Tom c. 1940 Stó:lō

In 1949, Wilson Duff, a Canadian archaeologist, cultural anthropologist, and museum curator began fieldwork for The Upper Stalo Indians of the Fraser Valley, British Columbia. One of Duff’s informants was a resident of the Fraser Valley, a Tait man by the name of Edmond Lorenzetto.

Lorenzetto recounted, “a woman at Yale who lived the part of a man. She was called siέ Tom, which he translated as ‘a woman called Tom.’” or “’a woman who called herself Tom’…she was supposed to be a man. Wore men’s clothes and went around as a man. He and wife got along okay. A good hunter and fisherman. Wasn’t skwelem [Indian doctor], but was Indian dancer. Seemed to live a pretty normal life.” Lorenzetto said Tom had no family, which Duff translated as having had no children.

Lorenzetto gave the impression that Tom and his wife, their marriage, and their life was accepted among their community.

Sources:

Duff, Wilson. The Upper Stalo Indians of the Fraser Valley, British Columbia. Victoria: British Columbia Provincial Museum, Dept. of Education, 1952.

Young, Jean C. Alternative Genders in the Coast Salish World: Paradox and Pattern. Thesis. University of British Columbia, 1999.

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