighting Coast Salish communities. This was followed by another cartographic decision to remove provincial and international borders and orient the map in a way that would challenge the viewer to see the area from a new perspective.
Ethnographic mapping often involves breaking the rules of traditional cartography. For example, not using magnetic North was an intentional choice by Fulton to shift the map’s orientation.
We wanted to orientate the map on an angle, so when you are looking at it, the Salish Sea looks like a tree branching out, the water is flowing and interconnected, much like the treaty relationships.
Leah Fulton, PhD candidate
Removing the official English names of cities and waterbodies was another cartographic choice. UVic remains on the map to show visitors where they are situated on the territory.
“By removing colonial names and borders and examining the territory through a framework of historical treaty relations, observers will notice the calamitous nature of reservations, and the legacies of overlapping claims,” says Moran.
Rethinking our relationship to the land
For Thom, the map reminds us that reserves—the lands set aside by the state—are not Indigenous Peoples’ entire territories. Reserves and reservations are small, colonial-registered lands, while territories are expansive.
Also, mapping the area of the historic treaties is sometimes tricky, as the colonial officials of the day didn’t know the land for which they were making treaties. “This map is our interpretation of the Douglas Treaties. We offer it humbly; it is an illustration, not a legal representation,” says Thom. “My hope is this map sparks curiosity and interest in the history, culture and stories of the Coast Salish peoples.”
During the project, Thom asked Songhees Elder Dr. Skip Dyck for feedback on the map.
“Skip shared some valuable words about the impact of the map; the place names provide a bridge between Elders and youth,” says Thom. “The map gives back to communities.”
Perhaps, more than anything, the map challenges people to look at the territory in a new light—asking people to rethink their relationship with the land and people of these territories.
Ry Moran, UVic associate university librarian – reconciliation
Relationships and reciprocity
For Fulton, the project influenced the way they think about their own research and about reciprocity. “The foundation of this map is relationships and reciprocity,” they added.
The map is printed on adhesive vinyl and can be updated as communities sign new modern-day treaties or other things come to light. A QR code on the map takes visitors to a digital version, encouraging the conversation to continue outside the library.
“Treaties are dynamic and alive commitments between the Crown and Indigenous Peoples. We want our map to reflect the changing nature of that relationship,” says Thom.
