Falls at Colville

Between May 1846 and October 1848, Paul Kane travelled from Toronto, Ontario, to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, following the Hudson’s Bay Company’s fur-trade routes during which time he sketched the landscapes and the peoples he encountered. Later, in his Toronto studio referring to his sketches for inspiration and details he developed formal oil-on-canvas and oil-on-board paintings. In 1825 the Hudson’s Bay Company established Fort Colvile on the Upper Columbia River in close proximity to Kettle Falls and its important salmon fishery. The falls and the abundant salmon were the central focus of the Colville First Peoples’ subsistence. Additionally, during the summer salmon run other Aboriginal peoples, such as the Lakes, Spokane, Okanagan, and Kootenai visited the falls to not only fish, but to engage in the social and political facets of an expanded society.