Gala Banquet is to be held at the Marriott Hotel on Saturday night (April 26, 2008).

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Keith Thor Carlson

Title - Sasquatch: From Harrison to Hollywood and Back

Bio - Keith Thor Carlson is an Associate Prof at the University of Saskatchewan.  He has worked closely with the Sto:lo of the lower Fraser River for the past fifteen years.  He has authored or edited five books including A Sto:lo-Coast Salish Historical Atlas (2001) and most recently "Call Me Hank": A Sto:lo Mans Reflections on Life, Logging and Growing Old (2006).  He is currently working on several new book projects, including an examination of the history of Coast Salish collective identity; a study of Salish notions, and expressions, of historical consciousness; and, with Mark Ebert, one that critically appraises the concept of Coast Salish as a meaningful cultural unit.  

Carlson has been interested in Sasquatch since he was a young boy growing up on BC's west coast.  This paper examines the way Sasquatch, and Sasquatch research, has been mobalized within both Salish and non-Native society.  It pays particular attention to the historical occurrences of inter-cultural penetration.