The Power of Place, the Problem of Time

'Keith Thor Carlson has tackled an immensely complicated topic with grace, humility, and compassion. The Power of Place, the Problem of Time offers readers an opportunity to understand First Nations peoples as something more than stock, static figures who either disappeared or got frozen in time. He uncovers and explains the complexities of social relations, cultural change, and historical meanings of identities-political and cultural-that will stand as a guide for any wanting to consider the topic in the next century.' -- Chris Friday, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Washington University 'In this strikingly original book, Keith Thor Carlson offers a fascinating account of the changing identities of the Sto:lo as they responded to smallpox, the fur trade, a gold rush, missionaries, settlers, and colonial land policies. He shows that different segments of pre-contact Sto:lo communities constructed layered identities for use within the various levels of their society, and that during the tumultuous years between 1780 and 1906, individuals drew, as need be, on these diverging constructions. Drastic change was not new to the Sto:lo people; they had renegotiated their identities before and did so again.' -- Cole Harris, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, and author of Making Native Space and The Reluctant Land

A rich and complex history, The Power of Place, the Problem of Time looks to both the internal and the external factors which shaped a society during a time of great change and its implications extend far beyond the study region.

The Indigenous communities of the Lower Fraser River, British Columbia (a group commonly called the Stó:lõ), have historical memories and senses of identity deriving from events, cultural practices, and kinship bonds that had been continuously adapting long before a non-Native visited the area directly. In The Power of Place, the Problem of Time, Keith Thor Carlson re-thinks the history of Native-newcomer relations from the unique perspective of a classically trained historian who has spent nearly two decades living, working, and talking with the Stó:lõ peoples.

Stó:lõ actions and reactions during colonialism were rooted in their pre-colonial experiences and customs, which coloured their responses to events such as smallpox outbreaks or the gold rush. Profiling tensions of gender and class within the community, Carlson emphasizes the elasticity of collective identity. A rich and complex history, The Power of Place, the Problem of Time looks to both the internal and the external factors which shaped a society during a time of great change and its implications extend far beyond the study region.