The modern Stó:lō wedding ceremony is the vehicle used to discuss the complex issues of identity, cultural revival, and self-determinism of the Stó:lō. I began my research in the Fraser River Valley, B.C. with the intent to document Stó:lō wedding ceremonies through time. Through the interview process I realized that what was most important to the Stó:lō with whom I spoke were the three themes of Stó:lō-ness (identity), cultural revival, and choice (self-determinism). In this thesis I examine these three themes as they were discussed with me throughout the interviews and as demonstrated in a wedding ceremony I attended. The Stó:lō are striving to achieve self-deteminism and the following work describes and documents some of the thoughts and actions the Stó:lō have and use to control their own lives. By highlighting the words of those Stó:lō with whom I spoke priority is given to their ideas as expressed in the interviews. Through the framing of those ideas, or themes, a picture is constructed of the Stó:lō voice for Stó:lō selfdeterminism.

In the process of negotiating land claims, First Nations in British Columbia and Canada face the challenging task of presenting a unified identity without trampling on the inevitable diversity within their communities. This thesis explores the perceived conflict between unity and diversity amongst Native populations. It brings together fieldwork in St6:l o territory in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, performance theory, and contemporary discourse surrounding identity production at this particular point in time. The work examines performance of identity as a form of social action and the variability of identity performances. Data was gathered from interviews with people involved with two sites where educational programmes are being developed for local students: Xa:ytem Longhouse Interpretive Centre at Hatzic Rock, near Mission, and Longhouse Extension Programme/ Shxwt'a:selhawtxw on St6:l o Nation grounds in Chilliwack. The theme explored in this thesis is that just as unity is politically expedient, diversity and its management is an important facet of the performance of identity.

In the process of negotiating land claims, First Nations in British Columbia and Canada face the challenging task of presenting a unified identity without trampling on the inevitable diversity within their communities. This thesis explores the perceived conflict between unity and diversity amongst Native populations. It brings together fieldwork in St6:l o territory in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, performance theory, and contemporary discourse surrounding identity production at this particular point in time. The work examines performance of identity as a form of social action and the variability of identity performances. Data was gathered from interviews with people involved with two sites where educational programmes are being developed for local students: Xa:ytem Longhouse Interpretive Centre at Hatzic Rock, near Mission, and Longhouse Extension Programme/ Shxwt'a:selhawtxw on St6:l o Nation grounds in Chilliwack. The theme explored in this thesis is that just as unity is politically expedient, diversity and its management is an important facet of the performance of identity. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

Thesis (Ph. D)--UCLA, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 291-325).

This thesis examines the role of the household in the social history of Sto:lo society, and specifically its role in the development of social complexity. Based on the archaeological house remains from the Scowlitz site, this research proposes a model for household archaeology in the Fraser Valley as an independent line of evidence to investigate the emergence of Sto:lo social complexity. The primary assumption of this research is that the physical structure of the house itself is an accurate representation of its social counterpart, the household. Ethnohistorical and ethnographic data demonstrate that Sto:lo house size and architectural design relate to the size, status, and socio-economic behaviour of households. This thesis applies the model of household archaeology to the Scowlitz data and specifically questions how house size and architectural design change through time, and what these changes may indicate about the evolution of Sto:lo society. Structural features from four superimposed houses at the site document a general increase in house size over the past 3000 years, concurrent with increasingly greater investment being placed in house construction. These changes appear to correspond to transformations in the social and economic organization of ancient Sto:lo society, however future research is necessary to build on the Scowlitz material, and further define the relationship between house form, the household, and social change.

This thesis examines the role of the household in the social history of Sto:lo society, and specifically its role in the development of social complexity. Based on the archaeological house remains from the Scowlitz site, this research proposes a model for household archaeology in the Fraser Valley as an independent line of evidence to investigate the emergence of Sto:lo social complexity. The primary assumption of this research is that the physical structure of the house itself is an accurate representation of its social counterpart, the household. Ethnohistorical and ethnographic data demonstrate that Sto:lo house size and architectural design relate to the size, status, and socio-economic behaviour of households. This thesis applies the model of household archaeology to the Scowlitz data and specifically questions how house size and architectural design change through time, and what these changes may indicate about the evolution of Sto:lo society. Structural features from four superimposed houses at the site document a general increase in house size over the past 3000 years, concurrent with increasingly greater investment being placed in house construction. These changes appear to correspond to transformations in the social and economic organization of ancient Sto:lo society, however future research is necessary to build on the Scowlitz material, and further define the relationship between house form, the household, and social change. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

