XwelíqwiyaXwelqwiya is the life story of Rena Point Bolton, a St: lo (or, asthey are now called, Xwlmexw) matriarch, artist, and craftswoman. Proceeding by way of conversational vignettes, the beginning chaptersrecount Point Boltons early years on the banks of the Fraser Riverduring the Depression. While at the time the St: lo, or Xwlmexw, asthey call themselves today, kept secret their ways of life to avoidpersecution by the Canadian government, Point Boltons