by Upper Sto:lo Interaction

This true story is about some of the traditions of Sto:lo Indians who live near Harrison Lake, B.C. It would be interesting to readers everywhere. This story is about two sisters who see cedar bark capes and skirts at the opening ceremony for their new school and run to ask their granny about them. Granny Margie takes them to the woods to show them how to get the cedar bark. First she talks to the tree to honor it and thank it and leaves a gift of a small weaving. Then she shows them how to take the bark off the tree. The most interesting part for me was learning how they make capes and skirts from cedar bark. It takes a lot of work to make the bark soft before weaving it into clothes.

Reading this story made me think about how different their lives are from my own. Native people have more traditions than we have. They have more respect for nature too.

The book is easy to read, but it would be helpful to have a guide for pronouncing the Native words. I would enjoy reading this book again and would recommend it to others.

A review by Cecilia Higgs, New Westminster, B.C.