Catalog of British Columbiana and Pacific Northwest Americana

Umatilla Dictionary documents the language of the Umatilla people east of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon and Washington. Working for many years with the accumulated scholarship of linguists and anthropologists as well as with elders on the Umatilla Reservation, tribal linguist Noel Rude has painstakingly recorded and rationalized words, pronunciations, phrases, and other elements of the Umatilla language. The dictionary includes a grammar and comparative information that places the Umatilla language in its linguistic and historical context and compiles all of its known words, phrases, and constructions. Umatilla Dictionary is an important work for people of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Yakama Nation, and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and adds to the growing linguistic work being done by tribes and scholars on endangered languages.

xi, 622 pages : illustrations ; 27 cm

A collection of photographs taken at each of Seattle's 334 parks. Includes a brief history of Seattle parks, location and size of each park, and comments on the photographs. Our names are James and Jackson. In October of 2009 we made the decision to visit and take a photograph at every park in our hometown of Seattle, Washington; a city known for its natural beauty best observed through its exceptional park system. The basic idea was to include ourselves and the rainbow colored park sign that welcomes you to each park in each photograph to more or less "prove" we were there. It ended up taking us 3 years and 8 months to visit every one. We rode our bicycles to 207 of the parks and were able to include 187 different people in the project: some old friends, new friends, acquaintances, strangers, animals and even the Mayor of Seattle.

255 pages : color illustrations ; 23 x 31 cm

Any community that has ever been labelled a mill town carries both the promise of prosperity and the constant threat of collapse, its fortune hinging on a single industry whose performance is as much related to the whims of a global economy as it is to the abundance of a key natural resource. The people of Port Alberni, located deep in Vancouver Islands Alberni Valley, know all too well the highs and lows that come with such a label. Jan Peterson, who lived in Port Alberni for two of the towns most tumultuous decades and worked as a reporter for the Alberni Valley Times, describes how the towns people persevered through three decades of boom and bust, developed a vibrant arts and sporting community, and strived to make life better under any circumstances. From the prosperous 1970s, when Port Alberni earned the reputation of forestry capital of Canada, to the decline of the industry in the 1980s, when economic uncertainty signalled a need for diversification, to the environmental protests in nearby Clayoquot Sound, which polarized the community, Port Alberni tells the story of Port Alberni from a perspective that is rarely heard. Through fascinating interviews and meticulous historical research, Peterson captures the heart and soul of a town so often defined by dollars and cents.

264 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 22 cm.

Sir Alexander Mackenzie is known to schoolchildren as a great Canadian explorer who gave his name to the country’s longest river, but hardly anyone could name the man who mentored Mackenzie and mapped much of northwestern Canada before him. Soldier, fur trader and explorer Peter Pond, the subject of this long overdue book, is a man whose legend has been forgotten in favor of those who came after him. Much of Pond’s life is shadowed in mystery. Historian Barry Gough uses Pond’s surviving memoirs, explorers’ journals, letters written by acquaintances of Pond, publications in London magazines and many other sources to track and reconstruct the life of one of the last of the tough, old-style explorers who ventured into the wilderness with little more than a strong instinct for survival and helped shape the modern world.

xxv, 230 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 24 cm

"Tofino and Clayoquot Sound delves into all facets of the region's history, bringing to life the chronicle that started with the dramatic upheavals of geological formation and continues to the present day. The book tours through the history of the Hesquiaht, Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht as well as other nations that inhabited the area in earlier times. It documents the arrival of Spanish, British and American traders on the coast and their avid greed for sea otter pelts. It follows the development of the huge fur seal industry and its profound impact on the coast. It tracks the establishment of reserve lands and two residential schools. The coming of World War II is discussed, as is the installation of a large Air Force base near Tofino, which changed the town and area dramatically. From here the story spirals into the post-road period. With gravel and asphalt came tourism, newcomers, the counter-culture of the 1960s, the establishment of Pacific Rim National Park and, of course, surfing. The book also addresses logging—which became the main industry in the area—and its questionable practices, going into detail about the "War in the Woods"—the world-famous conflict and largest mass arrest in Canadian history." -- Amazon.com viewed August 3, 2020

xvi, 622 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 24 cm.

