Born on March 5, 1905 to Josephine Seymour and Charlie Charles . She had three brothers who are all deceased; Tommy Charles, David Charles and Moody Seymour. Her birth took place on Scowlitz Reserve near Harrison Mills, British Columbia. The home of her birth belonged to Old George. His wife was called "Cheekie" because she liked chickens so much that she kept them as pets. Old George was Charlie Douglas' uncle. At birth Teresa was registered on the Chehalis Reserve. She was raised in the traditional way of being the responsibility of her grandparents for her teachings. Catherine and Dr. Mack from Port Douglas, lived at Chehalis, just below the old village site, were the grandparents. Although Dr. Mack was blind, he was very well known in the Fraser Valley. His reputation was brought about as a result of helping others. He is best known for his medical abilities. He had cures for the mind, body and spirit. People came from miles around to seek help. Canoe building, net making, pole and paddle making were a few of the other gifts that he offered to his people. At the age of 13, Teresa went to St. Mary's Residential School for her formal training. At that time the age limit was 16, so three ten-month periods with weekly sessions of five half-days were the extent of her education. Fathers Rohr and Chirouse were the principals. Her teacher was Theresa Louise from Seabird Island, who later became Mrs. Joe Pettis. Sister Mary Veronica was in charge of the dorms. This period was from 1918 to 1921. Around the age of 20, Teresa was one of the first St6:15 ladies to get a drivers license and still has her cancelled one of the 1930's. She was chauffer to her mother in a Baby Grande , Ford car. This bit of "women's lib" also provided the opportunity for employment at the Harrison Hotel in the laundry and as chambermaid. Teresa has 2 sons and 1 daughter: Henry Charles, Moody Michell and Mary Lou Sepass; 16 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. Her contemporary teachings was given by sister-in-law, the late Mary Charles. Canning freezing , knitting, crocheting, making bread are some of the skills learned during this time. She learned bingo playing all by herself. In 1921 at the age of 16, Teresa began taking in foster children. Her first was a nine month old baby girl named Edna Julian (Douglas). Over 60 children from the St6:15 area had the fortune of being in the care of Teresa for a part of their lives. The last being 3 year old, Sophie Terry, in 1972. On April 21, 1972, Teresa was presented with a Certificate of Rehabilitation and Social Improvement. This recognition was for her many years of dedication as a foster parent. Today she is retired and lives in a cosy trailer with all her plants on Cheam Reserve. Her dog King keeps a close eye on her. Besides her hobbies, she loves to travel and is a bingo bug. Among her community activities are Coqualeetza Elders Group, active member of the Catholic Church , and Alcoholics Anonymous. Because of her extensive experiences in child-rearing she is a fantastic story teller. Children still benefit from this lady through the public schools in the Fraser Valley. Teresa attends classes as a resource person in story telling, cedar root basket making, bannock making and field-trips to gather wild plants and berries
SIYAMIYA Amelia Douglas Amelia was born on May 25, 1922 to Joseph and Josephine Alex. As a young girl she lived at Peqwcholthel (American Bar Reserve).
Amelia's parents taught her how to wind dry salmon. She also learned to make cedar root baskets, do beadwork, knit, preserve food, cook and keep house.
She enjoyed participating in sports all year round, especially swimming, base ball, basketball, volleyball, ice skating and skiing. She was one of the first to pull on the eleven man race canoes at Cultus Lake. Slahal has always re mained one of her favorite games.
In 1955, at Sq' ewgel (Seabird Island), Amelia married George Douglas. He is from the Chiy6m (Cheam) Band. Together they raised ten children and have fifteen grandchildren.
Amelia speaks the Halq'emeylem language and wants to make sure the language will never be forgotten. She attended Fraser Valley College to learn the writing system and how to teach the language to others. Today she works at Coqualeetza Education Training Centre where she prepares lessons for young people so they can learn to speak their language too.
Maggie Emery Margaret Emery was born March 19, 1892 at Peqwchōlthel (American Ba. Reserve). Her parents were Andrew Aleck of Peqwchōlthel and Virginia, Stomp of Spiyem (Spuzzum).
She had one brother, David Aleck from Peqwchōlthel and a sister Mary Peters from Sq'ewqel (Seabird Island).
Maggie's husband, Peter Emery, was a chief of Puchil (Yale) Band. Peter's mother and father were Lucy, from Skw'atets (Peters Reserve) and George Emery from Skwiy6 (Squeah).
Maggie raised four children, Francis, Lillian, Willard and Steven. She had fifteen grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.
Although Maggie received no formal education she was fluent in the Halq'emeylem and Thompson languages. She 1oved making baskets. weaving, and knitting socks and toques and was an active member of the Coqualeetza Elders Group.
