Albert (Sonny) McHalsie - Naxaxalhets'i - Cultural Advisor/Historian

Sonny is the Cultural Advisor of the Stó:lō Research and Resource Management Centre.  Sonny has worked for the Stó:lō as a researcher in cultural heritage and aboriginal rights and title issues since 1985.  He currently acts as an advisor on the Stó:lō Xwexwilmexw Treaty Association – Treaty Negotiation Team.  He was a co-author of the book I Am Stó:lō: Katherine Explores Her Heritage (1997) – focusing on his family and his daughter.  He contributed to and served on the editorial board of the award winning publication A Stó:lō Coast Salish Historical Atlas (2001).  His areas of expertise include Halq’eméylem Place Names and Stó:lō oral history.  He is a member of the Shxw’ow’hamel First Nation, the proud father of two girls and six boys, and has three grandchildren. He continues to fish at his ancestral fishing ground at Aseláw in the lower Fraser River Canyon.

Sonny.mchalsie@srrmcentre.com

David Schaepe, Ph.D. - Director / Senior Archaeologist

David Schaepe, Ph.D. is Director and Senior Archaeologist in the Stó:lō Research and Resource Management Centre, associated with the Stó:lō Nation and Stó:lō Tribal Council.  He has worked for the Stó:lō since 1997.  Dave holds a Ph.D. from the Department of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia (2009); an MA in archaeology from Simon Fraser University (1998), and a BA in anthropology from New York University (1989).  He was awarded a Social Science and Humanities Research Council Doctoral Fellowship in 2003 and UBC’s Borden Scholarship in Archaeology in 2002 and 2007.  He is an advisor on the Stó:lō Xwexwilmexw Treaty Association -Treaty Negotiating Team.  He led the development of the Stó:lō Heritage Policy Manual (2003) and Stó:lō Heritage Management Plan.  He is active in repatriation and intellectual properties research, and involved in a number of collaborations including the Reciprocal Research Network (RRN) and Intellectual Properties in Cultural Heritage (IPinCh) projects.  Dave’s publication record includes A Stó:lō-Coast Salish Historical Atlas (2001) in which he was a contributing author and editorial board member, as well as articles in American Antiquity (2006, 2009) and edited volumes including Bruce Miller’s Be of Good Mind: Essays on the Coast Salish (2007).

Curriculum Vitae - 147kb .pdf

Dave.schaepe@srrmcentre.com

Tracey Joe - Aylexwlemot - Managing Supervisor

Tracey has been employed with SRRMC since 1995.  Currently, Tracey provides technical and administrative support to the SRRMC team in addition to her other responsibilities.  Documentation of Sto:lo history and culture and educating the public are important aspects of Treaty work.  As a researcher, Tracey has helped with our three publications: You Are Asked To Witness, A Sto:lo Coast Salish Historical Atlas, and I Am Sto:lo.  She continues to coordinate sales and shipping of these books.  Tracey has coordinated the People of the River conferences since 1997.  She has also coordinated two cross-border (BC and Washington State) environment conferences and the 2008 BC Archaeology Forum.  Tracey has assisted in other projects, including the Yale Air Quality Study, Louie Sam film, treaty orientation sessions, Transformer Narratives project, and field schools, just to name a few.  Finally, Tracey is a supervisor for the SRRMC.

Tracey.Joe@srrmcentre.com

Tia (Patricia) Halstad - Librarian / Archivist

Tia has been working in the Archives and Library since June of 2001. Her primary duties include looking after the archival and library materials; creating catalogue records and finding aids so that the information stored in the archives and library can be accessed and used to support the work done by the Stó:lō  political organizations as well as by community members and other researchers; facilitating research and providing reference services. Other responsibilities include providing support for initiatives such as the conferences and the Public Treaty Information Meetings hosted by the SRRMC, the Stó:lō  Xolhmet S'olhetawtxw Sq’ép’ip (Stó:lō  House of Respect Care Taking Committee), Treaty Working Groups and the Stó:lō  Xwexwilmexw Treaty Association; facilitating field schools, and assisting in the Material Culture Repository.  Tia is also a member of the BC Archives Association.

