Rights Remembered

Rights Remembered is a remarkable historical narrative and autobiographywritten by esteemed Lummi elder and culture bearer PaulineHillaire, ScllaOf the Killer Whale. A direct descendant of the immediatepostcontact generation of Coast Salish in Washington State,Hillaire combines in her narrative life experiences, Lummi oral traditionspreserved and passed on to her, and the written record ofrelationships between the United States and the indigenous peoplesof the Northwest Coast to tell the story of settlers, government officials,treaties, and reservations, and the colonial relationship between CoastSalish and the white newcomers.Hillaires autobiography, although written out of frustration with thestatus of Native peoples in America, is not an expression of anger butrather represents, in her own words, her hope for greater justice forIndian people in America, and for reconciliation between Indian andnon-Indian Americans, based on recognition of the truths of history.Addressed to Indigenous and non-Native peoples alike, this is athoughtful call for understanding and mutual respect between cultures.