Item T1044:0001 - Lizette Hall interview

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1966-09-14 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Lizette (Mrs. Ralph Hall), a woman from the Carrier tribe, discusses her father, Louis Billy Prince, who was born in 1864 on the east side of Stuart River. His father was a chief until a bishop removed him; she describes the circumstances around that. She describes her great-grandfather, Kwah, who lived to a very old age and was a nobleman. The people who lived on the reserve. Stories about their first encounters with huns and with white people. Mrs. Hall tells the story of how Sir James Douglas' life was threatened after a when the Native man was killed by two HBC workers near Fort George; the incident ended peacefully. She discusses the first priest in the area, named Father Nobili. Her recollections of Father Morice; he returned to the area in 1924 and was surprised at seeing the advancement of the Carrier people. Father Marshall, who came before Father Morice and other priests. TRACK 2: Mrs. Hall continues with a story about Father Morice and a printing press he left behind. Her recollections of Father Coccola, who ran the place with an iron hand, and the effects of his racial beliefs on the people. She discusses the Hudson's Bay Company and its relations with Indians.; Catholic influences on education, and the focus on the spiritual needs of the Natives rather than their bodily needs. The first public school in 1913, which was not run by the Church, lasted three years. Her experiences at the Catholic residential school; the loneliness that resulted from being taken from parents; penalties imposed for speaking their native language; the unsanitary conditions and; food served. The school's aim "to eradicate culture"; how Indian culture was practiced in private. Mrs.Hall relates some stories about the legendary figure Astace. She offers meanings and pronuciations of Indian names. Finally, she discusses Indian village life in the old days, including how winters were spent, and the raids by the Chilcotin people.