After more than 150 years, descendants of the Quw’utsun (Cowichan) peoples have regained some of their traditional territory on Salt Spring Island, which they hope to restore and use for ceremonial and educational purposes.
The Stqeeye’ Learning Society, an Indigenous-led non-profit organization, purchased the four-hectare property near Burgoyne Bay Provincial Park, on the west side of the island, for almost $1 million in December.
The society, which was formed in 2017, is made up of descendants, elders, knowledge keepers and youth of the Cowichan people.
The property is located within Quw’utsun traditional territory, which stretches from Vancouver Island to the mainland, and was once the site of the Xwaaqw’um village on Burgoyne Bay.
Xwaaqw’um is the word for a female merganser duck in the traditional language of the Quw’utsun, Hul’q’umi’num’.
In the 1800s, the land passed outside the tribe after the marriage of some members to early European settlers.
When the last owners approached the society indicating they wished to sell, the society launched a campaign to buy and restore the land, which had been used to farm and raise cattle over the years.
Last year, the society was able to raise half its $2-million goal, using the funds to complete the purchase of the land on Dec. 1. The remainder, which has not been raised yet, will go toward wetlands restoration, re-introduction of native plants and to expand the society’s youth programs.
Maiya Modeste (Sulatiye’), the project co-ordinator for the society’s Garry oak restoration project, said she is looking forward to helping youth reconnect with the land, with teachings about native food systems passed down from her late grandfather Ron George.
“I can’t explain the joy and relief I felt” after the sale was completed, she said. “I was thinking of my late grandfather and his vision. This allows me to carry on my grandfather’s legacy and secures the land for future generations.”
The purchase of the property will ensure cultural ceremonies can be performed in privacy, said Tyee Joseph, the society’s aquatic technician and youth land steward.
“In our last place, we had to get a permit to dig a hole,” said Joseph. “Here we will be able to practise our culture — including hosting youths’ rites of passage ceremonies — without prying eyes.”
Joseph has purchased more than 3,500 native plants that are ready to plant once invasive species are removed to restore a landscape damaged by logging and agriculture.
Plans call for development of a teaching garden and plant nursery to supply traditional food and medicine for the community.
The society has also reached out to administrators in the Gulf Islands and Cowichan Valley school districts to offer the site for summer camps.
“It is fulfilling to know that not only will we help the land, we will also help our youth with their identity and culture,” said Joseph.
Community grants from the Victoria Foundation help fund organizational and administrative support for programs run by the society.
For more information, go to stqeeye.ca/stqeeye.
