Xetthecum Digital Ecocultural Mapping

Tl’elhumqa’ - Freshwater

Healthy wetlands, lakes and streams are havens for humans and wildlife alike, providing critical habitat and a source of freshwater. A diversity of plant life, bacteria and insects thrive in these ecosystems, forming complex food webs that support many culturally important species, such as stseelhtun (salmon). Thuqi’ (sockeye salmon) and haan (pink salmon) are two types of salmon favoured by Indigenous community members on Galiano. In addition, the enhanced growth and forest structure found in riparian areas provides necessary cover for wildlife, which is also important for culturally significant activities such as hunting and birdwatching. Ha’put (black tailed deer) and smuqw’a’ (great blue heron) depend on freshwater areas for food and water.

Wetlands on Galiano include lakes, shallow water, swamps, marshes, wet meadows, fens, and bog communities, many of which are represented in the watershed that flows into Xetthecum. Swamps and riparian areas include flood-tolerant trees such as xpey’ (western red cedar) which “like to have their feet wet”, kwulala’ulhp (red alder), whose inner bark offers a source of emergency food in the spring, and swele’ulhp (willow), which is useful for making fish traps. Other helpful plants that grow here include stth’e’qun (cattail) which provides a useful source of materials for both binding and insulation, sxum’xum’ (horsetail), which makes a yellow brown dye and ts’a’kw’a’ (skunk cabbage) which can be used to wrap food to keep it fresh. These areas are prized for berry-picking and gathering other edible and medicinal plants such as lila’ (salmonberry), t’uqwum’ (thimbleberry), t’eqe’ (salal), suniiulhp (oregon grape), sqw’uqwtsus (red huckleberry) and me’uwhulhp (Labrador tea).

Colonial settlers began to alter Galiano’s landscape in the late 1800’s in ways that were very different from the strategies used by pre-contact First Nations communities. Instead of respecting the integrity of streams, wetlands and riparian areas and honouring the role that sqwul’ew’ (beaver) play in revitalizing freshwater ecosystems, these areas have been focal points for resource extraction, agriculture, logging, construction, transportation and waste disposal.

Hwtalonēts (Greig Creek) does not currently support large populations of salmon. In fact, there are no sea-run salmon or trout populations currently spawning in the island’s streams. There are, however, resident cutthroat trout and stickleback populations that have persisted in a number of our creeks. These fish are no longer able to make it to the ocean because of barriers such as waterfalls, ditched agricultural fields and dams. Efforts to re-establish Coho and Chum populations in Greig Creek have been taking place, mainly through stream bank restoration and stocking, in part through the local school caring for and releasing salmon fry on an annual basis. This is a significant experience for Indigenous and non-Indigenous children alike on Galiano. Habitat for a resident cutthroat trout population in Murchison creek has been improved through the creation of off-channel ponds and the placement of large woody debris within the channel.

Hwuiumqa’- Marine

Surrounded by water, the residents, visitors and non-resident property owners of Galiano Island see the ocean as intrinsic to living and loving life on this island. Sightings of q’ul-lhanamutsum (orca whales) and other marine mammals are treasured, and ocean-going transportation is key, but for many community members, the ocean is first and foremost a source of food and livelihood. Both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people on Galiano enjoy fish such as thuqi’ (sockeye salmon), haan (pink salmon), tuqwtuqw (red snapper) and t’q’as (rockfish in general). Also prized are tl’uxwtl’uxw (oysters), s-axwa’ (clams), kwuneem’mun’, (scallops), ey’x (dungeness crabs), thikwt (sea cucumber) and seaweeds & algaes such as lhuq’us (red laver). Florence James shared that e s-hw (seal) has also been prized as a dark meat.

Xetthecum (Retreat Cove/Island) is one of the few marine locations on the shoreline of Galiano itself that has been an important place for fishing and harvesting shellfish. Its desirability as a habitat for rockfish in particular has since become so notable that it has been designated a marine protected area—in which fishing is banned—in order to conserve these long-lived species that are slow to reproduce. As the tide is not too fast, Xetthecum was once also a good area for other creatures, such as clams, pun’eq’ (geoduck) and dog fish. It is important that community members are able to harvest and consume these foods without getting sick, therefore environmental health of the ocean is vital.

Culturally significant beaches and shorelines on Galiano Island, such as those near Xetthecum are used as places to congregate for picnics, social events, ceremonial sites, and as food gathering sites by local First Nations peoples. Bays, inlets, and coves like Xetthecum are also a place of safe harbour during storms, or places to moor one’s boat during winters.

Many (if not all) of the Indigenous families associated with Galiano have been fishing since time out of mind. The Seafood Fest has been an extremely significant annual cultural event for decades primarily because so many of the island’s inhabitants have been passing down the skills, knowledge and secret locations of where to find the best sources of seafood for generations. Unfortunately, due to overfishing, destruction of marine habitat, pollution and other industrial causes, the bounty of the sea has become so limited that few members of the next generation can make a living fishing, and most of the menu for the Seafood Fest now has to be purchased from elsewhere.

In the past, no one would ever reveal the locations of where to harvest seafood, but now this is merely a list of where these creatures once were. Locations of significance include Porlier Pass for rockfish, Pinnacle Rock on the south side of Porlier Pass for lingcod, and Walker Hook off of Saltspring for rockfish. As for salmon, Cable Bay was once a good location for chum salmon, as was Enterprise Reef off of Mayne Island, and off Valdes Island, but other fishing areas that have been key for Indigenous Galiano community members in the past hundred years are much farther away, necessitating long periods of time that families are separated. The closest of these locations include the west coast of Vancouver Island such as Jordan River, Race Rocks, San Juan Harbour near Port Renfrew, and areas near River’s Inlet to the Skeena.

Shthuliim - Woodlands

Often known as Garry Oak Meadow ecosystems, a decolonized perspective prioritizes not the largest or most visually obvious species, P’hwulhp (Garry oak - named for a Hudson’s Bay Company officer, Nicholas Garry, by botanist David Douglas), but instead the most culturally significant species, speenhw (blue camas). Fields of speenhw have been cultivated for thousands of years by First Nations Camas Keepers throughout this region, creating a unique ecosystem that is not found anywhere else in the world. Like speenhw, stl’ults’uluqw’us (chocolate lily / tiger lily) are very beautiful and edible. Other culturally significant species include t’uliqw’ulhp (yarrow) and q’uxmin (barestem desert parsley / wild celery), which are prized for their medicinal qualities.

Penelakut elder Thiyaas (Florence James) calls this type of ecosystem shthuliim: “a beautiful meadow with cushions for your feet made of moss, tender growth, grass…” She adds that p’hwulhp (Garry Oak) was made crooked by the creator so that its branches are useless to people and it will be left alone, and mentions that the presence of p’hwulhp is evidence that the land is being taken care of. Thiyaas told us that pheasant, quail, and grouse were a lot more abundant in these woodland meadow environments, and that they used to be a regular part of Indigenous people’s diets in this area. Like speenhw, the bulbs of stl’ults’uluqw’us (chocolate lily / tiger lily) are very beautiful and edible when cooked. Thiyaas used to collect fawn lilies and ti’tuqw-el’tun’ (lady slippers) for her mother, as her mother would eat the bulbs. “That was just our joy”… but there is not enough to collect anymore.” Other culturally significant species include t’uliqw’ulhp (yarrow) and q’uxmin (barestem desert parsley / wild celery), which are prized for their medicinal qualities.

As in other locations throughout Southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, speenhw have been cultivated since time immemorial because they are a culturally, economically and nutritionally significant staple food. The beautiful purple flowers that bloom in the spring are merely the tip of the iceberg, as this nutritious bulb requires human intervention to thrive through regular, controlled burning and digging to harvest bulbs and aerate the soil. Control of camas meadows have fueled community growth, trade, conflict and the expression of matrilineal rights and responsibilities for generations beyond count. As control over these camas meadows has been taken away from Indigenous knowledge keepers, the species that depend upon them have become endangered, and traditional management practices are only now being recovered and re-instituted in some areas.

