The Royal BC Museum has published What Was Said to Me: The Life of Sti鈥檛um鈥檃tul鈥檞ut, a Cowichan Woman, by linguist Ruby Peter, in collaboration with Helene Demers.

What Was Said to Me blends memoir, oral history and ethno-autobiography into a narrative of resistance and resilience, spanning seven decades in the life of an advocate for Indigenous language preservation.

鈥淭his first-person oral history is the first of its kind published by the Royal BC Museum,鈥� says Mischelle vanThiel, vice president of inclusion and community engagement at the Royal BC Museum. 鈥淚t is a remarkable narrative about a remarkable person who dedicated her life to maintaining and sharing her language.鈥�

鈥�What Was Said to Me is a beautiful and generous gift our Aunty, Sti鈥檛um鈥檃tul鈥檞ut has shared with us,鈥� says Samaya Jardey, director of language and cultural affairs, Squamish Nation. 鈥淚t is rich with teachings from beginning to end. It is an example of the love she had for the people.鈥�

What Was Said to Me documents a period of profound social change through the lens of Sti鈥檛um鈥檃tul鈥檞ut鈥攁lso known as Dr. Ruby Peter鈥攁 Cowichan elder who made it her life鈥檚 work to share and safeguard Hul鈥檘鈥檜mi鈥檔um鈥�, the language of her people.

Sti鈥檛um鈥檃tul鈥檞ut mentored hundreds of students and teachers and helped thousands of people to develop a basic knowledge of the Hul鈥檘鈥檜mi鈥檔um鈥� language.

She contributed to dictionaries and grammars, and helped assemble a valuable corpus of stories, sound and video files, with more than 10,000 pages of texts from Hul鈥檘鈥檜mi鈥檔um鈥� speakers. Sti鈥檛um鈥檃tul鈥檞ut was the associate editor of The Cowichan Dictionary.

In 1997, Vancouver Island University anthropologist Helene Demers recorded Sti鈥檛um鈥檃tul鈥檞ut鈥檚 life stories over nine sessions. She prepared the transcripts for publication in close collaboration with Sti鈥檛um鈥檃tul鈥檞ut鈥� and her family.

Although Sti鈥檛um鈥檃tul鈥檞ut passed away on January 8, 2021, just a few months before her book rolled off the press, she consulted closely on every stage of editing and image collection. Royalties from the book now go to Sti鈥檛um鈥檃tul鈥檞ut鈥檚 family.

What Was Said to Me retails for $24.95 as a trade paperback and $11.99 as an ebook. The 224-page book is available through local bookshops, the Royal Museum Shop and online at rbcm.ca/books.