Our Chiefs and Elders: Words and Photographs of Native Leaders

by David Neel

Book Overview

A series of portraits of British Columbia native chiefs and elders which reveals a people who have a rich and unique heritage while fully realizing that they are living in the latter part of the 20th century.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0774805021
• ISBN13: 9780774805025
• Release Date: June 1995
• Publisher: University of Washington Press
• Length: 191 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.1" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

Important Indian History in British Columbia

Very comprehensive look at past and current West coast indian life. I went to school in Vancouver, with two of the Neel family, in the mid 50's. Both were very artistic and I believe the whole family were carvers and artists.

A joy to behold.

This is in the category of books so elegantly designed as to make one want to strictly buy good-sized hardbound books. It's beautifully laid out with a typefont very friendly to all reasonably able eyes and fits quite comfortably on a lap planted in an easy chair, glueing one there for a good long while until all pages are turned. Half of the pages are text and the rest portrait photography of the chiefs and elders, tastefully laid out with both traditional regalia and contemporary everyday poses. My take on this is that it helps to have some in-depth knowledge of these tribes before attempting to read between the lines of these memoirs. Many of these very ancient folks are no doubt dead by now (since 1991) which adds impact to their impressions of periods of tribal transition. We should all be recording the words of our living elders for the practical use of future generations, as they carry treasures of wisdom and very curious glimpses into times that are unlikely to be seen again. I find oral histories immeasurably fascinating in any case and highly recommend this to anyone with a working interest in Pacific Northwest history.