Standing up with G̲a'ax̲sta'las : Jane Constance Cook and the politics of memory, church, and custom / Leslie A. Robertson with the Kwagu'l Gix̲sa̲m Clan.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 542-555) and index.

Introduction: "Having Oneness on Your Face" -- Part I: The Living Text: Traces of Jane Cook -- Part II: Dukwa'esala (Looking Around On the Beach): Ancestors -- Part III: Stranger Than Fiction: Surviving the Missionary -- Part IV: "Children of the Potlatch System," 1888-1912 -- Part V: "We As the Suppressed People," 1913-18 -- Part VI: "We Are the Aboriginee, Which Is Not a Citizen," 1918-27 -- Part VII: "With the Potlatch Custom in My Blood," 1930-39 -- Part VIII: One Voice from Many: Citizenship, 1940-48 -- Part IX: A Tower of Strength: Word Memorials, 1951 -- Part X: Dlaxw'it'sine' (For Your Standing), Feasting.

"Standing Up with Ga'axsta'las is a compelling conversation with the colonial past initiated by the descendants of Kwakwaka'wakw leader and activist, Jane Constance Cook (1870-1951). Working in collaboration, Robertson and Cook's descendants open this history, challenging dominant narratives that misrepresent her motivations for criticizing customary practices and eventually supporting the potlatch ban. Drawing from oral histories, archival materials, and historical and anthropological works, they offer a nuanced portrait of a high-ranked woman who was a cultural mediator; devout Christian; and activist for land claims, fishing and resource rights, and adequate health care. Ga'axsta'las testified at the McKenna-McBride Royal Commission, was the only woman on the executive of the Allied Indian Tribes of BC, and was a fierce advocate for women and children. This powerful meditation on memory documents how the Kwagu'l Gixsam revived their dormant clan to forge a positive social and cultural identity for future generations through feasting and potlatching."--Publisher's website

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