The Hidden Journals: A Coast Salish family story

The Hidden Journals: A Coast Salish family story

An informative presentation by Xálikwium (Wade Baker) and Mary Tasi about their book titled The Hidden Journals that presents the authors' trail of research.

All ages welcome.

Please be advised that the Royal BC Museum may be taking photographs at this event for use in materials in support of the Royal BC Museum’s mandate. Outside commercial photography is prohibited.

In 1791, Captain Vancouver and Third Lieutenant Joseph Baker, along with other officers and crew, set sail from Falmouth Harbour in England, for a 5 year journey to find the North West Passage. This Coast Salish family story weaves together primary source narratives, personal recollections, knowledge keeper voices, and new revelations. It  shows how and why Vancouver's journals were suppressed when he returned to England. The journal descriptions of the high level relationships and alliances with the Indigenous people they were meeting were redacted and kept from later historical materials which then informed educational  textbooks. 

The Hidden Journals is a re-interpretation of the story of those times, through an Indigenous lens. Baker and Tasi's research into primary archives and Indigenous oral knowledge around the world is a significant contribution to reconciliation, and correcting an injustice.