SIAMELAHT

I love when research works. When you can focus the lens of time a little bit more, so looking back through the years and misty half-memories you can see more clearly, and find that one crisp moment that shines so brightly it lights up all the corners of the room. This focus came to me as a gift when I realized that I had been led astray by a famous artist on the path of researching my book, Talking with Grandmothers, about our family history and the origins of Vancouver. (In fairness, though, this artist passed on in 1945 and had no idea I was following her!).

After three years of research, one special thing had continued to elude me, and that was the birth name of my third great-grandmother, Celestine, or as she was known to many in the Squamish First Nation, Aunt Polly or Mrs. Chief Harry. It seemed nobody could recall or