The Letters of Margaret Butcher: Missionary-Imperialism on the North Pacific Coast
Edited by Mary-Ellen Kelm
312 pages, 10 illustrations
6 x 9 inches
9781552381663 (Paperback)
9781552383841 (Institutional PDF)
OUT OF PRINT
About the Book
A British Columbia Historical Federation Medalist, this collection of missionary nurse and teacher Margaret Butcher offers a compelling glimpse of one women’s life among the Haisla people and an invaluable source of first-hand information on missionary work, residential schools, and the Haisla way of life in the early twentieth century.
“Now what shall I tell you first? The days . . . have been so full of interests and fresh things that I know not where to begin. Suppose I say right here that I believe I shall be very happy here and also that it seems a post I can fit and having said that I’ll just write consecutively to give you as good an idea as possible of how we are placed.” – Margaret Butcher, September 4, 1916
From 1916 to 1919, Margaret Butcher served as a missionary nurse and teacher at the Elizabeth Long Memorial Home, a residential school in Kitamaat, British Columbia. This collection of letters, written to family and friends, offers a compelling glimpse at her experiences among the Haisla people. Butcher’s correspondence reflects the conventional wisdom of the day about racial hierarchy, native culture, and the need for assimilation. Nevertheless, the letters are an invaluable source of first-hand information on missionary work, residential schools, and the Haisla way of life in the early twentieth century.
Editor Mary-Ellen Kelm bookends the collection with an introduction and conclusion that provide historical and historiographical context, exploring the concepts of race, gender, and cultural conflict as they played out on the north Pacific coast.
About the Editor
Mary-Ellen Kelm is Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous People of North America in the History Department at Simon Fraser University.
Praise for The Letters of Margaret Butcher
An important contribution to historical conversations about the Haisla, missionaries, and residential schools in British Columbia.
—Jacqueline Gresko, BC Studies
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Letters
Conclusion
Notes
Index
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Letters
Conclusion
Notes
Index
Awards
SECOND PRIZE, British Columbia Historical Federation Writing Competition | 2007