The Lekwungen or Lekungen nation (lək̓ʷəŋən often called the Songhees or Songish by non-Lekwungens) are an
Indigenous North American Coast Salish people
The Coast Salish is a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak one of the Coa ...
who reside on southeastern
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
in the
Greater Victoria area. Their government is the
Songhees First Nation
The Songhees First Nation is a First Nations government that represents the Songhees, or Lekwungen people. They are located around Victoria, British Columbia on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
See also
* Coast Salish peoples ...
, a member of the
Te'mexw Treaty Association The Te'mexw Treaty Association handles Treaty negotiations in the BC Treaty Process for a number of First Nations located in the northern Strait of Georgia of British Columbia. The members of the association are former signatories of the Douglas T ...
and the
Naut'sa Mawt Tribal Council
Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council is a First Nations Tribal Council located in British Columbia, Canada, with offices in Tsawwassen and Nanaimo. NmTC advises and assists its 11-member Nations in the areas of Community Planning, Economic Development, ...
. Their traditional language is Lekwungen, a dialect of the
North Straits Salish language
North Straits Salish is a Salish language which includes the dialects of
*Lummi (also known as W̱lemi,Ćosen, Xwlemiʼchosen, xʷləmiʔčósən) ''(†)''
* Saanich (also known as Senćoten, sənčáθən, sénəčqən)
*Samish (also known as ...
.
Pre-colonization
![Old Songhees Village](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Old_Songhees_Village.jpg)
![PaulKane - A Woman Weaving a Blanket (ROM2005 5163)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/PaulKane_-_A_Woman_Weaving_a_Blanket_%28ROM2005_5163%29.jpg)
There is evidence of a fortified village existing at Finlayson Point in
Beacon Hill Park
Beacon Hill Park is a 75 ha (200 acre) park located along the shore of Juan de Fuca Strait in Victoria, British Columbia. The park is popular both with tourists and locals, and contains a number of amenities including woodland and shoreline trail ...
prior to the arrival of Europeans in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Before European contact much of the government was through a
clan system, with twelve clans which each had its own fishing and hunting territory. Chiefship was hereditary in the male line and there were three castes - nobles, commons, and slaves. Like other north-west coast tribes they practiced
potlatch and ceremonial gift distribution. The dead were buried in canoes or boxes upon the surface of the ground, or laid away in trees. Mentioning the names of a dead person was
taboo
A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
. The Coast Salish traditionally lived in
bighouses, which were large rectangular communal houses of cedar planks, adorned with carved and jointed totem posts.
![Member of the Songhees First Nation](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Member_of_the_Songhees_First_Nation.jpg)
Sitchanalth
![Sitchanalth - Photograph of Plaque on side of Willows Beach Tea Room](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Sitchanalth_-_Photograph_of_Plaque_on_side_of_Willows_Beach_Tea_Room.jpg)
A major
Coast Salish
The Coast Salish is a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak one of the Coa ...
seaport community called Sitchanalth was located in the area now known as
Willows Beach Willows Beach, Victoria is a beachfront in the Municipality of Oak Bay, in Victoria, British Columbia. Along Willows Beach is Willows Park, where a tea-room is run by the Kiwanis Club in spring and summer. It takes its name from the Willows Fairgr ...
in
Oak Bay
Oak Bay is a municipality incorporated in 1906 that is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of thirteen member municipalities of the Capital Regional District, and is bordered ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. It is estimated the population of the village at its peak was around 10,000 people.
Sitchanalth was destroyed by a
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...
related to a major earthquake along the
Devils Mountain Fault that occurred around 930 A.D. The death toll from the earthquake and resulting tsunami have been described as "catastrophic"
with a small group of survivors relocating from Willows Beach to what is now the Inner Harbour area of
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. The ...
A cairn at Willows Beach marks the spot where the ancient settlement once stood.
Cuisine and medicine
The Songhees' traditional foods included salmon, shellfish, whale, deer, duck, berries,
camas root, and herbs.
Colonization
The Songhees population was estimated to be 8,500 in 1859, but by 1914 the population had decreased to less than 200.
At the time of the establishment of
Fort Victoria by the British in 1843, a Songhees village was situated adjacent to the fort. The village was subsequently moved across Victoria Harbour in what is now the Victoria West neighbourhood. The village was subsequently moved and a
reserve
Reserve or reserves may refer to:
Places
* Reserve, Kansas, a US city
* Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish
* Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County
* Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...
established adjacent to what is now the municipality of
View Royal
View Royal is a town in Greater Victoria and a member municipality of the Capital Regional District of British Columbia, Canada. View Royal has a population of 10,858 residents. With over of parkland, View Royal includes Thetis, McKenzie, Pike ...
. A traditional blessing in Lekwungen appears on a mural on the Ogden Point breakwater.
During the
1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic
Year 186 ( CLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Glabrio (or, less frequently, year 939 '' Ab urbe c ...
, which killed about two-thirds of all native people in British Columbia, the Songhees were largely spared due to
smallpox vaccine
The smallpox vaccine is the first vaccine to be developed against a contagious disease. In 1796, British physician Edward Jenner demonstrated that an infection with the relatively mild cowpox virus conferred immunity against the deadly smallpox ...
s given by Hudson's Bay Company physician Dr. John Helmcken, as well as Songhees self-quarantining themselves on
Discovery Island. Due to these things the Songhees survived the epidemic with few deaths.
Douglas Treaties
Sir
James Douglas, governor of
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...
negotiated a treaty with the Songhees in 1850. Much of the traditional territory of the Songhees now forms the core of the urbanized area of Victoria and surrounding municipalities. The development of British Columbia's capital city caused considerable disruption to the Songhees' traditional economy and livelihood.
Recently the Songhees considered that the government of British Columbia had failed to honour the 1850 treaty and commenced a legal action against the province and the government of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
for redress. A settlement of the action was announced in November 2006 by Songhees Chief Robert Sam, the federal Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development,
Jim Prentice
Peter Eric James Prentice (July 20, 1956 – October 13, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as the 16th premier of Alberta from 2014 to 2015. In the 2004 federal election he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a candidat ...
, and the provincial Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, Mike de Jong.
See also
*
Naut'sa Mawt Tribal Council
Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council is a First Nations Tribal Council located in British Columbia, Canada, with offices in Tsawwassen and Nanaimo. NmTC advises and assists its 11-member Nations in the areas of Community Planning, Economic Development, ...
*
Songhees First Nation
The Songhees First Nation is a First Nations government that represents the Songhees, or Lekwungen people. They are located around Victoria, British Columbia on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
See also
* Coast Salish peoples ...
References
External links
Songhees Nation website
{{authority control
Coast Salish
First Nations in British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia