To Fish As Formerly: A Story of Straits Salish Resurgence

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Dylan Thomas, "Net Work" (Detail).

Online Tour and Curators’ Discussion

To Fish As Formerly: A Story of Straits Salish Resurgence

with curators XEMŦOLTW̱ Dr. Nicholas Claxton, UVic, School of Child and Youth Care and Katie Hughes, MA Public History, UVic, 2020.

Thursday November 12 | 7-8 PM

Online via Zoom | Register here

Facebook event

Join us for a tour and curators’ discussion of the exhibition To Fish As Formerly: A Story of Straits Salish Resurgence. Gillian Booth, UVic Legacy Galleries’ Curator of Academic and Community Programs, will conduct a 25 minute online tour through To Fish As Formerly followed by a curators’ discussion with XEMŦOLTW̱ Dr. Nicholas Claxton, UVic, School of Child and Youth Care and Katie Hughes, MA Public History, UVic, 2020.

Whether you have already seen To Fish As Formerly or are unable to visit in person, this program offers an insightful overview of the exhibition and a unique opportunity to participate in a discussion aboutWSÁNEĆ eco-cultural resurgence with curators Nick Claxton and Katie Hughes.

To Fish as Formerly tells the story of the SXOLE (the Reef Net Fishery) through contemporary art, traditional knowledge and historical documentation. The exhibition shares the story of the efforts of generations of WSÁNEĆ people who are revitalizing the belief systems, spirituality, knowledge and practices inherent to the SXOLE.

This event features a pre-recorded tour followed by a live discussion and Q+A period.

Legacy Downtown is re-opening Weds. June 17! Our new hours will be: Wednesday, Friday and Saturday: 10 am to 4 pm and Thursdays: Noon to 7 pm.

Curated by XEMŦOLTW Dr. Nicholas Claxton, UVic, School of Child and Youth Care) and Katie Hughes, UVic Department of History, graduate student.

With artists: TEMOSEN Charles Elliott, John Elliott, Chris Paul, Dylan Thomas, Sarah Jim, Temoseng, aka Chasz Elliott and Colton Hash.

To Fish as Formerly tells the story of the SXOLE (the Reef Net Fishery) through contemporary art, traditional knowledge and historical documentation. The exhibition shares the story of the efforts of generations of W̱SÁNEĆ people who are revitalizing the belief systems, spirituality, knowledge and practices inherent to the SXOLE.

To W̱SÁNEĆ (Saanich) people, the SX̱OLE is more than a fishing technology. Challenged with no substantial salmon bearing rivers in the territory, the W̱SÁNEĆ and other Straits Salish peoples developed a unique and sophisticated fishing technology that formed the basis for their way of life. Though the Douglas Treaty of 1852 promised that the W̱SÁNEĆ would be able to “fish as formerly”, the SX̱OLE was systematically reduced by colonial systems and finally was banned altogether in Canada in 1916. In recent years, XEMŦOLTW Nicholas Claxton is undertaking community-based work that has brought new life to the restoration of the SX̱OLE that continues today. Through collaboration and reconnection with their U.S. based Xwelemi (Lummi) relatives, the W̱SÁNEĆ people fished using traditional reef net technology for the first time in more than 100 years.