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http://digitalsqewlets.ca/
Sq'éwlets: A Stó:lō - Coast Salish Community in the Fraser River Valley (Stó:lö Research and Resource Management Centre and Stódö V/ Nation, 2016) is a virtual museum in the form of a website that reflects a collaborative project and long-term relationship between the Sq'éwlets, a Stódö-Coast Salish community, and a team of archaeologists at the University of British Columbia. The virtual museum displays nearly three decades of collaborative work, sharing Sq'éwlets stories, history, language, and the deep connection between people and place as a way of situating Sq'éwlets people in the world. The site represents a wealth of knowledge and interactive space, and it invites its visitors to affectively connect to a uniquely Sq'éwlets space. The meaning of the word "Sq'éwlets" comes from the perspective of someone travelling on the river, meaning "to go around a bend in the river." On a blistering hot day in August, standing at Sq'éwlets above the riverbank, the mountains on both sides of the river impose their quiet dominance - a feeling that is conveyed not only in the written word but also through the curation of images as well as the sound on the website, which expresses the dynamic interaction between the communities along the river and the river itself.
As a member of the Stódö community, and a relative to many of the people from Sq'éwlets whose stories are featured in the virtual museum, having the opportunity to hear and see their voices in this medium is a moving experience. I recently returned to Coast Salish territories after living in...