Maps are traditionally seen as colonial tools that lay claim to lands, lakes and rivers; however, a new map in UVic's Mearns - McPherson Library tells a different story. The map created by cartographer and geography PhD candidate Leah Fulton and anthropology Professor Brian Thom challenges us to see the region the university is situated in from a different point of view.
Gracing an entire wall in the library, the six-foot-tall and 18-foot-long map highlights the Salish Sea region to illustrate an intricate picture of Indigenous communities and the areas of treaty and non-treaty relations. The Salish Sea treaty landscape is complex: there are 16 treaties from the 19th century (12 in Canada, four in the US), and two modern-day treaties, and many other communities that have never entered into treaty relations.
The visually striking sepia-tone map is intended to offer students a starting point to learning what historic and modern-day treaties are about, and how Indigenous title and rights continue across the region. Local Indigenous students can see themselves and their histories in the names and places represented on the map.
