The life of the legendary We鈥檚uwet鈥檈n hereditary chief Alfred Joseph (Gisday鈥檞a) is now the subject of a book by University of Northern British Columbia professor Ross Hoffman.
Songs of the Earth: The Life of Alfred Joseph, published by Creekstone Press in Smithers, will be officially released April 3 at The Gathering Place in Hagwilget.
鈥淭he launch just makes total sense that we would be having it in Hagwilget, where he lived all his life, basically, except for the time he was out working in various places around Canada,鈥� Hoffman said.
According to a Creekstone press release, 鈥淗offman opens the feast hall doors, throwing light on what the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n have lost and what they have preserved since settlers came to their lands.鈥�
Hoffman said he does this by telling Joseph鈥檚 story starting with living on the territories south of Houston as a small child, Joseph鈥檚 four years at Lejac Residential School near Fraser Lake and the 16 years he spent 鈥渙ut roaming and working, because there was a lot of work in the 鈥�40s and 鈥�50s and Indigenous people were actively involved in the economy.鈥�
From there, Joseph settled in Hagwilget, got heavily involved in band council leadership and eventually became one of the longest standing hereditary chiefs holding the name Gisday鈥檞a from 1973 until he died in 2014.
Hoffman writes about Joseph鈥檚 passion for art and his role in revitalizing the northwest carving tradition through the 1960s, 鈥�70s and 鈥�80s. An accomplished artist, Joseph鈥檚 work is held in private collections and museums across the country. He basically had to give it up, though, when he got involved in the landmark court cases of Delgmuukw v. British Columbia in the late 1980s 鈥� which eventually went to the Supreme Court of Canada 鈥� and later, Joseph v. Canada. Those cases made Joseph famous well beyond northwest B.C.
Hoffman sees a direct connection between those cases and the recent announcement of a new round of rights and title discussions between the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n and Province.
鈥淭he fact that Delgamuukw-Gisday鈥檞a exists, the fact that the government is coming to the table, I think, is a direct reflection of this earlier work,鈥� he said.
鈥淚f you look at Tsilhqot鈥檌n, which went another level completely, it would have never happened without Delgamuukw-Gisday鈥檞a. What I see happening is their Aboriginal rights have been established, and it鈥檚 been established how they demonstrate that and that those rights are not just hunting-fishing rights, they鈥檙e non-exclusive. So, in other words, they can use the land as they see fit. That鈥檚 all in the Supreme Court [of Canada] ruling.鈥�
Beyond the legend, Hoffman said, Joseph was an extraordinary person.
鈥淎lfred was an amazing friend, extremely humble, great sense of humour, very mellow, he was just a great guy. I always looked forward to just hanging out with him,鈥� the author said.
Hoffman first met Joseph in 1996 when the former was working for the Office of the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n developing a course for UNBC on Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n culture.
鈥淚 had the amazing luck of being teamed up with him to put together a curriculum for the course, that鈥檚 when I first realized what an amazing guy he was.鈥�
Following that project, Hoffman left Smithers and eventually received a doctorate from Trent University in Ontario in First Nations Studies. When he went to work for UNBC in 2006, he was given some funding to do post-doctoral research and started a project to write a history of the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n people.
鈥淧retty soon I realized that was a monumental job and I asked [Joseph] if we might form it into his life story and some of the history of the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n people would come out of that,鈥� Hoffman said.
Despite having known Joseph for many years, the author said in researching the book there was still a surprise or two left for him. The biggest thing, he said, was just how sharp Joseph鈥檚 mind was.
鈥淚 had all his transcripts from Delgamuukw-Gisday-wa, which was in the late [19]80s, I was given access to the Joseph case, which was on the destruction of the fishery in the Hagwilget Canyon in 1959, so he was giving commission evidence in 鈥�08-鈥�09, and I had all my hours of interviews with him and the level of accuracy would blow your mind,鈥� Hoffman explained.
鈥淲hen I look at the power of oral history, of the oral mind, it鈥檚 astounding how they related.鈥�
Although an academic, Hoffman said he didn鈥檛 want Song of the Earth to be an academic text.
鈥淚 wrote this to be read by everybody,鈥� he said. 鈥淔or me, if a person in [Joseph鈥檚] family, if one of his grandchildren can鈥檛 pick up this book and read it, then I certainly didn鈥檛 do a very good job.
鈥淚 wanted it to be accessible so people, not just Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n or Gitxsan, but also people throughout that region could learn a little bit more, of course about Alfred, but also the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n people.鈥�
