A note on Halq'eméylem: The language that first named the places in these photographs is spoken fluently by just a handful of elders these days, although many younger people are learning it through a language revival program that started in the 1970s and has expanded into Halq'eméylem programs in schools and evening classes at band offices throughout the valley. With the help of Naxexelhts’i (Sonny McHalsie), the places have been given their original names as well as their more recent English ones. The Halq'eméylem words with accents are standardized Halq'eméylem spellings now in use; the others are the more colloquial or English-derived spellings that have been and continue to be in common use (such as Kwantlen as opposed to Qw’ó:ntl’an, and Skyuks as opposed to Sxwòyeqs).

Acknowledgements: In shaping this project, we were fortunate in having as advisors Naxexelhts’I (Sonny McHalsie) and Dave Shaepe, Co-directors of the Stó:lō Research & Resource Management Centre, as well as Keith Carlson, professor of history at the University of Saskatchewan. Many thanks are due to these three as well as to the numerous others who generously shared their knowledge of specific areas of the valley including: Xeyteleq (Ray Silver); Siyémches (Chief Frank Malloway); Ron Denman, Director of the Chilliwack Museum; Fort Langley interpreter Evelyn McHalsie; Leq’á:mél elder Susan Lewis; Leq’á:mél fishermen Vernon Paul and Curtis Paul; T’xwelátse (Herb Joe); Halq'eméylem teacher Madeleine Roberts; Tony Dandurand, Land Manager for the Kwantlen First Nation; archeologist Duncan McLaren; Amanda Weltie, Executive Director of the Mission Friendship Centre; and Don Brown, Manager of Fraser River Heritage Park.

Among the many books consulted in the process of researching and writing these stories, the Stó:lō Atlas (A Stó:lō-Coast Salish Historical Atlas, Stó:lōNation, 2001) was unparalleled in providing a unique set of lenses for looking into the past. Other works consulted include: You Are Asked to Witness: The Stó:lō in Canada’s Pacific Coast History, Stó:lōHeritage Trust, 1996; The Chilliwack and Their Neighbors, Talonbooks, 1987; The Chilliwack Story, Chilliwack Museum and Archives, 2007; The Fraser Valley: A History, Harbour Publishing, 1992; Amongst God’s Own: The Enduring Legacy of St. Mary’s Mission, Longhouse Publishing, 2002; Carved From Wood, Mission, B.C., 1861-1992. Mission Foundation, 1991; The Fort Langley Journals 1827-30, UBC Press, 1993; Call Me Hank: A Sto:lo Man’s Reflections on Logging, Living, and Growing Old, University of Toronto Press, 2006; Mighty River: A Portrait of the Fraser, Douglas & McIntyre, 1997; Openings: A Meditation of History, Method, and Sumas Lake, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1997; Royal City: A Photographic History of New Westminster 1858-1960, Heritage House, 2005; Here in Hope: A Natural History, Oolichan Books, 2002; In Search of Ancient British Columbia, Volume 1, Heartland, 2006; Discovering Deroche: from Nicomen to Lake Errock, Daphne Sleigh, 1983; Indian Myths and Legends From the North Pacific Coast of America: A Translation of Franz Boas’ 1895 Edition, Talonbooks, 2002.