Ayaawx (Ts'msyen ancestral law): The power of transformation

Description

The Ayaawx is the ancient law of Ts’msyen people situated on the northwest coast of British Columbia. With principles for spiritual, social, political and economic relations, the Ayaawx has been taught both directly and indirectly in daily and ceremonial living for centuries. The Ayaawx holds transformational change as a natural event in human relationships with each other, the land, and the supernatural world. Yet the Ayaawx is not studied in depth in post secondary institutions in British Columbia or defined as a resource for program development by governments or a reliable resource by us as Ts’msyen people.
Statistical data on Indigenous Canadians is prolific indicating the severity of suffering caused by social and legalized oppression. Indigenous peoples of Canada have received health, social, psychological, psychiatric and educational services from the federal and provincial governments for over one hundred years and yet the suffering remains inordinately high. For example, less than sixty years ago Sm’algyax was spoken by children, adolescents, adults and elders in Ts’msyen communities and individuals and House Groups knew the protocol for resolving conflicts in families and the community.
The organization and interpretation of this dissertation has been structured here in the format of a contemporary Adaawx, (sacred story), with Sm’algyax, (Ts’msyen language) as the main reference for meaning when discussing the impact of cultural oppression and in identifying the main principles of the Ayaawx that will assist individuals, families and communities in transforming suffering.
Transformation is a common act in Adaawx, art objects, dramatizations and song. Woven throughout Adaawx, the principles of the Ayaawx are a vital resource not only to transform suffering, but it is also a guide to direct all human beings into a progressive future.

Links & Downloads

1. http://hdl.handle.net/1828/1299
2. Vickers, P. (1998). To know another’s heart: intimacy in two cultures. ReVision, 21, 11-15 Bastien, B., Kremer, J.W., Norton, J., Rivers-Norton, J. & Vickers, P. (1999). The genocide of Native Americans: denial, shadow, and recovery. ReVision, 22, 13-20 Vickers, P. (2002). The colonial mind in post-secondary education. McGill Journal of Education, Spring 2002. Bastien, B., Kremer, J.W., Kuokkanen R., & Vickers, P. (2003). Healing the impact of Colonization, genocide, and racism on indigenous populations. In S. Krippner & T.M. McIntyre.,The psychological impact of war trauma on civilians. West Port, CT: Praeger Publishing. Vickers, P. J. (2003, June). Making things right: an intervention process. Victoria Native Friendship Center, Victoria B.C.: Author. Vickers, P. (2004). Poverty Lines. Geist, 52. Vickers, P. (2004, July). Remembering our Grandparent’s teachings. Laxgalts’ap Village Government, Nass Valley B.C.: Author. Vickers, P.J. (2005). Sayt k’ilim goot (of one heart) Transforming Suffering. American Indian Quarterly. 29, 4. Vickers, P.J. (2005, May). Sagyt Kuulm Goot (of one heart): bringing our youth together. First Nations Summit: Vancouver, B.C. Vickers, P.J. (2007) Ayaawx: in the path of our ancestors, Cultural studies of Science Education, vol.2, 3, 592-598 Vickers, P. J. (2008). The Princess and the bears. Wo(men) and Bears, the gifts of nature, culture and gender revisited. Toronto ON: Inanna Publications

Tags

Indigenous

Aboriginal

Ancestral Law

Ancestral Principles

Tsimshian Law

Northwest Coast Indigenous

British Columbia

Additional Fields

Identifer	oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/1299
Date	18 December 2008
Creators	Vickers, Patricia June
Contributors	Senese, Phyllis, Stephenson, Peter
Source Sets	University of Victoria
Language	English, English
Detected Language	English
Type	Thesis
Rights	Available to the World Wide Web