Camas meadows on Galiano are critically important to maintaining the island’s biodiversity. “Together, Garry oak and associated ecosystems are home to more plant species than any other terrestrial ecosystem in coastal British Columbia. Many of these species occur nowhere else in Canada…Collectively, Garry oak ecosystems are among the most endangered in Canada – less than 5% of the original habitat remains in a near-natural condition.” (GOERT, 2003) On Galiano, Garry oak and associated ecosystems are generally limited to steep, south-southwest facing slopes and shoreline areas. They tend to occur in areas with very dry shallow soils or that are too exposed to wind and sun for forest ecosystems to flourish, as without active human cultivation, more desirable areas have been taken over by other plants.

In addition to p’hwulhp (Garry oaks) which provide medicinal bark, camas meadow ecosystems may also include scattered qaanlhp (arbutus), which provide medicinal bark and leaves as well as edible berries. While they prefer wetter areas, occasionally other trees can survive in camas meadows, such as ts’alhulhp (bigleaf maple) which can provide leaves to flavour camas pit cook feasts, edible flowers and medicinal shoots, sap and cambium, and ts’sey (Douglas-fir), which is valued for many uses such as tools, poles and its pitch. The garry oak understory, often referred to as meadowland or savannah, is largely comprised of grasses, forbs and shrubby vegetation.

Threats

Like our older forests, camas meadow / Garry oak ecosystems are endangered. Over 100 species of plant, mammal, reptile, bird, butterfly and other insects are listed as vulnerable in these ecosystems (GOERT, 2003). This status is due to a number of factors including colonialism, construction, agriculture, fire suppression, and invasive exotic species. Unlike among the lək̓ʷəŋən people of the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations in what is also known as Victoria, there have not been Camas Keepers on Galiano for several generations. As knowledge of this incredibly valuable staple food must be held close, it could have taken only one or two deaths of a Camas Keeper and her apprentice by smallpox or some other effect of colonization, to wipe out active cultivation of the Camas meadows on Galiano. However, speenhw are a hardy, beautiful plant that can self-reproduce through both seeds and bulbs, so they have survived in numbers through the creation of parks, such as Bellhouse.

With construction and the colonial suppression of fire, however, also came the spread of exotic plant species such as Scotch broom, orchard grass and velvet grass. These and other fast growing, aggressive alien species were brought to Galiano by humans from as far away as Europe. Exotics have managed to thrive in the sunny open meadows characteristic of the Garry oak ecosystem. These species tend to choke out our native vegetation, alter soil conditions, and change natural processes needed by microorganisms, insects, and other wildlife. The spread of invasive exotic plants and decline of native plants in Garry oak and associated ecosystems has also been linked to high levels of herbivore grazing (Gonzales, 2004), such as by Galiano’s large resident deer population or domestic livestock.

Residential construction has had the greatest impact on Galiano’s camas meadow ecosystems. This is due to their location on south and southwest facing slopes coinciding with the most sought after waterfront and view real estate on the Island. Fire suppression is also having an effect. Prevention of natural fires on these sites, combined with the cessation of First Nations burning and cultivation has in places created a condition more conducive to forest growth. The invasion or progression of young Douglas-fir trees and common forest understory species out into camas meadows has been observed in several locations on Galiano. Most of the remaining camas meadow ecosystems have survived on exposed slopes that are too steep for residences, with soils too shallow to support a forest.

Sources

Down to Earth: Cheryl Bryce (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKTxP_zy_mA) Restoring Camas and Culture to Lekwungen and Victoria by B Penn · 2006 · An interview with Lekwungen Cheryl Bryce. (http://www.firstnations.de/media/06-1-1-camas.pdf) Camas Country By Janis Ringuette https://ohgarryoaksociety.org/what-is-a-garry-oak/