d. 1863-06-04
Qual-a-tutlm was a member of the Lamalcha Tribe (now known as the Hwlitsum First Nation;
their village was located on
Kuper Island) who was charged with manslaughter for killing a British serviceman,
Charles Gliddon, during the Lamalcha war, when the HMS
Forward exchanged fire with Lamalcha villagers while searching for several suspected murderers.
Qual-a-tutlm later admitted to firing one shot at the ship.
1 Qual-a-tutlm,
Sha-na-sa-luk and
Ot-cha-wun were tried at the Assizes held on 24 June 1863. Their trial became a large controversy,
as the men were provided with no legal council, and the trials were translated using
the simple chinook jargon, making it almost impossible to translate complex British
legal terms. The jury deliberated for several hours and eventually gave a guilty verdict,
recommending mercy. The men were sentenced to death, as a warning to other First Nations
people to not rebel.
3 One hundred and fifty citizens of
Victoria signed a petition to commute the death sentence, due to the unjust way their trial
had been conducted.
4 The men were hung for the murder of
Gliddon on 4 July in front of the
Victoria police barracks.
5
- 1. Arnett, Chris. 1999. The Terror of the Coast: Land Alienation and Colonial War on Vancouver Island and
the Gulf Islands, 1849-1863. Burnaby, B.C.: Talonbooks, p. 133-136.
- 2. Ibid., p. 244-247.
- 3. Ibid., p. 281-287.
- 4. Ibid., p. 239-240.
- 5. Ibid., p. 303-304.