Nooksack Place Names by Allan Richardson, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters

Place names are geographical markers that can lead us on fascinating journeys into other cultures. They convey a people’s relationship to the land, their sense of place. For indigenous peoples, place names can also be central to the revival of endangered languages. This book takes readers on an exciting voyage into the history, language, and culture of the Nooksack tribe, who have traditionally inhabited territory along the border between British Columbia and Washington State. Allan Richardson and Brent Galloway, experts in anthropology and linguistics, trace the richness and strength of the Nooksack people’s connection to the land through more than 150 places named by elders and mentioned in key historical texts. Descriptions of Nooksack history and naming patterns – combined with maps, photographs, and detailed linguistic analyses – give life to a nearly extinct language and illuminate the intertwined relationships of place, culture, language, and identity. By situating their findings in the context of larger discourses about place names and indigenous people’s connection to place, Richardson and Galloway signal a new direction for conducting ethnolinguistic research in indigenous communities. Audio files and images to accompany the book can be found at http://hdl. handle. net/2429/34111. | Nooksack Place Names by Allan Richardson, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters