Standing Up with G̲a’ax̱sta’las is a compelling conversation with the colonial past initiated by the descendants of Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw leader and activist, Jane Constance Cook (1870-1951). Working in collaboration, Robertson and Cook’s descendants open this history, challenging dominant narratives that misrepresent her motivations for criticizing customary practices and eventually supporting the potlatch ban. Drawing from oral histories, archival materials, and historical and anthropological works, they offer a nuanced portrait of a high-ranked woman who was a cultural mediator; devout Christian; and activist for land claims, fishing and resource rights, and adequate health care. G̲a’ax̱sta’las testified at the McKenna-McBride Royal Commission, was the only woman on the executive of the Allied Indian Tribes of BC, and was a fierce advocate for women and children. This powerful meditation on memory documents how the Kwagu’l Gix̱sa̱m revived their dormant clan to forge a positive social and cultural identity for future generations through feasting and potlatching.

Leslie A. Robertson

Leslie A. Robertson's profile page

the Kwagu'l Gix̱sa̱m Clan's profile page

• Short-listed, The François-Xavier Garneau Medal, Canadian Historical Association
• Winner, CCWH Book Award, Canadian Committee on Women’s History
• Joint winner, K.D. Srivastava Prize for Excellence in Scholarly Publishing
• Winner, Aboriginal History Prize, Canadian Historical Association
• Winner, Erminie Wheeler-Voegelin Prize, American Society for Ethnohistory
• Winner, CLIO Prize for BC, Canadian Historical Association
• Short-listed, Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize, BC Book Prizes

In this most innovative book, Robertson and the Gix̱sa̱m Clan collectively write a book that will quickly become a methodological model for ethnohistorians. The non-linear narrative, with the focus on an interaction between the anthropologist, the indigenous community (Cook’s descendants), and the memory of Cook, provides a way of dealing with memory and history through the presentation of multiple voices. As one committee member stated, “The book models a collaborative process that more and more of us will be challenged to undertake. I think the future of our profession is that we will be expected to write with, rather than about, Indigenous communities. That this book presented a cohesive narrative about a woman whose life was so complicated and whose memory has been so contested by weaving together the voices of so many contributors is stunning to me.”

Wheeler-Voegelin Prize, American Society for Ethnohistory