In every blade of grass, camas bloom and burial cairn live the earliest stories of Lekwungen territory, and a new Songhees tourism initiative hopes to share those stories.
Cecilia Dick, cultural tourism supervisor for the Songhees Nation, says the Greater Victoria area Songhees Indigenous Marine Trail B次元官网网址� which received a $637,900 provincial boost earlier this month B次元官网网址� is laying the foundation for generations to come.
B次元官网网址淭o tell our stories the way we want them to be told, itB次元官网网址檚 amazing just to have this opportunity,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淚 canB次元官网网址檛 wait to tell these stories and show people that every little blade of grass or stone has a story. Everything matters to us.B次元官网网址�
A 12-passenger vessel will take participants on a guided tour of the marine trail around the capital-area coastline, highlighting a dozen shoreline sites significant to the Songhees people, with nine sites accessible for disembarking.
Stops include the Songhees Wellness Centre, Fort Rodd Hill, Songhees Point, the Inner Harbour, Ogden Point, Meeqan (Beacon Hill Park), TlB次元官网网址檆hes (Songhees islands) and more.
Existing tourism programs, such as the Seven Signs of Lekwungen tour, nature walks and canoe tours, will also see enhancements.
Meeqan is rich with history, Dick said. With the right guide, from the top of Beacon Hill Loop, a visitor can picture the warrior village that guarded the shoreline, the oat-stick games of qoqwialls in the bare meadow, or later camas-gathering expeditions, when the park earned its name B次元官网网址� Meeqan, meaning B次元官网网址渨armed by the sun.B次元官网网址�
| The Songhees Indigenous Marine Trail will have 12 spanning Royal Roads University to Cadboro Bay B次元官网网址� all culturally significant locations for the Songhees people. (Map courtesy of Royal Roads) |
Because of its central location, Greater Victoria was used for trading and gathering among many First Nations, such as Bella Bella or Tsimshian nations, Dick said. The traditional territories of Lekwungen span Greater Victoria and south Vancouver Island.
The new marine trail is expected to create new jobs for both of the regionB次元官网网址檚 Lekwungen communities, such as base hosts, canoe tour crews, boat crews, guides, cooks and communication and cultural advisors.
B次元官网网址淥pening up that opportunity for them is going to be amazing because it gives them that drive to keep going,B次元官网网址� Dick says.
The stops on the trail may have been altered physically over time, but the Lekwungen past is more than just history, Dick says.
B次元官网网址淵ou know, we believe that everythingB次元官网网址檚 alive, everything has a purpose,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淪o we want to educate people in how we preserved our lives back then, and how weB次元官网网址檙e still doing it today.B次元官网网址�
Tours are expected to begin in 2022.
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