Native Languages and Culture

This issue of Sound Heritage is devoted to the languages, culture, and history of the Native people of British Columbia. The articles are derived from taper documents collected by Aural History, Provincial Archives of British Columbia, and by the Linguistics Division of the British Columbia Provincial Museum. They represent two types of research-one seeking to record and preserve the history of British Columbia, the other to record and preserve the disappearing Native languages of the region. Their different approaches give a fascinating and revealing portrait of the culture and history of a people whose history is not written and whose views had been neglected until the advent of the tape recorder. With that instrument, the language and oral traditions of Native people are at last being recorded and preserved for future generations. Both the Aural history Program and the Linguistic Division of the Provincial Museum work with artists and photographers whose skills supplement the taped materials. The cover design by Francis Williams, the designs of Robert Davidson, and the modern and historic photographs illustrating the text are an additional asset to this issue on the culture of British Columbia's Native people. As the new Provincial Secretary, I am particularly pleased to see this co-operation between Aural History and the Linguistics Division. Although they study different aspects of culture, booth groups are concerned with the preservation of a rich heritage. I look forward to continued collaborative efforts between related divisions of the Government. I am also pleased to have a journal like Sound Heritage published by the Government of British Columbia. As a unique publication with a wide circulation, it demonstrates the pioneering work being done in aural history in this Province, and furthers the development of aural history research across Canada and around the globe. -Grace McCarthy