Overview
In reviewing the data base supplied, the reader will find a interesting and eclectic collection which will provide a valuable reading list should they wish to understand or research current Basin culture and history.

From Franz Boas's ethnographic work in 1915 where he recorded some of the creation stories and legends of the Kootenai people, to the explorer's journals, to the reports of the newspapermen of the late 19th and early 20th century, to the many fascinating local histories which have for the most part been written in very recent times, a thread evolves which lays the foundation for a distinct mountain culture.

A few poets have emerged and a novelist or two have come to light, but I think it would be fair to say that a modern interpretive literature for the Basin barely exists at this time. Of course, the oral traditions of the indigenous people have existed for a long time in the Columbia Basin. From the few text translations that I had access to, it is evident that a deep well of pre-history cultural consciousness is only beginning to be brought to light.

One could speculate that the reason we have so little interpretive literature is because we are following an evolution which has proceeded only as far along as pioneer histories and the history of industrialization. I believe that the Basin area will naturally evolve a more interpretive literature as area residents begin to more fully understand their identities and to see themselves as participants in a Basin wide community. By sharing our stories, legends, poems, information and concerns we will become a unique mountain culture. The evidence of that evolution has only started to surface. For instance, Creston writer, Luanne Armstrong's novel, The Colour of Water, 1998, set in the lake country tells the story of a young women who feels out of place and goes in search of her personal identity eventually making her way to a sense of home.

The Basin Area has been a place that resources were shipped out of, be it coal, timber, people or hydro electricity. It is true that many who came to the Basin to find "gold" fell in love with the country and have made it their home. But for the most part the business of pioneering left little time for interpretation. Our seniors do a wonderful job of documenting the trials and accomplishments of the last 125 years in Local Histories but there is only now a sense that the Basin is a place where Writers might set a novel or that indeed there is such a thing as a Mountain or Basin culture.

In many of the local histories, one perceives that during the early 20th century the Kootenay settlements were proceeding along a path toward a stable sense of identity and towards a sense community as a mountain people. Then there was a great interruption. The Columbia River Treaty was signed, the rivers dammed and valleys flooded.

A tragic dislocation and loss of esteem and hope occurred. It was as if the very culture itself was dammed. The people of the Kootenays had laboured in great faith and accord with the colonial dream. When the dream which had been the source of moral pride and energy turned suddenly into a nightmare, the conscientiousness of the people of the Basin area was interrupted. To add to the confusion the very purveyors of the dream which people had so ardently believed in was the very source that was now taking it away. The re-creation of this great tragedy has yet to be interpreted in novels or poetry. J.D. McDonald's non fiction book, Storm Over the High Arrow, published in 1993 by the Rotary Club of Rossland, presents a history of the Columbia River Treaty that is both enlightening and tragic.

The Basin had been physically altered to serve the perceived greater needs of North America. So devastating to the Basin was this interruption that Basin communities and the people of the Basin were thrown into confusion and utter chaos. The whole Basin was in shock environmentally, economically and culturally. Little identifiable lineal sense of community or culture re-emerges until the 1990's. There was a great bitterness to overcome.

There was a hiatus of nearly thirty years before the true story of the impacts of the Treaty could be told. Through the telling and re-telling of the stories surrounding this great tragedy the Basin people are finally beginning the progressive telling of their stories and to move forward from this chaos. These narratives which come to terms with the past are currently being written through historical societies and other Writers. These great challenges face Basin writer's and historians today.

There is once again great opportunity for diversity in the Basin. Culture is a product which is interesting to travelers and attracts them to the area; the celebration, discussion and exchange of ideas is important work in creating a sense of community.

As the people of the Basin regain their confidence and self esteem we will see many more cultural products appearing. Writer's, Poets and Artisans will celebrate the rebuilding of Basin communities and a way of life will emerge. Cultural industries will play an inter-active and important role in shaping that identity. New and different organizational models are evolving, such as the Columbia Basin Trust, models that can stand on its own and are defensive yet pro-active in the face of change and pressure from outside forces. Indeed this has already happened.