"The voyages of Cook and Vancouver heralded a vast influx of irrepressible white men.... They brought with them their morals, ideologies, knowledge, technology, plants and animals. They also brought diseases, rum and guns....powers to build and powers to destroy." Until the 1700's, the Northwest Coast of North America stood largely apart from the civilized world. Formidable mountain barriers and remoteness from Atlantic sea lanes kept the territory outside the orbit of emerging European empires. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, however, Britain, Spain, France, Russsia, and the United States vied for control of this promising new frontier. Three of history's greatest mariners -- Sir Francis Drake, Captain James Cook, and Captain George Vancouver -- spearheaded British expeditions of discovery and trade to the Northwest coast. Despite competition from her European and American rivals, Britains ability to use and control the sea enabled her to establish by the late 1700's a "beachhead of empire" in the area now known as British Columbia.Gough shows how, by outmanoevring her Spanish rivals in a "skilful game of diplomatic chess," Britain concluded the Nootka Agreement. Thus she was able to exploit her trading partnership with the coast Indians and cement a lucrative sea-borne commerce with the Far East. The arrival overland of the Nor'westers and other fur-trading groups further strengthened Britain's financial and political interests in the area -- ending forever the isolation of Northwest America, and 'changing beyond measure the culture of its Indian peoples.' Distant Dominion is the first comprehensive survey to examine Britain's motives for expeditions to this most distant frontier of British maritime development. It is also the first to draw the history of the coast into the general realm of Pacific history, relating its development to events in Europe, the American eastern seaboard, Australia, the Falkland Islands, and China. This entertaining book offers fresh insight into an exciting chapter of North American history.

215 pages

"It Happened on the Oregon Trail [Second edition] takes readers on a rollicking, behind-the-scenes look at some of the characters and episodes from the Oregon Trail's storied past. Including both famous tales, and famous names--and little-known heroes, heroines, and happenings"--Provided by publisher

xiii, 205 pages : map ; 23 cm

From rich natural resources to free land to hard work and imaginative solutions. This is the story of one small county and what it took to make it strong. Stories of the hopeful, adventurous, opportunistic, and salt of the earth people that have made Jefferson County, Washington what it is today. By following footsteps from the past, starting with the tribes that inhabited this area for thousands of years, to Capt. George Vancouver's exploration in 1792, and on to the early European and east coast settlers, we are able to find the conditions under which decisions were made and actions taken. By unfolding the lives of the people that made it happen, it is possible to see more clearly how the richness of today's community was been handed down from those who came before us.

475 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

"For readers of Unbroken, out of the depths of the Depression comes an irresistible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times--the improbable, intimate account of how nine working-class boys from the American West showed the world at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin what true grit really meant. It was an unlikely quest from the start. With a team composed of the sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the University of Washington's eight-oar crew team was never expected to defeat the elite teams of the East Coast and Great Britain, yet they did, going on to shock the world by defeating the German team rowing for Adolf Hitler. The emotional heart of the tale lies with Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not only to regain his shattered self-regard but also to find a real place for himself in the world. Drawing on the boys' own journals and vivid memories of a once-in-a-lifetime shared dream, Brown has created an unforgettable portrait of an era, a celebration of a remarkable achievement, and a chronicle of one extraordinary young man's personal quest." -- Publisher's description

403, 13 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 22 cm

Coos County began the transition from a hunter-gatherer to an agrarian society with the first permanent white settlement in 1853. This book is an attempt to document the next 160 years of that process. The first agriculture in Coos County consisted of subsistence farms marketing their surplus production to logging camps and mining operations. As the farm economy grew, an export market to San Francisco developed. By the late 19th century, shipments of cheese, butter, cattle, hogs, sheep, wool, leather, apples, and potatoes sailed from Coos Bay and the Coquille River. In later decades, blackberries, loganberries, cranberries, and various vegetable crops joined the shipments. Coos County ranked third out of Oregon's 36 counties for apple production and near the top for dairy products by 1910.