I offer some tentative thoughts on Sto:lo relations with the forest and, in turn, suggest how those relations may inform Sto:lo views on identity and culture. While highlighting the variety and complexity of Sto:lo attitudes toward the forest, I pay particular attention to those that appear contradictory. In so doing, I suggest that such "contradictions" are instead necessary antagonisms that spring from the constantly changing pressures to which the Sto:lo have been subjected, as well as from the ways in which they have struggled to cope with such pressures. More specifically, in pointing to Sto:lo attitudes towards forest work and forest conservation, I suggest that the Sto:lo have been forced and even encouraged to make claims to their identity that do not, and need not, conform with what is considered "traditional." In this way, my discussion is structured around the relationship between a sense of Sto:lo identity and the notion of cultural continuity, while aimed at highlighting the material as well as the intellectual realities behind that relationship. In a broader context, my discussion is aimed at reinforcing the need for more flexible examinations of Native identity; those that will highlight what it means to live in a modern Native culture, and what it means to be vulnerable to power.

The Sto:lo people face many challenges and issues as they create a government and justice system based on prior ways of governance and justice. Some of these challenges and issues include the documenting and synthesizing of current understanding of judicial practices, establishing principles of membership or citizenship, legitimizing their own institutions, and establishing the scope and mandate of the House of Justice. The Sto:lo people are deciding what they want their justice system to look like. They face a multitude of existing judicial models and the importation of legal practices from elsewhere. Members of the Sto:lo Nation negotiate their way through various levels of federal and provincial government bureaucracy as they form relationships with these government bodies and establish their place among them. Yet, Sto:lo members must also temper their own bureaucratic growth with the need to remain flexible and responsive to the needs of the community. Current understandings of Sto:lo justice practice frame the expectations the Sto:lo people have of their own justice system. Discursive features of previous justice practices and contemporary Sto:lo issues include the importance of elders in community decision making, the importance of community and cohesion, the strength of the family and the desire to settle problems internally without external interference, the importance of sharing resources, and the Sto:lo's connection to the spiritual world. In this paper I study the inception and growth of Sto:lo nationhood, and the creation of one of the Sto:lo Nation's emerging institutions, the House of Justice. I refer to the ethnonationalist literature of Benedict Anderson, Stanley J. Tambiah and John L. Comaroff Anderson's "imagined community" is the central metaphor for this paper.

The Sto:lo people face many challenges and issues as they create a government and justice system based on prior ways of governance and justice. Some of these challenges and issues include the documenting and synthesizing of current understanding of judicial practices, establishing principles of membership or citizenship, legitimizing their own institutions, and establishing the scope and mandate of the House of Justice. The Sto:lo people are deciding what they want their justice system to look like. They face a multitude of existing judicial models and the importation of legal practices from elsewhere. Members of the Sto:lo Nation negotiate their way through various levels of federal and provincial government bureaucracy as they form relationships with these government bodies and establish their place among them. Yet, Sto:lo members must also temper their own bureaucratic growth with the need to remain flexible and responsive to the needs of the community. Current understandings of Sto:lo justice practice frame the expectations the Sto:lo people have of their own justice system. Discursive features of previous justice practices and contemporary Sto:lo issues include the importance of elders in community decision making, the importance of community and cohesion, the strength of the family and the desire to settle problems internally without external interference, the importance of sharing resources, and the Sto:lo's connection to the spiritual world. In this paper I study the inception and growth of Sto:lo nationhood, and the creation of one of the Sto:lo Nation's emerging institutions, the House of Justice. I refer to the ethnonationalist literature of Benedict Anderson, Stanley J. Tambiah and John L. Comaroff Anderson's "imagined community" is the central metaphor for this paper. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

I offer some tentative thoughts on Sto:lo relations with the forest and, in turn, suggest how those relations may inform Sto:lo views on identity and culture. While highlighting the variety and complexity of Sto:lo attitudes toward the forest, I pay particular attention to those that appear contradictory. In so doing, I suggest that such "contradictions" are instead necessary antagonisms that spring from the constantly changing pressures to which the Sto:lo have been subjected, as well as from the ways in which they have struggled to cope with such pressures. More specifically, in pointing to Sto:lo attitudes towards forest work and forest conservation, I suggest that the Sto:lo have been forced and even encouraged to make claims to their identity that do not, and need not, conform with what is considered "traditional." In this way, my discussion is structured around the relationship between a sense of Sto:lo identity and the notion of cultural continuity, while aimed at highlighting the material as well as the intellectual realities behind that relationship. In a broader context, my discussion is aimed at reinforcing the need for more flexible examinations of Native identity; those that will highlight what it means to live in a modern Native culture, and what it means to be vulnerable to power. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate