New Salish Sea Treaty Map Installation Highlights UVic Geography Student’s Work
April 02, 2025
A new wall map installation in the Mearns Centre for Learning – McPherson Library is offering students, faculty, and visitors a deeper understanding of treaty relations in the Salish Sea. Developed by UVic Geography graduate student Leah Fulton, in collaboration with Anthropology professor Brian Thom and Ry Moran, Associate University Librarian for Reconciliation, the map is the result of a broader initiative led by the UVic Library’s Decolonizing Working Group.
Through a blend of cartography and contextual storytelling, the installation is designed to “thicken the description” of how we understand treaty relationships in this region. It highlights the diversity and complexity of treaty processes across the Salish Sea, including the Douglas Treaties signed in the 1850s (Victoria/Nanaimo), modern-day treaties such as those of the Tsawwassen and Tla’amin Nations, the Stevens Treaties in what is now Washington State, and regions where no treaties have been signed but negotiations and Indigenous rights assertions are ongoing.
The map draws on a range of community-informed sources, including the ‘History & Territory’ pages of the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council, and Professor Thom’s extensive Coast Salish bibliography. Among the recommended readings from this collection is "The Fort Victoria Treaties", Wilson Duff’s seminal article in BC Studies (1969), which continues to be a cornerstone of historical treaty scholarship in British Columbia.
Fulton’s research and mapping work underscore the importance of making treaty knowledge more accessible and visible in everyday academic spaces. The installation invites reflection on how these legal and historical agreements—and their absences—continue to shape life, land, and governance in the Salish Sea region today.
The installation is now on display in McPherson Library and open to all visitors.