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

Japanese Community

Masakichi Saito

Role: Miner and logger

Date of birth: 15 Jan 1882

Date of death: 07 Jan 1936

Cause of death: Logging accident

Age at death: 54

Masakichi Saito was born in the Amori Ken region of Japan, and immigrated to Canada in 1909-1910. He worked in the no. 4 mine in Cumberland until 1935, then for various logging companies in the valley. He and his family (his wife Chise and their 8 children) lived at 2203 Comox Lake Road in Cumberland, which is known as the Saito house, and is the last remaining original building in the No. 1 Japanese town site. The Saito family lived on the property until the internment of British Columbia's Japanese communities in 1942. After 1945 the Saito family settled in Toronto.

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

Masakichi Saito

Jung Hing

Jung Suk Nay

Graziano Pete Manicora

Eijiro Oketani

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

Other people that might be of interest to you

Jung Hing

Jung Suk Nay

Graziano Pete Manicora

Eijiro Oketani