Samuel Tom

Photograph of Samuel Tom from the Daily Colonist, Victoria, BC. Sunday February 7, 1965
Photograph of Samuel Tom from the Daily Colonist, Victoria, BC. Sunday February 7, 1965

sultsilum | Samuel Tom

sultsilum Samuel Tom1 was a respected Elder and Knowledge Keeper from the Malahat First Nation. A fluent speaker of both Hul’qumi’num’ and English, Tom generously shared his knowledge of the language, culture, and traditions with the anthropologist and linguist Wayne Suttles. 

Tom was born in Koksilah in 1860. He lived to be 104 years of age and died in the Nanaimo Indian Hospital. He had ancestral roots in Malahat though he lived much of his life in the Cowichan area. Tom was married to Louisa Tom (nee Joe) who predeceased him, dying in 1942. He was a skilled hunter, fisherman, and canoe maker. He was also an active member of the Shaker Church and credited it with helping him overcome unhealthy life choices.

Samuel Tom Sultsilum was an important informant for the anthropologist and linguist Wayne Suttles. He shared many stories with Suttles, including narratives about the arrival of white people, stories about the beginning of the Shaker Church and John Slocum, and narratives about Xeel’s the transformer. We are thankful for the important work that he carried out, and are grateful for the knowledge repository his sharing created. 

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  1.  sultsilum is also spelt sulchilum. Samuel is also sometimes rendered as Hul’q’umi’num’ sumyeel. ↩︎