In 2013, local author Takaia Larsen invited me to participate in a history of the Columbia River valley between Castlegar and Revelstoke. In preparation for my contribution to this volume, I imagined the Columbia River as it was 1,000 years ago, drawing on my years of research and travel in the region.
Maps
For the indigenous people of North America, maps have always been carried in the heart and mind. In the era of colonial exploration, the first maps unlocked the landscape for others who followed, guiding us where to go, and pinpointing where the rich resources for extraction would be.
In this era of google maps and GIS tracking, hand-made, hand-drawn maps remind me that landscape is still a place for the soul to roam.