of Victoria
Accepting MA/PhD students
PhD University of Victoria
Nuu chah nulth ways of knowing land, language, knowledge and Identity
My name is hii-ni-naa-sim, my English name is Tommy Happynook. I am Nuu-chah-nulth from the Huu-ay-aht Nations and belong to the House of čaačaaciias through my father. I have Scottish and Irish ancestry through my mother.
My research focuses on my own experience of reconnecting, revitalizing, and restoring my family’s knowledge, presence, and traditional responsibilities in and to our Hahuulhii (traditional territory) čaačaaciias. My research, more broadly seeks to understand the reciprocal relationship between haWiih (Nuu-chah-nulth hereditary leaders), musčum (the people) and Hahuulhii.
The questions that guide my work are:
1) How is the relationship between my family’s traditional knowledge, our connection to čaačaaciias and the revival of our culture understood?
2) What is the importance of our connections to čaačaaciias in learning language, and how might our learning the language on the land change the way we conceptualize as learners, our worldviews?
3) How can traditional whaling knowledge, that is sacred and secret, inform the development of Indigenous research frameworks, methodology and theory in academia without breaking traditional laws?
4) How can čaačaaciiasaht knowledge inform Huu-ay-aht treaty governance and čaačaaciiasaht self-determination in a contemporary context?
Fall 2023
Spring 2024