COASTAL NEWS
ENCOUNTERS AT YUQUOT
Yuquot,
or “windy place”, is the traditional summer village of the Mowachaht/
Muchalahat people, one of the 14 First Nations belonging to the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council. Located on Nootka Island, at the
mouth of Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Yuquot is one of the longest continuously occupied sites on the
coast of British Columbia, with signs of inhabitation dating back at least 4,200 years. Yuquot is also celebrated as the site
of first contact between coastal First Nations and Europeans, where in the late 1700s the Mowachaht Chief Maquinna hosted England’s
legendary Captains Cook and Vancouver, and Spain’s Captain Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra.
My love of this place dates back to the 1970s, when I first sailed through
Nootka Sound. In 1998 I was invited to return to Yuquot (also
known as Friendly Cove) by the Mowachaht/ Muchalaht First Nation to attend their annual Spirit Summerfest. Since then
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Yuquot twice and have worked
closely with the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation to help them realize some of the innovative and exciting plans they have drawn
up for the future of Yuquot and their community.
Below you’ll find out more about Yuquot and the Spirit Summerfest, about plans
by the Mowachaht/Muchalaht to turn Yuquot into a world-class visitor destination,
and about the visit of five Mowachaht/Muchalaht students to Ottawa for the
opening of the “Encounters at Friendly Cove” exhibit at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
I've also included links to other great sites on Yuquot, Nootka Sound
and Canadian Heritage.
A National Historic Site – Twice
In August of 1998, I visited Yuquot for the annual Spirit Summerfest, joining a special charter sailing of the MV Uchuck III
at the dock at Gold River for a spectacular two-hour ride up Nootka Sound. At Yuquot, the Mowachaht/Muchalaht people treated
us to a day of festivities, including a salmon barbeque, speeches and presentations of gifts to honoured guests, of which I was
one. In 2002, I attended Summerfest again with my Regional Policy Advisor, Patty Loveridge, for the unveiling of commemorative
plaques that designated Yuquot as a National Historic Site for a second time.
Yuquot was first made a National Historic Site in 1923, when the Government of Canada recognized it as the site of first contact between coastal First Nations and Europeans. The English, led by Captain James Cook, spent nearly a month at nearby Ship Cove in 1778, refitting their ships and trading with the people of Yuquot. The Spanish soon followed and, under the leadership of Captain Estéban José Martinez, built a fortified post at Yuquot in 1789 – Spain's northernmost garrison on the Pacific and the only Spanish fort in Canadian territory.
The battle between Spain and Britain for access to the Pacific Ocean led, in 1790, to the famous Nootka Convention, which gave both Spain and Britain rights in the Pacific. In 1792, ongoing tensions between Britain and Spain brought Captains George Vancouver and Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra together in meetings at Yuquot. Despite the watchful assistance of Chief Maquinna, Vancouver and Quadra failed to resolve their dispute. In 1794, both countries agreed to abandon Nootka and it was returned to its original inhabitants.
Yuquot
was designated as a National Historic Site again in 1997 to recognize of the significance of its First Nations history. At the
2002 Yuquot Spirit Summerfest, Parks Canada personnel from the Historic Site and Monuments Board of Canada unveiled plaques plaques
written in English, French and the Nootkan language to mark the event.
As a sailor, I loved to learn that “Nootka” actually was the command given by native residents to direct the Spanish to safe anchorage in the cove, protected from the open Pacific by the grassy headland now dominated by the famous Nootka lightstation. Pat Kidder, who with her husband Ed recently retired after spending 32 years on the Nootka light, picked her way down the rocky hill that day to attend the event.
Yuquot Spirit Summerfest 2005
Patty has attended the Spirit Summerfest again twice on my behalf, in 2004 and 2005, while I was recuperating from two separate
hip replacement operations. The 2005 ceremony featured the unveiling of another Parks Canada memorial plaque, this one commemorating
the two Chiefs Maquinna who led the people of Yuquot at the time of early contact with the Spanish and British:
“The
first Maquinna (fl. 1778-1795) was an accomplished diplomat who helped to establish the Mowachaht among the richest fur traders
on the west coast, even while their land was threatened by Britain and Spain. Upon his death, his brother Quatlazapé,
who also assumed the name Maquinna, succeeded him. The second Maquinna (fl. 1786-1825) helped his people to prosper in the face
of declining fur resources and increased violence between the Mowachaht and Europeans.” Parks Canada
The 2005 ceremony was opened by Dr. Veronica Strong-Boag, a professor of women’s history at the University
of British Columbia and the newly-appointed BC representative to the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. Chief Mike
Maquinna, current chief of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht people and descendent of the original Chiefs Maquinna, welcomed visitors to
Yuquot and to Summerfest. Steve Langdon, the new Coastal BC Field Unit Superintendent for Parks Canada then said a few words
about the process of creating the plaque and bringing the ceremony together. Steve, Chief Maquinna and Dr. Strong-Boag unveiled
the plaque, followed by a drumming and dancing performance.
A World-Class Visitor Destination
Margarita James, former Director of Cultural and Heritage Resources with the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation, ended the 2005
Spirit Summerfest by presenting gifts to honoured guests and talking about some of the exciting initiatives the Mowachaht/Muchalaht
people have underway.
Since 1992, the Mowachaht/Muchalaht have been working to build Yuquot into a world-class visitor destination: new holiday cabin
accommodations overlooking the island’s western shore are now available for rent; Mowachaht/Muchalaht guides conduct site
tours of the island and its trails; and Spirit Summerfest has become an annual attraction in the region.
A planning project for a cultural and interpretive centre at Yuquot has also been completed. The Land of Maquinna Cultural Society,
formed in late 1993 to preserve, protect and present the history and heritage of Yuquot, is spearheading this initiative to build
a home for artifacts removed from Yuquot over the last century. One well-known example of these artifacts is a whaling shrine
whose carvings depict 92 human and whaling figures and 16 human skulls. Originally located by one of Yuquot’s lakes, the
shrine is now housed in the vaults of the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
This new interpretive centre is generating a lot of excitement. Once a facility is built that can adequately house artifacts
like the whalers shrine, many of them will be able to come back home to Yuquot. A centre on site will also give the young people
of the community new career and training opportunities.
For more information about the cultural and interpretive centre, please contact at (250) 283-2015.
Encounters at Friendly Cove
In her closing words, Margarita also talked about the visit of five Mowachaht/Muchalaht students to Ottawa for
the opening of “Encounters at Friendly Cove” at the Museum of Civilization in December 2004.
Planned in partnership with the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation, this exhibit was displayed at the Nuu-chah-nulth House in the
Museum’s Grand Hall from 2004 to 2006. It featured reproductions of some of the sixty prints depicting 18th Century exploration
around Yuquot that were presented to the Mowachaht/ Muchalaht people by the Government of Spain.
The five grade-twelve students came to Ottawa, with the help of my office, to take part in the opening of the exhibit. They were
also able to enjoy some of the sites of Ottawa, including a tour of Parliament Hill that featured many First Nations elements
and influences found throughout the buildings, and an opportunity to see how the House of Commons and the Senate work. For most
of the students, this was their first trip outside of BC. They came away with dreams of returning as Parliamentary Pages, or
maybe even as Canada's first Aboriginal Prime Minister. My message to them was, "Dream big, Canada is yours to discover".
For more information about Yuquot and other national historic sites, please follow these links:
The Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation’s Yuquot Site
The Yuquot Listing, Government of British
Columbia
The MV Uchuck III and Nootka Sound Service Ltd.
Parks Canada
The Historic Sites and Monuments Board
Photo credits: Patty Loveridge