87 pages : illustrations (1 color) ; 28 cm

In his new travelogue, Foster Church guides adventurers--lifelong residents of the Northwest and visitors alike--to the small communities beyond the state's well-known urban center. Once inside these small towns, local flavors abound. Church reveals how each community's unique character informs its hospitality and culture: In Morton, the abandoned Roxy movie theater was re-opened to host lectures and live performances. In the town of Palouse, a once-lonesome farming community in the Washington wheat country is now home to antiques shops and art galleries, and in Pomeroy, a pioneering legacy is celebrated in a lively annual festival. With maps, photographs, and recommendations for more than thirty-five towns in all corners of the state, Turning Down the Sound vastly expands the resources available for readers and travelers keen on encountering what Church calls American tourism's last frontier: its small towns

190 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

"The mountains and prairies remember Eastern Oregon's tumultuous beginnings, but history does not. Apart from the rush for gold, little has been written about the events leading to the settlement of Eastern Oregon between 1861 and 1869. Charged with protecting travel on the roads leading to the mines east of the Cascade Mountains, the military campaign which initially promised to be not much more than a policing operation against an unorganized tribe of hunters and gatherers turned into an eight-year struggle against a skillful and relentless foe"--Back cover

309 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

This is a recollection of an important historical event, the Canadian Pacific Railway construction which employed thousands of Chinese labourers to build the transcontinental railway linking this country from coast to coast. In her writing, Chow reveals the reasons for constructing the railway, why and how the Chinese labourers were recruited and transported from Guangdong to various construction sites in British Columbia. She illustrates the difficult and dangerous tasks that the Chinese labourers had to perform bearing testimonies to the challenges, hardships, struggles, and endurance of these workers. Despite the hard labour, these men displayed excellent work ethic, and were diligent and dependable people. Included are some poems and verses by a several Chinese labourers and their family members to show their anguish, anxiety, and longing - human feelings and emotions that had been repressed. This book is a testament to remarkable endeavour, generous spirit, sacrifices and contributions of the Chinese labourers that helped build the CPR.

xvii, 116 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits, charts ; 23 cm.

Published in 2014 by heritage researcher and photographer Nick Russell, Victoria Then & Now: Postcards from the Past pairs vintage turn-of-the-century postcards with contemporary photographs to document the physical transformation of British Columbia’s capital city. The volume features side-by-side visual comparisons of prominent local landmarks alongside meticulous historical research detailing the changing streetscapes, businesses, and architecture of early Victoria. Beyond architectural changes, Russell digs into the personal micro-histories of the original senders and recipients inscribed on the cards, transforming a standard visual history into an intimate narrative of everyday human connection. A keen insight drawn from the text is how early postcards functioned as the social media and tourism marketing engines of their day; by intentionally packaging sanitized, picturesque views of colonial progress for cheap postal circulation, these historical artifacts actively manufactured a romanticized civic identity for an expanding Pacific Northwest

80 pages : colour illustrations, 1 colour map ; 14 x 22 cm

Without a recognized reservation or homeland, what keeps an Indian tribe together? How can members of the tribe understand their heritage and pass it on to younger generations? For Christine Dupres, a member of the Cowlitz tribe of southwestern Washington State, these questions were personal as well as academic. In Being Cowlitz: How One Tribe Renewed and Sustained Its Identity, what began as the author's search for her own history opened a window into the practices and narratives that sustained her tribe's identity even as its people were scattered over several states. Dupres argues that the best way to understand a tribe is through its stories. From myths and spiritual traditions defining the people's relationship to the land to the more recent history of cultural survival and engagement with the U.S. government, Dupres shows how stories are central to the ongoing process of forming a Cowlitz identity. Through interviews and profiles of political leaders, Dupres reveals the narrative and rhetorical strategies that protect and preserve the memory and culture of the tribe. In the process, she creates a blueprint for cultural preservation that current and future Cowlitz tribal leaders--as well as other indigenous activists--can use to keep tribal memories alive

1 online resource (169 pages)

Researchers James H. and Theona J. Hambleton relate the history of the Meek Cutoff through the words of the diarists that lived through the ordeal. Included in the book are 53 USGS Quadrangle maps showing the actual trail location and many color photos of the remains of the trail itself

xiv, 192 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), color maps ; 28 cm