TERESA HELEN MICHELL Born on March 5, 1905 to Josephine Seymour and Charlie Charles. She had three brothers who are all deceased; Tommy Charles, David Charles and Moody Seymour. Her birth took place on Scowlitz Reserve near Harrison Mills, British Columbia. The home of her birth belonged to Old George. His wife was called "Cheekie" because she liked chickens so much that she kept them as pets. Old George was Charlie Douglas's uncle. At birth Teresa was registered on the Chehalis Reserve.
She was raised in the traditional way of being the responsibility of her grandparents for her teachings. Catherine and Dr. Mack from Port Douglas, lived at Chehalis, just below the old village site, were the grandparents. Although Dr. Mack was blind, he was very well known in the Fraser Valley. His reputation was brought about as a result of helping others. He is best known for his medical abilities. He had cures for the mind, body and spirit. People came from miles around to seek help. Canoe building, net making, pole and paddle making were a few of the other gifts that he offered to his people.
At the age of 13, Teresa went to St. Mary's Residential School for her formal training. At that time the age limit was 16, so three ten-month periods with weekly sessions of five half-days were the extent of her education. Fathers Rohr and Chirouse were the principals. Her teacher was Theresa Louise from Seabird Island, who later became Mrs. Joe Pettis. Sister Mary Veronica was in charge of the dorms. This period was from 1918 to 1921.
Around the age of 20, Teresa was one of the first St6:I6 ladies to get a driver’s license and still has her cancelled one of the 1930's. She was chauffer to her mother in a Baby Grande, Ford car. This bit of "women's lib" also provided the opportunity for employment at the Harrison Hotel in the laundry and as chambermaid.
Teresa has 2 sons and 1 daughter: Henry Charles, Moody Michell and Mary Lou Sepass; 16 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.
Her contemporary teachings was given by sister-in-law, the late Mary Charles. Canning freezing, knitting, crocheting, making bread are some of the skills learned during this time. She learned bingo playing all by herself.
In 1921 at the age of 16, Teresa began taking in foster children. Her first was a nine month old baby girl named Edna Julian (Douglas) . Over 60 children from the Stō:lo area had the fortune of being in the care of Teresa for a part of their lives. The last being 3 year old, Sophie Terry, in 1972. On April 21, 1972, Teresa was presented with a Certificate of Rehabilitation and Social Improvement. This recognition was for her many years of dedication as a foster parent.
Today she is retired and lives in a cosy trailer with all her plants on Cheam Reserve. Her dog King keeps a close eye on her. Besides her hobbies, she loves to travel and is a bingo bug. Among her community activities are Coqualeetza Elders Group, active member of the Catholic Church, and Alcoholics Anonymous.
Because of her extensive experiences in child-rearing she is a fantastic story teller. Children still benefit from this lady through the public schools in the Fraser Valley. Teresa attends classes as a resource person in storytelling, cedar root basket making, bannock making and field-trips to gather wild plants and berries.
Harry received formal education at St. Mary's Residential School, Mission, B.C., where he completed his Grade Eight. In 1908 he married Maria Hope of Seabird Island and together they raised seven children. Harry became Chief of Cheam in 1942. He carried out this position for the next forty years. Traditionally, a Chief was not elected as they are today, you inherited this role. Harry's father was Chief before him and when it was time, he was prepared to take over as Chief. He was one of the last hereditary Chiefs in the St6:16 area. The main reason for stepping down from his position was "progress", he felt that things were just moving too fast.
As a young man, Harry worked on the steamboats which carried supplies from New Westminster to Minto Landing in Chilliwack. Later he became a dairy farmer. He was the only dairy farmer on the Cheam Reserve and continued farming for approximately 35 years. Long ago you had to do everything by hand. Milk the cows twice daily, plow the ground, clear the land, pack water and feed for the animals. This was a seven day a week job, all year round so this didn't leave much time for Harry to have many hobbies. When there was spare time he really enjoyed playing his violin. Religion was important in Harry's life, so he made sure there was time every Sunday to attend mass. Harry retired from farming in 1950 and was proud that he was recognized as a lifetime member of the Fraser Valley Milk Producers Association. In his younger days he dedicated his life to clearing the land from the dyke to the Hope Slough, which is 50.5 acres. After retirement he had more time and continued to fulfill his dream. He started this out on his own with his family, but later in his life it became a community project. Harry was a fluent speaker of Halq'emeylem and knew a lot about the St6:16 traditions and stories. He was always willing to share this knowledge with everyone and for a time met weekly with the late Oliver Wells.
Indigneous Storywork - Q’um Q’um Xiiem's website (Dr Jo-ann Archibald. This is an amazing website that I think you will find very useful. Included are numerous videos including a video related to being story ready.
I Am Stó:lō - book
You Are Asked to Witness: The Stó:lō in Canada's Pacific Coast History - book