Lisa Lu

September 23, 2015

FA: Greg Sutherland

Files of (Un)certainties
File #1
When I was a student of Pinetree Secondary, it was common for my peers and me to visit the
Douglas College cafeteria for lunch. On one such outing, I remember noticing a change to the
landscaping outside Pinetree Centre. New grates had been installed around the base of the trees and
they featured what I thought was a very odd choice of animal: a fish. Upon closer inspection, I noticed
the style of the fish looked Aboriginal, which only made me more confused. My friends and I joked
about the weird new decorations and continued on our way to buy some curly fries. However, I kept the
image of the fish-grates in my mind and voiced my confusion to my Dad later that night.
Where do you think Coquitlam got its name? He asked. I was probably only paying him half of
my attention when he said something about the First Nations and salmon because I honestly dont
remember the rest of our conversation. Still, I remember the fish-grates.
When we started talking about files of (un)certainties in class, the image of the fish-grates
seemed like a fitting artifact to investigate. I think I spent most of my life not even realizing that
Coquitlam had very strong Aboriginal roots. I mean, it should be pretty obvious that Coquitlam isnt
exactly an English word. I began my inquiry by searching for where the name originated from. According
to Coquitlams Wikipedia article, Kwikwetlem is derived from a Coast Salish term meaning red fish up
river. Suddenly the fish-grates seemed much less ridiculous.
Continuing my research, I was surprised and bothered to find that the Coast Salish were never
again mentioned in the Wikipedia article after the first paragraph. The Coast Salish people have more
than 9,000 years on us as residents and they get two sentences. Wow. I probably shouldnt have been
surprised, but somehow I was. As a child, I felt like Aboriginals were given more than enough

Lisa Lu
September 23, 2015

FA: Greg Sutherland

acknowledgment: exhibits at the Evergreen Centre, theme units in Social Studies, and even fish-grates.
Now I can see that my education made it clear that the Aboriginal people were an other that were not
really a part of my world. The fish-grates were a nice way to add some culture to our city, but how many
people besides me stop to admire the grates under trees? And how many of them knew enough about
Coquitlams history to appreciate them, or cared enough to find out more?
I wasnt satisfied, so I did some more research into the Coast Salish and salmon. My education
was not so poor that I never learned about how important fishing was to coastal tribes, but there was
always this understanding that they were over there somewhere and not here. Now I can see that
they were a lot closer than I thought. A blog post written by indigenous author Bob Joseph provided
some wonderful insight into how fishing was performed by the Coast Salish; they understood the
importance of salmon conservation long before the Europeans arrived (2014). In general, the Coast
Salish showed more wisdom than my ancestors in their treatment of the natural world we rely on.
Going forward, I need to remain conscious of how I refer to Aboriginal people in my classroom;
they are a part of our community. They should be recognized as such and shown the same respect we
show to any other neighbour. The Coast Salish people are not a page from our history books; they are a
culture still present in our society today. I think their traditions include wonderful examples of the
importance of sustainability and being environmentally conscious. In fact, it seems impossible to talk
about one topic without mentioning the other. By keeping these thoughts in mind, I hope I will be able
to integrate Aboriginal topics into my classroom in a natural and sensible way.

Lisa Lu
September 23, 2015

FA: Greg Sutherland

File #2
I debated with a few different ideas for what my second file should include. Eventually, I decided
on the term potluck. I was under the impression that the term came from an Aboriginal tradition
which we adopted, but I wasnt entirely sure and decided to look into it. A quick Google search
confirmed that I understood the North American definition of the term, but there was no mention of it
having Aboriginal roots. In fact, no matter how much I searched, I could not find any connection
between the word potluck and the First Nations.
Although its not exactly a scholarly source, the explanation I found on Wikipedia made sense.
Potluck was coined by Thomas Nashe in the 1500s and had a slightly different meaning: food
provided for an unexpected or uninvited guest, the luck of the pot (Wikipedia). For the Irish, the term
referred to when a group of women gathered to cook together and simply used whatever was available
on hand. So why do we use the term to refer to a communal meal where everyone brings a dish to
share?
The article I was reading led me to another Wikipedia page about the Aboriginal tradition of a
potlatch. The definition of this term was much closer to what we consider to be a potluck today, but not
exactly the same. These events were celebratory feasts to which the attendees contributed, but their
contributions could be any form of gift. Sometimes guests brought food, but they also brought
ornaments, canoes and even slaves. Ive heard people say potluck and potlatch and always assumed
they were the same thing; somewhere along the way, people began referring to these communal feasts
as potlucks instead of potlatches.
During my inquiry into the topic, I discovered that the Indian Act of 1884 actually banned
potlatches (Wikipedia). The festivity was viewed as a major obstacle to Aboriginal people becoming
civilized Christians, and the ban was not repealed until 1951. I find it strange that weve adopted this

Lisa Lu
September 23, 2015

FA: Greg Sutherland

festivity which was once banned for the Aboriginal people, and most people dont even refer to it by its
proper name.
Going forward, I will be more curious about topics Im unsure of. Instead of making assumptions
or taking someone else at their word, I will perform my own inquiry and find the answer for myself. This
will be especially true with Aboriginal topics. Since beginning PDP in January, Ive noticed how little most
of my friends and family actually know about the First Nations. They take the media and rumour as truth
and pass along what they hear until someone else sets them straight. I would like to encourage
everyone in my life to be a little more curious as well.

Lisa Lu
September 23, 2015

FA: Greg Sutherland

Bibliography
Joseph, Bob. (2014, March 11). First Nations and Salmon Fisheries [Blog post]. Retrieved from
http://www.ictinc.ca/blog/first-nations-salmon-fisheries
Coquitlam. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved Sept. 22, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coquitlam
Potluck. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved Sept. 22, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potluck
Potlatch. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved Sept. 22, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potlatch