Idaho is rich in natural treasure with more than 100 named mountain ranges, surging rivers, deep canyons, abundant wildlife, seagoing fish, vast forests and picturesque lakes. Throughout the 20th Century many in Idaho saw the state's natural heritage threatened. Early in the 20th Century the state's club women campaigned for a Sawtooth National Park. In the 1930s, a hunting enthusiast named Harry Shellworth led a movement to establish a primitive area in central Idaho. A forester named Bob Marshall persuaded the Forest Service to designate an even larger primitive area north of the Salmon River. Despite these efforts Idaho suffered huge losses of fish and wildlife habitat. Beginning in 1954, sportsmen fought back by sponsoring an initiative to curb dredge mining damage and opposing dams on the Clearwater River and on the Snake River below the mouth of the Salmon. Still to come were intense struggles to stop a proposed open pit mine in the White Clouds, retain a free flowing Snake River in Hells Canyon and protect the Salmon River Wilderness. All of these battles were fought with the intent of preserving the land and the history that make up Idaho's natural heritage. The stories of the various conservation efforts are collected in this book

351 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

British Columbia Waters: The Explorations of Vancouver and the Spanish is a continuation of the author’s previous narratives which included the original source material from the earliest maritime exploration in the Pacific Northwest. The author’s first two books traced the visits by the Spanish and George Vancouver to inland Washington waters. These books included transcriptions of the actual journals of our earliest explorers. This follow-up book resumes the saga and follows Vancouver and the Spanish in 1792 through British Columbia waters while they complete their circumnavigation of Vancouver Island. It contains the journals of George Vancouver, Alcala Galiano and Cayetano Valdéz and four of Vancouver’s men. These journals provide the first European descriptions and observations of our inland waters as well as the First Nations encountered while they rowed their longboats through previously uncharted territory. Complete with all of their charts, this is a fascinating read directly from the men who made our early history.

288 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

The Strait of Georgia is a one of the world's great inland seas, a 6,900 sq km body of water lying between the British Columbia mainland and Vancouver Island. Rich in history, teeming with wildlife and marine traffic, it is essential to British Columbians for food, jobs, travel and recreation. The sheltered waters of the strait are home to Canada's largest seaport and over two-thirds of the province's population. The Sea Among Us is the first book to present a comprehensive study of the Strait of Georgia in all its aspects with chapters on geology, First Nations, history, oceanography, fish, birds, mammals,invertebrates and plants. Covering everything from tsunami modelling to First Nations history to barnacle reproduction, the book is a sweeping overview of the waterway. It describes how fjords formed, what the seafloor is made of, and why coastal BC is so prone to earthquakes; it advises on which jellyfish sting, how to tell the difference between Dall's and harbour porpoises, and where to find whales; and it addresses how climate change and human impacts could affect the strait, noting that though marine ecosystems are tough and adaptable, there are limits to this resiliency. As editor Dr. Richard Beamish says, "It is the function of this book to inform British Columbians about the Strait of Georgia. All authors hope that the readers will use the information to ask questions about how the Strait of Georgia is coping with change and how they can provide more of the information that is needed to maintain a healthy Strait of Georgia." Informative, descriptive, cautionary and entertaining, The Sea Among Us is illustrated with attractive colour photographs, figures and drawings. It fills a place on the shelf of essential BC reference books beside The Encyclopedia of British Columbia and Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest.

xiv, 384 pages : illustrations (chiefly colour), maps, portraits ; 29 cm.

Exploring The Salish Sea with the Pen & Ink drawings of Margy Gates. This work celebrates the unique and rich beauty of the Salish Sea and its environs. It depicts fauna and flora iconic to the area, as well as plants and animals seen only infrequently. The artist is not Coast Salish, but her depictions of native arts and crafts attempt to interpret the spirit of the tribal and First Nations artists’ and artisans’ creations. The Salish Sea (SAY-lish) is a designation for the inland sea of Washington State in the United States and its neighbor to the north, the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the Northwest Coast of North America. The term Salish honors the Coast Salish peoples who lived in the area long before the arrival of European and American explorers and settlers. To describe the beauties of this region, will, on some future occasion, be a very grateful task to the pen of a skillful panegyrist. The serenity of the climate, the innumerable pleasing landscapes, and the abundant fertility that unassisted nature puts forth, require only to be enriched by the industry of man with villages, mansions, cottages, and other buildings, to render it the most lovely country that can be imagined.

vii, 96 pages : illustrations, maps ; 28 cm

Canadians have long associated Prohibition with the colorful history of the Jazz Age in the United States. But even before the American ban that was in place from 1920 to 1933, Canada initiated its own Prohibition. The so-called Cold Water Army was led by zealots and prudes preaching hellfire and damnation, but also by committed social reformers who recognized the ill effects of excessive drinking. In March 1918, the federal government banned the manufacture and importation of liquor. For the next 21 months, Canada was as dry as any law could make it, which admittedly was not very dry. Closing Time tells the story of this fascinating attempt to control the social habits of Canadian citizens. It began as a popular crusade to cleanse society of a widespread evil, but instead became an opportunity for larceny, profit, and violence on a grand scale.

