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Land, Indigenous peoples, settlers, and today’s communities.

Since time immemorial, Ancestors of the people called K’ómoks today consisting of the Pentlatch, Ieeksan (eye-ick-sun), Sasitla (sa-seet-la), Xa’xe (ha-hey) and Sathloot (sath-loot) people have been the caretakers of this land, which they called the “Land of Plenty.” This Land of Plenty stretched from what is known today as Kelsey Bay in the north, down to Hornby and Denman Island in the south, and included the watershed and estuary of the Puntledge River, also acknowledging that these boundaries and place names are colonial constructs.

The K’ómoks First Nation refer to the lands between the bays of Comox and the Beaufort mountain range as the path between, it was a travel and trade route to the Alberni corridor and a connection to the indigenous communities on the western side of the island.

Land agreements included the 1884 Settlement Act stripped these lands for its caretakers. At the Museum we acknowledge that we are a colonial created institution, and I would like to thank Charlene Everson, Emily Shopland and Violet Williams for guiding the museum in early discussion on what reconciliation could mean for our organization and how we could create actionable steps; in maintaining a positive dialogue with a forward focus, sharing contemporary K’omoks narratives, and incorporating First Nation languages where they felt it appropriate. Their time and guidance helped us gain insight and learn how to best support their voice in our museum’s walls. This is an ongoing process and we have so much more to learn.

Collection Item
Forestry Technology

tongs, skidding

Type:

History

Logging tongs used by a steam donkey to pick up logs for loading onto rail cars or trucks.
This item is part of the George Yates Collection. The items in this collection had previously been stored outside at the village yard for a number of years before they were brought into the museum collection. As a result, they have some rusting.

Description

These logging tongs are designed with a pivot point on the arms, which gives the jaws leverage when the tongs are hoisted and the points of the jaws dig into the log. The tongs have a ring at the top of the arms to be hooked into the hoisting cable from the steam donkey. "24" is stamped on each side of the tongs at the pivot point. This indicates the largest diameter "24 inches" of log that the tongs are designed to lift.

Item Details

  • Materials:
  • Archival Reference: 2010.002.001
  • Manufacturer: [unknown]
  • Donor: Yates, George
  • Donated: 2010/06/15
  • Size: 80 x 43 x 7 cm

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