He brought 70 Chinese labourers to the Island and built a trading post at Nootka. The colony of Vancouver Island began with the arrival of John Meares in 1788, a trader of sea otter furs with China. ![]() Since that time, it has worked towards fulfilling the mandate to ensure the survival of all aspects of cultural heritage of the Kwakwaka’wakw. ![]() The U’mista Cultural Society was incorporated under the British Columbia Societies Act on March 22, 1974. First Nations’ artwork, masks and clothing are appreciated internationally for their singular beauty. Visual manifestation of this rich culture is evidenced in elaborately carved totem poles and beautifully constructed longhouses that grace the Island. Their way of life was based on the generous bounty of the earth, and their spiritual culture on the natural world. There are three main First Nations groups on Vancouver Island: the Kwakwaka’wakw, the Nootka and the Coastal Salish. In the Rainforest, where old growth areas have been preserved, one gets a glimpse of the past, unadulterated by the changes wrought in this century. If you stare out at the smoky Sooke Hills on a misty day, or visit Goldstream Park during the salmon run in November, it is easy to imagine the life of the First Nations people on the Island prior to European arrival. Indian names like Cowichan, Songhees, Haida and Sooke (T’Sou-ke Nation) come from an Aboriginal population that has inhabited the Island since the ice age. Saturna, Galiano and Estevan have exotic Spanish derivation, while Cook, Douglas, Chatham and Cavendish hearken back to English discovery and governance. Toquaht Nation Artwork in Toquart Bay, Barkley Sound, West Coast Vancouver Island, British Columbia. ![]() Today, the combination of Aboriginal, Spanish and English heritage is reflected in the place names along the BC coast. Archaeological records reflect the presence of First Nations people on the land for at least 13,800 years, long before Captain Cook’s arrival at Nootka Island in 1778 and subsequent English and Spanish explorers who found their way to the lush paradise of the Pacific Northwest. The history of Vancouver Island, British Columbia is an interesting amalgamation of First Nations and European culture and heritage.
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