Colonial Housing Reform and Transitions in Architecture in the Bella Coola Area of British Columbia

Abstract

The Northwest Coast’s iconic, multifamily, cedar-planked houses persisted in the Bella Coola area of British Columbia into the 20th century, despite the pressures of Indian agents and missionaries to adopt small, nuclear-family, frame houses. This may seem to be a simple example of conservatism and resistance to programs of acculturation, but such a view leaves unaddressed questions about why resistance occurs and how it is negotiated. Here it is argued that the underlying reasons were fundamental disconformities between European Canadian house forms and the riverine environment of the area, as well as an inability of the new house style to fulfill the multitude of deeply articulated social, economic, and ideological functions of the planked houses. Identifying these disconformities allows a consideration of how they were actively accommodated and negotiated, rather than simply viewing the encounter over housing to be one of resistance followed by loss.