The Sasquatch at Home: Traditional Protocols & Modern Storytelling

By Eden Robinson

The award-winning Indigenous author of Monkey Beach shares tales from her family, her life, and her culture.

In March 2010 the Canadian Literature Centre hosted award-winning novelist and storyteller Eden Robinson at the 4th annual Henry Kreisel Lecture. Robinson shared an intimate look into the intricacies of family, culture, and place through her talk, “The Sasquatch at Home.” Robinson’s disarming honesty and wry irony shine through her depictions of her and her mother’s trip to Graceland, the Potlatch where she and her sister received their Indian names, how her parents first met in Bella Bella (Waglisla, British Columbia) and a wilderness outing where she and her father try to get a look at b’gwus, the Sasquatch. Readers of memoir; Indigenous literatures, histories and cultures; and fans of Robinson’s delightful, poignant, sometimes quirky tales will love The Sasquatch at Home.

“[Robinson] strikes sweetly at the commonality of people rather than narrowing in on cultural differences. The entire book is fast, colloquial, and engaging; concise enough to be read in one sitting, yet retaining the weightiness of a larger work. Its brevity makes it an ideal re-read and the second reading proves just as entertaining. The funny parts remain funny, the rendering of landscapes evocative and intimate, and the general themes stay relevant. Through rich and often comic dialogue and her painterly descriptions of the northwest landscape, Eden Robinson presents a glimpse into her community with the delicious, whispered quality of a well-told, yet well-protected, family story.” —Cara-Lyn Morgan, The Malahat Review, Winter 2011

“Offers the reader a taste of her skill as a storyteller. The book is a tiny gem. . . . This brilliant little jewel, under fifty pages, offers readers a quick, but intense opportunity to experience the work of a rising Canadian writer. Like her novel, Monkey Beach, the accessibility of The Sasquatch at Home suggests its appropriateness for use in undergraduate courses. Above all, it is an essential acquisition for anyone with an interest in Pacific Northwest or Native Canadian studies, but it is also a find for those who just like a good story.” —Amy J. Ransom, American Review of Canadian Studies

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Jul 15, 2012
• ISBN: 9780888646101

Eden Robinson

Eden Robinson is a member of the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations, and has become one of Canada’s first female Native writers to gain international attention. Her 2000 novel, Monkey Beach, was nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Governor General’s Award; it was the first English-language novel to be published by a Haisla writer. Traplines, her first book, was a collection of short stories published in 1995; it was a New York Times Editor’s Choice as well as a New York Times Notable Book. Her third work of fiction, Blood Sports, was released in 2006. Robinson lives in British Columbia.

Book preview

The cover page of a book titled, “The Sasquatch at Home: Traditional Protocols and Modern Storytelling,” by Eden Robinson. Henry Kreisel Lecture Series.

The cover shows a close-up colour photograph of a woman's face as she pulls down the skin on the left side of her face with her left hand. Her dark brown eyes face the camera directly and every detail of her skin is visible. The title features in white at the bottom left half of the cover in large white letters. The author’s name is in the middle, slightly to the right. The subtitle is at the top of the cover, slightly to the right.

Wow, I said when I heard the story.

What does my name mean?

Big lady.

Um, what else does it mean?

Ma-ma-oo paused. Biiiiiig lady.

I paused.... Implied in my name, Wiwltx° ... is a high rank as it was obtained through marriage and only given to women of noble birth. I was disappointed in my name, and it had nothing to do with rank: I had story-envy.

A helicopter chops though the low clouds, thumping like a grouse when close, then fading—hollow taps as it traces the tower lines west into the rugged mountains. Logging roads seam the quiltwork patterns of regrowth along the steep sides of the Coast Range that frames the deep waters of the Douglas Channel. Towards the ocean, in The Kitlope Heritage Conservancy, the old-growth forest remains untouched. Beneath the evergreen canopy, the dense moss muffles sound and rain leaks through in heavy drips.

Henry Kreisel Lecture Series

EDEN ROBINSON

THE

SASQUATCH

AT

HOME

Traditional Protocols &

Modern Storytelling

An illustration of a fishTwo Logos. Canadian Literature Centre; Centre De Literature Canadienne and The University of Alberta Press.

Published by

The University of Alberta Press

Ring House 2

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E1

and

Canadian Literature Centre/

Centre de littérature canadienne

3–5 Humanities Centre

University of Alberta

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E5

Copyright © 2011 Eden Robinson

Introduction Copyright

© 2011 Paula Simons

ISBN 978–0–88864–610–1

LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION

Robinson, Eden

The Sasquatch at home : traditional protocols & modern storytelling / Eden Robinson ; introduction by Paula Simons.

(Henry Kreisel memorial lecture series)

Co-published by: Canadian Literature Centre/Centre de littérature canadienne.

Electronic monograph in ePub format.

Issued also in print format, ISBN 978–0–88864–559–3.

1. Robinson, Eden. 2. Robinson, Eden—Family. 3. Authors, Canadian (English)—20th century—Biography. 4. Haisla Indians—British Columbia—Kitimat—Biography. 5. Storytelling— British Columbia. I. Canadian Literature Centre II. Title. III. Series: Henry Kreisel lecture series ; 4

PS8585.O35143Z78 2011C813’.54C2011–900396–1

All rights reserved.

First edition, first printing, 2011. First electronic edition, 2012.

Digital Conversion by Transforma Pvt. Ltd.

Copyediting by Peter Midgley.

Cover design by Alan Brownoff.

No part of this publication may be produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any forms or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the copyright owner or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free: 1-800-893-5777.

The Canadian Literature Centre acknowledges the support of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts for the Henry Kreisel Lecture delivered by Eden Robinson in March 2010 at the University of Alberta.

The University of Alberta Press gratefully acknowledges the support received for its publishing program from The Canada Council for the Arts. The University of Alberta Press also gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) and from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts for its publishing activities.

Three logos. The logo of Canada; Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des Arts du Canada; and Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Contents

Foreword

Liminaire

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Notes

Resource Material for the Curious

Henry Kreisel Lecture Series

About the Author

Guide

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Contents

Foreword

Liminaire

Introduction

Start