Bringing the Legends home

Legends of the Capilano updates E. Pauline Johnson’s 1911 classic Legends of Vancouver, restoring Johnson’s intended title for the first time. This new edition celebrates the storytelling abilities of Johnson’s Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) collaborators, Joe and Mary Capilano, and supplements the original fifteen legends with five additional stories narrated solely or in part by Mary Capilano, highlighting her previously overlooked contributions to the book.

Alongside photographs and biographical entries for E. Pauline Johnson, Joe Capilano, and Mary Capilano, editor Alix Shield provides a detailed publishing history of Legends since its first appearance in 1911. Interviews with literary scholar Rick Monture (Mohawk) and archaeologist Rudy Reimer (Skwxwú7mesh) further considers the legacy of Legends in both scholars’ home communities. Compiled in consultation with the Mathias family, the direct descendants of Joe and Mary Capilano and members of the Skwxwú7mesh Nation, this edition reframes, reconnects, and reclaims the stewardship of these stories.

Legends of the Capilano updates E. Pauline Johnson’s 1911 classic Legends of Vancouver, restoring Johnson’s intended title for the first time, and celebrating the storytelling abilities of Johnson’s Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) collaborators, Joe and Mary Capilano.

List of Figures

Foreword

Author's Foreword to the 1911 Edition

Introduction

The Two Sisters

The Siwash Rock

The Recluse

The Lost Salmon Run

The Deep Waters

The Sea-Serpent

The Lost Island

Point Grey

The Tulameen Trail

The Grey Archway

Deadman's Island

A Squamish Legend of Napoleon

The Lure in Stanley Park

Deer Lake

A Royal Mohawk Chief

The Legend of the Two Sisters

The Legend of the Squamish Twins

The Legend of the Seven Swans

The Legend of Lillooet Falls

The Legend of the Ice Babies

Interview with Rick Monture

Interview with Rudy Reimer

Glossary

Acknowledgements

Notes

Selected Bibliography

"The strength of this newest (and possibly definitive) version of Johnson’s influential text is the massive introduction provided by Shield (spanning over 70 pages), which is not only comprehensive and enlightening in the additional context it provides for Johnson herself, and the publication and republication of Johnson’s text over the years, but also in the incorporation of the voices of people affected or influenced by Johnson’s text – that is to say, the voices of the Capilanos themselves as well as their descendants. This text is a testament to what rigorous archival work can reveal and produce."