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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

Map, Weldwood of Canada Cumberland Tree Farm

Type:

Date: c. 1965

History

This topographical map shows four inset maps that show the various tree farm areas controlled by Weldwood of Canada. The map is composed of four areas: Upper Campbell Lake area, the Comox Valley, Nanaimo and Gabriola Island, and Cowichan and Salt Spring Island.
As the coal industry declined in the mid-20th century, the Canadian Collieries (Dunsmuir) Ltd. began to shift away from coal extraction and into other natural resources and eventually was re-named to the Canadian Collieries Resources Ltd. to reflect this.
In 1965, the company became a subsidiary of Weldwood of Canada, making Weldwood the owner of the former collieries land in and around Cumberland. Some of this land has been slowly purchased from the company by the Cumberland Forest Society to protect the forests from logging and make them publicly accessible.

Description

1 map: buff and black. Scale = 1 : 50,000 ; 1 1/4 Inches = 1 Mile Approx. Projection = Universal Transverse Mercator.

Item Details