“Photo courtesy of Connie Brian”
The display case shows artifacts from T.F. McIlwraith’s collections, donated and repatriated to the Nuxalk by the family. Also repatriated was his ceremonial name “Weena,” which was re-bestowed to the family at the opening ceremony of Nuxalk Strong. The painting of Jim Pollard on the left is by Mildred Valley Thornton. In a letter to T.F. McIlwraith, dated 15 May 1950 and held in the TF McIlwraith fonds at University of Toronto Archives, she relates that, following publication – at long last – of the two volumes of The Bella Coola Indians in 1948, “Pollard’s granddaughter “read [from] them to him regularly” (Kröller, Writing the Empire, p. 442).