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.

Person

BusinessesIndustrializationForestry

Lewis A. Mounce

Role: Co-owner of Grant & Mounce sawmill, Cumberland mayor and MLA

Date of birth: 20 Jun 1857

Date of death: 23 Aug 1935

Age at death: 78

Lewis A. Mounce was born in 1857 in Avondale, Nova Scotia. He was Union (Cumberland)'s first mayor, and a partner in the Grant & Mounce sawmill operation. With the backing of Robert Dunsmuir, Lewis Mounce and R. Grant built the Grant & Mounce sawmill where the Cumberland Recreation Institute now sits. It operated from 1888 to 1912, when sawmill burned down. It was later rebuilt in Royston but in 1917, facing financial difficulties, Mounce and Grant dissolved their partnership and the sawmill was sold to a group of Japanese investors. Lewis Mounce would later move to Vancouver, where he died at the age of 78 in 1935.

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

Lewis A. Mounce

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

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