186 pages : illustrations (some colour), maps, portraits ; 24 cm.

"In this engaging new memoir, a loose sequel to her earlier Prairie Reunion, Barbara J. Scot explores her reluctance and longing to reconnect with a much-loved brother, lost to alcoholism for thirty years. Scot uses long, meditative walks on the 'clothing optional' beach of the idyllic Sauvie Island near Portland, Oregon, to explore family responsibility, time' passage, and faith. She weaves entries from her notebook--a record of the island's wildlife, descriptions of the "Odd Ones" she encounters on the beach, and stories about the native people who once lived on the river--with the main narrative, tracing her search for her brother, her close friendship with a fellow writer, and daily life on the moorage. Scot considers the uses of fiction and non-fiction in memory as well as in writing, the brevity and beauty of human existence, and the inscrutable, enduring mystery of death"--Provided by publisher

198 pages ; 23 cm

After a devastating fish kill on the Klamath River, tribal members and theatre artist Theresa May developed a play to give voice to the central spiritual and cultural role of salmon in tribal life. Salmon Is Everything presents the script of that play, along with essays by artists and collaborators that illuminate the process of creating and performing theatre on Native and environmental issues. This revised and expanded second edition includes a new introduction by the author, and new chapters by Kirby Brown and Marta Lu Clifford.

xvi, 174 pages : illustrations, map ; 23 cm.

The Pacific Northwest is a region defined by its geology as much as its rugged coastline, drippy westside forests, fertile farms, and canyoned eastside grasslands. These landscapes have been forged by volcanoes, crumpled by faults, and sculpted by water and ice. But the Northwest’s geologic DNA is rooted in volcanic activity. From the ancient lavas of Washington’s Selkirks, to the world-class flood-basalts that dominate the Columbia Basin, to the restless peaks of the High Cascades, the thunder of volcanic eruptions echoes through the ages. In Living with Thunder, geologist and photographer Ellen Morris Bishop offers a fascinating and up-to-date geologic survey of the Northwest—Washington, Oregon, northern California, and western Idaho. New discoveries include Smith Rock as part of Oregon’s largest (and most extinct) volcano, portraits of Mount Hood’s 1793-1795 eruptions, and new ideas about the origin of the Columbia River basalts and the course of the ancestral Columbia River. Intended as an introduction for the general reader and geological non-specialist, Living with Thunder enlivens Northwest geological history by combining engaging science writing with the author’s stunning color photographs. In addition, color maps and time charts help guide the reader. The book presents evidence of changing ecosystems and ancient life, as well as the Northwest’s exceptional record of past climate changes and the implications for our future. Bishop also examines the confluence between scientific findings and Native American documentation of several major geologic events; the title of her book harks to the Klamath Indian recounting of Mount Mazama’s cataclysmic eruption. An important work by a gifted scientist and storyteller, Living with Thunder offers a key to understanding the Northwest’s unique, long-term volcanic heritage.

149 pages : color illustrations, color maps ; 22 x 26 cm

Nestled in the heart of the Salish Sea lie the picturesque San Juan Islands, an archipelago molded by eons of tectonic and glacial activity. Over the course of his nearly five-decade career, WWU geology professor Ned Brown has led countless research teams to decode this complex terrestrial heritage. In Geology of the San Juan Islands, Brown provides detailed, approachable, full color photos and diagrams to illuminate the complexities of these iconic islands. Author Ned Brown is an Emeritus Professor of geology at Western Washington University. He was raised in Minnesota, and went on to receive higher education at Dartmouth College, University of Otago, and U.C. Berkeley. He came to Bellingham in 1966, attracted by the landscape and mountain-building geology. In his nearly five-decade career, Ned, together with students, traversed and sampled much of the bedrock in the Cascades, San Juan Islands, and southern British Columbia Coast Mountains. This lifetime work is the basis for numerous student theses, and professional reports.

99 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), maps ; 28 cm