Current Research
I am interested in the importance of hunting in Tahltan culture. I investigate this interest through the oral traditions – old and new stories of the hunt in Tahltan and English. I conduct my work with an eye to understanding the cultural values encoded in stories particularly where hunting is concerned. I am interested in the way in which Tahltan and English are used in everyday talk.
My current writing projects include:
‘Why Can’t You Just Move the Camps?’: The Limitations of the Word ‘Camp’ as a Description for an Aboriginal Practice
Harry Chingee: His Story of a Life Lived As a Hunter, Trapper, Logger and Headman (Life history research with a McLeod Lake Sekani hunter and headman)
McIlwraith, Thomas. n.d. ‘We Are Still Didene’: Stories of Hunting and History from Northwestern British Columbia (book manuscript)
My current research projects include:
An ethnographic investigation of Tahltan camping (fieldwork completed August and September 2009)
A review of public comments on newspaper websites and chat boards related to Tahltan blockades against moose hunting
A historical investigation of the construction of the BC Rail line to Dease Lake with an eye towards aboriginal involvement in that infrastructure project
A historical investigation of hunting regulations and their impact on aboriginal peoples