Here are some references on the history and status of British Columbia native
languages in general.
Kinkade, M. Dale (1991)
"Prehistory of the Native Languages of the Northwest Coast,"
Proceedings of the Great Ocean Conferences, vol. 1: The North Pacific to 1600.
pp. 37-158. (Portland: Oregon Historical Society Press).
``The Supression of B.C. Languages: Filling in the Gaps in the Documentary
Record,''
Sound Heritageii.3-4.43-75.
A presentation of the evidence that the governments and churches actively
suppressed the native languages of British Columbia. Contains many quotations
from government and church documents. (A discussion of the very similar
suppression of native languages in the United States may be found
here.)
``The Status of Documentation for British Columbia Native Languages,''
First version, January 1999. Updated from time to time.
A detailed review of the existing documentation (dictionaries,
grammars, text, and university-level textbooks) for the native languages
of British Columbia. Includes discussion of the uses of documentation
and of the extent of on-going research.
This may be purchased from YDLI
or downloaded from the download page.
Thompson, Laurence C. and M. Dale Kinkade (1990)
"Languages" in Wayne Suttles (ed.)
Handbook of North American Indians.
Volume 7: Northwest Coast.
Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. pp. 30-51.
A survey of the languages of the Northwest coast, which includes much
of British Columbia, as well as adjacent portions of the United States.
Tolmie, William and George Dawson (1884)
Comparative Vocabularies of the Indian Tribes of British Columbia.
Montreal: Dawson Brothers.
This contains words in numerous languages, arranged in parallel columns
to facilitate comparison. The quality of the transcription is generally poor,
as the transcribers were not trained linguists and were generally recording
languages with which they were not very familiar. For the same reasons,
the words recorded often do not mean what Dawson and Tolmie thought they
meant. However, these lists are often of some historical interest as early
recordings of the languages.