The police conclude from Richard’s writing that he was preoccupied with the death, but Breber disagrees. She said her brother was an avid writer, especially during his time at Kuper Island Residential School.
In the story below, Richard shares the origins of the Halalt tribe as told to him by his father. The composition was published in a collection of legends written and preserved by indigenous children. This shows Richard’s deep commitment to his people, even when he attended a boarding school, a system designed to alienate students from their culture.
The Halalt tribe
Once upon a time, many moons ago, there was a very kind man.
He lived in Saanich for a long time all by himself.
He hadn’t seen another human since his father had died of some illness.
His mother died a few hours after his birth.
From the time he was only ten years old, he knew how to hunt, carve, make weapons, kill animals, and how to make shelters for himself while hunting.
He knew what every animal looked and smelled like.
But he never knew what a woman looked like.
One day, while he was hunting, he saw a strange creature walking around with two legs and two arms.
It looked like him, so he decided to film it. He made estrangement a trap.
It was round on one side and square on the other.
It was big enough for a person to stand in. He saw that the creature passed through the same part of the forest once every two days when the sun was directly overhead.
He set the invisible trail trap just in time because he could hear it coming.
He ducked into some brush and waited.
When he heard the creature scream, he knew he had caught it.
Now he was able to get a better look at him and noticed that he had the same features as him.
He wondered if he could speak.
He spoke to him in his own language through a small round hole in the trap.
To his surprise, it answered him. He realized it must be a woman.
After a while he questioned her about her life.
He found out that her parents had also died a few years ago.
The man decided to name his wife Halalt, after a beautiful fish that he had seen his father catch one day, because he thought she was also beautiful.
She decided to name him Michgin.
When they were very old, they had many grandchildren.
These young people wanted to be called Michginis, but he said before he died. “This is Halalt’s tribe.”
There is still a tribe called Halalt. I know this because I am.
Written by Richard Thomas, narrated by his father. Published in Tales from the Longhouse: by Indian Children of British Columbia, 1973.
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