we are asked to witness book report
You Are Asked To Witness is a very well written and laid out piece of collaborative literature. The style is free flowing and it has excellent continuity even though it was written by multiple authors. I like how the book starts with the first contact with Xwelitem and then continues through time to the present day. It goes through Sto:lō life, history, and culture in a very easy to read and straight forward manner. It also examines the consequences of the Xwelitem influence on Sto:lo culture in a non-emotional approach. This made me feel as thought the authors were being honest and sincere in there attempt to help me understand what their history has actually been like, not what I have been told by other individuals. The method in which the events are described is much like an encyclopedia, just telling us the details without any derogatory or condescending comments, in other words, "Just the facts, maim". I like how there are quotes from Aboriginal people. I adds a personal feeling to the work as well as making what the author is talking about a more tangible or real. There is not only quotes from aboriginals but excerpts from letters to superiors from the Europeans in char
2.The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Oxford University Press: New York The theme of colonialism in this text is dealt with in a very professional manner. As mentioned before there is no bad mouthing or name calling directed toward the Xwelitem. This allows me to read the material presented without getting heated and defensive and thus not really listening to what the author has to say. Also, there is no blame placed or mention of whether deeds done were right or wrong, just statements of the facts and the results of the decisions made by the Xwelitem. I liked this technique as it lets the reader decide whether what the colonial government did was right or wrong. Colonialism is the aggregate of various social, economic, and political policies by which an imperial power maintains, or extends it's control over other area's or people. There is discussion of all of three policies these right through this text. In one chapter in particular these three guiding principles of the imperium were looked at in depth, chapter 5: Early Nineteenth Century Sto:lo. This is when most of the detrimental decisions concerning the Sto:lo were made. In this chapter all of the policies regarding the Sto:lo are mentioned and gone over and the consequences, both positive & negative are looked at in depth. It goes on to explain why things didn't work, whether it was because of the Sto:lo culture or interference of the Xwelitem. For example the text talks about how the "Civilization Act" affected the Sto:lo. The Civilization act, "defined 'Indians' or Aboriginal people as wards of the government ... The 'Civilization Act' established a rigid criteria for Aboriginal people to fulfill before they could be 'promoted' to full and equal citizenship and be recognized as 'civilized'. They had to be able to read and write, be free of debt, and of good moral character." (Carlson, 1997, p.97). Then the author goes on to go over why this policy wouldn't work because of the way that Sto:lo society and culture worked. The Sto:lo never had need for a written language so it would take a little while for them to adapt to writing. As potlatches were part of Sto:lo culture it was virtually impossible for any Sto:lo to be free of debt as they were usually indebted to another siya:m, but to the Sto:lo it wasn't debt in the Xwelitem sense. Yet again because of Sto:lo culture they could never become Canadian citizens because they practiced polygamy and kept slaves, both of these being integral to Sto:lo daily life. The subtitle, "The Sto:lo in Canada's Pacific
Some common words found in the essay are:
Gold Rush, INTRODUCTION Witness, Stolo Civilization, Stolo Result, Labour Economy, Stolo Nations, Social Studies, Coast History, Century Stolo, Ft Langley, pacific coast, canada's pacific, canada's pacific coast, carlson 1997, stolo culture, aboriginal people, stolo participated, stolo canada's pacific, stolo canada's, civilization act, easy read, author talking, straight forward manner, subtitle stolo canada's, history canada's pacific,
Approximate Word count = 1730
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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