Tia.halstad@srrmcentre.com

Jessica Morrison, B.A., B.App.GIS, RPCA - Project Archaeologist / GIS Specialist/Referrals Coordinator

Jessica joined the SRRMC in 2007 as a Project Archaeologist and GIS Specialist and administers the Sto:lo Heritage Investigation permitting system.  Jessica also provides archaeological and TUS consultation, GIS and database design for industry and First Nation clients.  Jessica has a BA in Archaeology from the University of Saskatchewan, a Bachelor of Applied GIS from SAIT Polytechnic and is a member of the BC Association of Professional Archaeologists and the Canadian Institute of Geomatics.

Jessica.morrison@srrmcentre.com

Cara Brendzy, B.A., B.App.GIS - Project Archaeologist / GIS Specialist

Cara has been working with the Stó:lō Research and Resource Management Centre since 2008 as an archaeologist and GIS Specialist.  She received her BA in archaeology degree from SFU in 2002 and a Bachelor of GIS degree from SAIT Polytechnic in 2005.  Cara works as a project archaeologist on a wide variety of industry projects and alongside Stó:lō communities conducting traditional use research.  She also contributes to GIS projects and research for traditional use studies, resource management, and archaeology.

Cara.brendzy@srrmcentre.com

Sue Formosa, MSc., Adv.Dip, GIS - Geomatics and GIS Specialist

Sue is the contract Geomatics and GIS Specialist with the SRRMC.  She completed her certification as a geomatics technician in 2004 and her advanced diploma in GIS in 2005 from BCIT.  She interned with Dr. Michael Blake, Director of the Lab of Archaeology, UBC from 2003-2004 to develop methods for mapping, site surveying, and 3D modeling in archaeological research.  Sue established Views in 2004 to provide survey and mapping for archaeologists.  She currently works with several researchers at UBC, SFU, and UCLA.  Sue began mapping within S’olh Témexw with Dave Schaepe in 2004.  Maps and the analysis of spatial data are provided for all Sto:lo.  Traditional use, resource management, archaeological projects, and treaty are the main purposes currently being addressed through GIS at SRRMC.  

Sue.formosa@srrmcentre.com

Alice Marwood - Genealogist

Alice Marwood has been employed here since 1995. She has 35 years of genealogical research experience.  Her primary responsibility is to collect new and archival genealogical information and maintain the database for the Stó:lō.  The database, containing over 29,000 people, is constructed from family knowledge, some of it collected over many years by various anthropologists and historians who collected names and relationships, church records, census records, band lists, residential school records, books, newspaper items, funeral cards, obituaries and British Columbia vital statistics.  She works part time and is available by appointment.

Alice.marwood@srrmcentre.com

Lisa Davidson -B.A -. Referrals Technician/Lands Assistant

Lisa has been working for Sto:lo Nation since 2004 and joined the SRRMC team in April 2009 as their Administrative Clerk and Cultural Events Coordinator.  Lisa now works with the GIS team providing technical support for referral reviews, cultural heritage permitting and other GIS and database related projects. Lisa will also be assisting the department with any Land Use Planning/Regional Lands Administration Program as needed. She received her BA in geography and history from UFV in 2003.  Lisa lives with her husband and son on Skwah reserve.

Lisa.Davidson@srrmcentre.com

Ashley Van Dijk - Assistant Librarian

Ashley Van Dijk graduated from the University of the Fraser Valley in 2009 with her Library and Information Technology Diploma and has been working with SRRMC since 2010. Ashley works primarily with the library and archives collections, assisting with processing, cataloguing and entering data into the library database. She also works with the material culture collection; cataloguing, organizing and data entry. Ashley provides reference services for researchers and responds to general inquiries as well as working with the Reciprocal Research Network (RRN).

Ashley.Vandijk@srrmcentre.com

Charlene Joe– Kwemima sstasza - Archaeological Assistant

Charlene has been working as an archaeology assistant with the SRRMC since February 2009. She assists with field work and projects throughout Sto:lo Traditional Territory. Charlene previously worked with Katzie Development Corporation conducting archaeological mitigation for the Golden Ears Bridge Project.  Charlene is a Chehalis band member and lives on the Skwah Reserve.

Charlene.joe@srrmcentre.com