Fishing Technology – Grant Keddie

Stinging Nettle. Indigenous Processing and Use

Stinging Nettle, in various species of the genus Urtica, was an important resource for Indigenous people across the northern hemisphere of the planet. Its new shoots were eaten in the spring as a source of vitamins and minerals and the string made from its stalk was used to make everything from nets to the foundations for light clothing. See Skoglund et. al (2025) for overview of European usage. As stinging nettle needs partial shade and mineral rich soil that contains potassium and uric acid, it grows profusely on the cultural deposits built up at old village sites. The importance of nettle (Urtica dioica) in southern British Columbia is made clear in letters between James Douglas and the Hudson’s Bay company … Continue reading “Stinging Nettle. Indigenous Processing and Use”

W̱SÁNEĆ (Saanich) Fishing Camps on the Goldstream River Delta

Introduction A period of Destruction and Realignment The W̱SÁNEĆ, Tommy Paul, referred to an epidemic that devastated his people six generation before him: “That terrible sickness. It is true. It belongs to the story of my Chilangwin” (Lugrin 1931). Elders told the story of “Kwalarhunzit” who began his training as a warrior at 13 years of age after “a terrible epidemic of smallpox had just decimated the Saanich Indians and crippled their resistance to the raids of their enemies. …His first fight was against some southern natives who were visiting relatives at the big settlement near Sidney”. At this time there was a village of people on Mayne Island who invited Kwalarhunzit to a deer hunt but ended up fighting … Continue reading “W̱SÁNEĆ (Saanich) Fishing Camps on the Goldstream River Delta”

Photographs of an Elderly Indigenous Couple

Introduction Interpreting older Indigenous photographs can be a confusing problem for those not familiar with the history of photographers and the history of the collections in which they eventually end up. The same photographs are often given different information in different archives and in different publications. In the early 20th century, a common stereotype of older Indigenous people was for journalists to exaggerate their age. They were sometimes wrapped in blankets when photographed to cover-up the European style clothes they are wearing. They are often mistakenly presented in photographs as being over 100 years of age. I have the advantage over journalists of the past, in having easier access to examine baptism, birth, marriage and death records from church and … Continue reading “Photographs of an Elderly Indigenous Couple”

Fishing Power and Abrading Stones

One of the most common artifacts found in archaeological site on the southern coast of British Columbia are abrading stones. These were used for grinding or abrading in the shaping or sharpening tools made of bone, shell and antler. They were used in shaping ornaments and grinding pigments. Abrading stones come in many shapes and sizes, were made of different raw materials, and like modern sandpaper, they came in many grain sizes. By far, most are made of sandstone and are plain slabs of rectangular, square or irregular shapes. A small number are especially shaped in the form of animals, usually whales or fish. It is these I am interested in here. Figure 1, shows two sides of a sandstone … Continue reading “Fishing Power and Abrading Stones”

The Shuttle-cock Lure. Fishing around the Salish Sea

By Grant Keddie The shuttle-cock lure and spear, was a unique form of technology used to catch mostly the larger lingcod and rockfish. The fisherman used this device at low tide from anchored canoes or rock points that overlooked kelp beds. The lure would be pushed down deep with a separate pole that was quickly pulled away from it. The lure then spun toward the surface, the fish darted after it and was speared when it came near the surface. The spear was 4.5 to 6 meters long. It consisted of two or three, unbarbed, fir shafts on the end. The shafts were about 4cm thick, 46cm long and about 10 cm apart at their tips (Swan 1870; Jennes 1934-35; … Continue reading “The Shuttle-cock Lure. Fishing around the Salish Sea”

A Lekwungen Herring Fishing site in Esquimalt Harbour: A Unique photograph in the Collection of the Royal B.C. Museum

By Grant Keddie. Nov 2016. 19th century photographic images in the Victoria region that show Lekwungen (Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations) undertaking traditional food gathering practices are rare. The only example of fishing is a photograph, taken in 1868, by Frederick Dally in Esquimalt harbour at the south entrance to Lang Cove (RBCM PN905). Lang Cove is located south of Skinner’s Cove, both of which are within the larger Constance Cove. This is the location of an ancient shellmidden as demonstrated by the scattered white clam shells seen in the image and later observed by the author at this location. This image (fig. 1 and close-up fig.2) of a man and woman at a herring fishing site is listed in … Continue reading “A Lekwungen Herring Fishing site in Esquimalt Harbour: A Unique photograph in the Collection of the Royal B.C. Museum”

Lekwungen Resources. Part 1. Fishing

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Introduction Fishing was a major part of the traditional Lekwungen economy. The availability of some fish resources, however, changed on a decadal basis because of the changing water temperatures (Chevez et. al. 2003) and the intensity of important seasonal fish runs could vary over longer periods of time due to other climatic factors (Finney et. al. 2000 and 2002). There were times when the salmon runs did not arrive or drought conditions prevented them from running up local streams. People then had to refocus on other resources or starve. Although a few species of fish were often considered the most important, the old village sites reveal the remains of numerous species. Not enough analysis of fish remains from sites has … Continue reading “Lekwungen Resources. Part 1. Fishing”

Victoria’s Chinese Immigrant Fishermen

By Grant Keddie. August 2013. Introduction A little known history of 19th century British Columbia was the creation of an early commercial fishing industry by Chinese immigrant fishermen. In 1861, Chinese fishermen began using fine meshed nets to catch large quantities of herring, flounder, anchovy and trout in Victoria’s inner waterway. These fish were salted and dried for shipment to Barkerville and other mining areas of the Interior, where they retailed at 40 to 50 cents per pound. The salting and drying took place in Victoria’s upper harbour at the north end of Store Street on the banks of Rock Bay. On April 11, of 1861 the Colonist newspaper reports: “These fish are esteemed a great luxury by the Chinese … Continue reading “Victoria’s Chinese Immigrant Fishermen”

Aboriginal Use and Context of Pipes, Tobacco, and Smoking in Northwestern North America

Originally published in Perspectives on the Archaeology of Pipes, Tobacco and other Smoke Plants in the Ancient Americas. Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology. Springer, Cham. 2016. By Grant Keddie 9.1 Introduction Aboriginal groups in the far northwest of North America were some of most northerly Native peoples throughout the Americas to use tobacco (Turner and Taylor 1972). This chapter provides an overview of tobacco consumption and smoking practices of Native peoples living in British Columbia, Canada, and the Northwest Coast of the United States. The discussion breaks the larger region into three subregions— the Interior Plateau of southern British Columbia, the Northern Coast of Alaska and British Columbia, and the Southern Coast of British Columbia—to compare and contrast the uses of … Continue reading “Aboriginal Use and Context of Pipes, Tobacco, and Smoking in Northwestern North America”

Wooden Self-Armed Fishhooks from the Salish Sea.

Chapter in Waterlogged: Examples and Procedures for Northwest Coast Archaeologists. Washington State University Press, Pullman, Washington, 2019. Edted by Kathryn N. Bernick. By Grant Keddie Wet sites contain many artifact types that link the archaeological and ethnographic records. Occasionally they also produce objects that do not match the known record. Here, I expand upon our knowledge of one unusual type, the self-armed wooden fishhook, and examine Croes’ (2003:52—55) hypothesis that the technology survived into postcontact times on the northern Northwest Coast but not in the south. This hypothesis assumes that self-armed wooden fishhooks were used for catching cod in both regions. However, ethnographic and ethnohistoric evidence for the northern coast indicates that self-armed wood hooks were used to catch sablefish rather than … Continue reading “Wooden Self-Armed Fishhooks from the Salish Sea.”