What Was Said To Me: The Life of Sti’tum’atul’wut, a Cowichan Woman by Ruby Peter and Helene Demers teaches the importance of cultural identity and roots. Let her life and dedication be an inspiration to many.
Location: Cowichan Valley in British Colombia, Canada
What Was Said To Me synopsis
A narrative of resistance and resilience spanning seven decades in the life of a tireless advocate for Indigenous language preservation.
Life histories are a form of contemporary social history and convey important messages about identity, cosmology, social behaviour and one’s place in the world. This first-person oral history—the first of its kind ever published by the Royal BC Museum—documents a period of profound social change through the lens of Sti’tum’atul’wut—also known as Mrs. Ruby Peter—a Cowichan elder who made it her life’s work to share and safeguard the ancient language of her people: Hul’q’umi’num’.
Over seven decades, Sti’tum’atul’wut mentored hundreds of students and teachers and helped thousands of people to develop a basic knowledge of the Hul’q’umi’num’ 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 Hul’q’umi’num’ speakers—that has been described as “a treasure of linguistic and cultural knowledge.” Without her passion, commitment and expertise, this rich legacy of material would not exist for future generations.
Book review
In her biography, Ruby tells what it is like to grow up as an Indian native in the Cowichan Bay area in the mid-20th century. She has an impressive track record of preserving her language and culture, which is of great importance because many of the old teachings were lost when children went to residential schools. Now only the Longhouse and the winter dances remain. Read this biography by Ruby Peter (recorded by Helene Demers) if you are interested in history and oral traditions and enjoy learning about other cultures.
Storyteller
The written form of the biography stays true to the nature of the narrative. The story is written down as it was told by Ruby, with all its repetitions, colloquialisms, and imperfections. Sometimes you have to wait for an explanation because with each chapter a tip of the veil is lifted until you see the full picture.
Reading What Was Said To Me feels like having a conversation with Ruby, as if she is personally telling you her story. A story that reads smoothly and continues without pause. You just have to keep reading, and at the same time, you also have to take breaks because you can only take so many repetitions of the same part of the story in one day.
Although the suppression of the culture and language of the native Indians of Cowichan Bay, coupled with the general hardships of life, is not something to look back on with a positive feeling, Ruby’s account is not bitter or regretful. You read of her and her family’s hardships, but also of their strength and sense of community. Eventually, you will know more about the Sxwuyxwi mask, the Thi’tha line, and the Rattler. But only to a certain level, because true knowledge of these things is not for you.
Expectation versus reality
There is a certain mismatch between the expectations I had after reading the synopsis and the actual content of the biography. I expected to read more about Ruby’s efforts in the later years of her life. For example, how she worked to preserve her culture and language, and the difficulties she faced in creating the writing system and streamlining education. These are the things I wanted to read about, but they are pretty much left out.
Instead, the biography is more of a history book focusing on life and society in Ruby’s childhood and early teenage years. Don’t get me wrong: I love history and I enjoyed reading about life in the mid-20th century. It’s just that I would have preferred a deeper conversation about the language and education part.
Perseverance
If only one thing stays with you after reading this biography, let it be the power of commitment. Take care of your community and the community will take care of you. Be passionate about your culture and language, and the passion will spill over to others. And when times are tough, focus on what’s important – often the people – because better times will come. Preserve what is worth preserving for later generations. Together you will find a way.
Interested?
Get your copy of What Was Said To My from Amazon (available 18 June 2021).
Book details
Title: What Was Said To Me: The Life of Sti’tum’atul’wut, a Cowichan Woman
Author: Ruby Peter, Helene Demers
Publisher: Royal BC Museum
Pages: 240
ISBN (13): 9780772679383
Publication date: 18 June 2021
Many thanks to Royal BC Museum and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
