Our Tellings

Our Tellings is a collection of oral narratives gathered by a young Nlha7kapmx, Darwin Hanna, from the elders of his people. The tales have been passed from generation to generation, and they reveal how the Nlha7kapmx perceive their own history.

Our Tellings gathers together two types of narrative - sptakwelh and spilaxem. Sptakwelh, or creation stories, tell of a period in which the world was inhabited by animals in vaguely human form and with special powers. Coyote, Bear, Grizzly, and Owl were central figures. Some tellings in this group chronicle the acts of transformers, who travelled the countryside shaping and changing the existing order to resemble the world we know today.

Spilaxem, or non-creation stories, tell of the history, way of life, and cultural teachings of the Nlha7kapmx people. These particular narratives were chosen because the elders thought that they were important to tell. They range from descriptions of the arrival of explorers and missionaries to reflections on the contemporary state of Nlha7kapmx culture.

. The Nlha7kapmx, or Thompson, people are among the original inhabitants of the Fraser, Thompson, and Nicola river valleys in south-western British Columbia.