Irene Harris

Ts’umqwat | Irene Harris (née Joe)

Born 1929

Ts’umqwat¹ Irene Harris (née Joe) was a respected Elder and Knowledge Keeper from the Stz’uminus First Nation. She was a fluent speaker of Hul’q’umi’num’ and generously shared her knowledge of language, history, culture, and protocol with linguists and other researchers.

Ts’umqwat Irene Harris was born in 1929. As a child she attended Kuper Island Residential School, where she learned English and was taught skills like sewing and cooking meant to prepare her for employment in domestic work.

She had deep connections to several Hul’q’umi’num’ communities. She had ancestral connections to Valdes Island through her Lyackson grandfather and to Gabriola Island through ancestral burial sites. She was a longtime resident of Kulleet Bay and was intimately connected to that community.²

When Irene was 17, she married Lawrence Harris. The wedding took place December 16, 1945, on Kuper Island. Her husband worked as a fisherman and later became elected chief of the Stz’uminus First Nation. In the 1970s, Irene served as the home and school coordinator for the Stz’uminus First Nation.³ Ts’umqwat was also a skilled weaver. Within the Hul’q’umi’num’ homeland she was known for her work making hats for new dancers. She wove in the mediums of both cedar and wool and generously shared her knowledge of weaving with new learners as well as researchers.

During her lifetime, Ts’umqwat was active in the struggle for the recognition of Indigenous rights, participating in several protests in support of Indigenous rights and working to better the lives of Indigenous people. She was vocal about land claims and actively supported the position of a joint treaty group. She recognized the deep ties between our Hul’q’umi’num’ communities and did not want to see us divided in our land claims negotiations. Ts’umqwat also shared important traditional knowledge about Hul’q’umi’num’ heritage laws and protocol around heritage sites and artifacts, collaborating with researchers on the work of protecting heritage sites, artifacts, and human remains. In addition to this work, Ts’umqwat helped start a number of community-service programs. She was a leader in both culture and religious life and was a regular participant in several committees and boards.

In addition to this important work, she spent many years collaborating with linguists and other researchers, including anthropologist Brian Thom (UVIC) and linguist Donna Gerdts (SFU). She generously shared her knowledge of the Hul’q’umi’num’ language, culture and history on a wide range of projects including language revitalization, land claims, resource use, protocol and cultural practices. Together with Elders like Willie Seymour, she modeled the Hul’q’umi’num’ language for new learners of all ages. She was also one of the Elders involved in the creation of 500 Hul̓q̓umín̓um̓ Words: Words from the Chemainus, Nanaimo, and Nanoose Elders, published in 1997 by the Chemainus First Nation, the Nanaimo First Nation, the Nanoose First Nation, and the First Nations Education Services of School District 68.

Ts’umqwat was a respected and valued member of her community. We are grateful for the important work she carried out during her lifetime. Her generous sharing contributed to the revitalization of Hul’q’umi’num’ language and culture and created a valuable legacy for future generations.