The Kwakwa̲ka̲'wakw, speakers of the Kwak'wala language, lived in northern Vancouver Island and the adjacent mainland of British Columbia long before the arrival of non-Aboriginals. This important book, newly back in print, provides a geographic overview of the changing demography and settlement patterns of the Kwakwa̲ka̲'wakw between 1775 and 1920 and is a reference guide to the location and use of Kwakwa̲ka̲'wakw settlement sites. Robert Galois has utilized a vast quantity of unpublished archival data to show that much changed in the 150 years after contact, and he examines some of the consequences of the interaction of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples.
This book is an invaluable resource tool for anyone investigating documentary sources dealing with Aboriginal peoples in British Columbia and elsewhere. In places as environmentally diverse as British Columbia, such detailed regional analyses are essential in order to unravel the complexities of the contact process.