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3. Untamed (1850s - 1920s), AmandaEve Slattery 2021

Images from Before we lost the lake: a natural and human history of Sumas Valley by Chad Reimer. Halfmoon Bay BC: Caitlin Press, 2018.

This song traces the contact era and the changes that started happening to the lake through land claims and reserves, excess hunting, fishing licenses, introduction of new species, and residential schools. The chorus emphasizes the settler attitudes that the area needed to be controlled and civilized in order to be useful. Draining the lake was not questioned; rather, how it was to be drained effectively was the problem.

Narrator: settler-colonial voices

Since time immemorial, the Semá:th were here
Footsteps guided by circles of time
Then from the north, the east, the south, the west
Came people speaking tongues they could not understand.

“This land is untamed
This land is ripe for the claiming
Nothing will stand in our way.”

Sketching lines in the sand and mud
I’ll play house over here and you play over there
You’re not using that so you don’t really need it
Come to think, our soldiers could use some too.

“This land is untamed
This land is ripe for the claiming
Nothing will stand in our way.

Nebulous wetlands, sure, you can share them
If you don’t mind crossing Farmer Harris’ land
But don’t even think of dropping those nets in the water
The permits we issued won’t stand for that.

We brought some catfish to share
It ate the lake bed and fought the salmon
The birds are almost gone, but what can we do
Bloody cattle drying up from mosquitoes too

This land is untamed
This land is ripe for the claiming
Nothing will stand in our way.

Waters rise and fall and rise higher
Eden’s lost its way, we need to reclaim it.
The children at St Mary’s won’t mind, we’re doing them a favour.
This is the only way to make the most of what God gave us.

This land is untamed
This land is ripe for the claiming
This land will be ours
We have willed it so
Nothing will stand in our way.”

Notes:
o since time immemorial - a Stó:lõ phrase indicating that they have always been here
o circles of time - referring to time concepts not being linear
o untamed, reclaim - words used in primary sources that indicate settler attitudes that the land needed to be cultivated in order to achieve its full purpose
o you're not using that - settler attitudes that the indigenous people were not making full use of the reserve lands
o our soldiers - one of the arguments for draining the lake was to provide parcels of land to veterans who returned from WWI
o desolate wetlands - area around the lake was designated as a common area for settlers and Semá:th to feed livestock.
o Farmer Harris' land - the Semá:th reserve was set back from the lake shores so that they no longer had direct access to the water. The Harris land was directly north of the reserve and provided access to the shore.
o but don't even think of dropping those nets - bans on indigenous ways of fishing, hunting, and trapping
o catfish - a new species introduced to the watershed
o birds are almost gone - from settler over-hunting leading to hunting restrictions that also affected the Stó:lõ
o mosquitoes - a major reason why settlers wanted to drain the lake; besides being pests to humans they also affected livestock health and milk production
o St Mary's - residential school in Mission BC
o we're doing them a favour - settler attitudes that draining the lake would benefit the indigenous people
o what God gave us - settler attitudes that their god had given them the land to wield