Projects
Pender Harbour Heritage Panels & Trail Signs
shíshálh in kalpilin (Pender Harbour)
Visit shishalh.com for in-depth information about the history of shíshálh people on the southern coast of BC.
Visit shishalh.com for in-depth information about the history of shíshálh people on the southern coast of BC.
“Come and sit with us. If you know the whole story
then we’ll have a better understanding of how we’ll move forward.”
- Steve Feschuk, Protector of Culture
The shíshálh had been gathering at séxw?áwini (Garden Bay), their winter village, long before Capt. George Vancouver rowed past the harbour in 1792. They lived in longhouses, gathering with thousands from their four main tribes and other tribes, to trade, feast, dance and tell stories. They had coming-of-age rituals, performances by medicine men and month-long potlatches. In the summer they travelled up coast to fish for salmon, to hunt venison and to gather berries to dry for winter.
By 1876, the white man's diseases nearly decimated this thriving people. Most of the survivors moved away from their ancestral home. The opening of residential schools, which native children were forced to attend, led to them being taken away from their families and banned from speaking their language. Many were victims of abuse. The attempt to destroy native culture left a terrible, lasting impact on generations of First Nations families.
Reconciliation with the shíshálh people has finally begun.
then we’ll have a better understanding of how we’ll move forward.”
- Steve Feschuk, Protector of Culture
The shíshálh had been gathering at séxw?áwini (Garden Bay), their winter village, long before Capt. George Vancouver rowed past the harbour in 1792. They lived in longhouses, gathering with thousands from their four main tribes and other tribes, to trade, feast, dance and tell stories. They had coming-of-age rituals, performances by medicine men and month-long potlatches. In the summer they travelled up coast to fish for salmon, to hunt venison and to gather berries to dry for winter.
By 1876, the white man's diseases nearly decimated this thriving people. Most of the survivors moved away from their ancestral home. The opening of residential schools, which native children were forced to attend, led to them being taken away from their families and banned from speaking their language. Many were victims of abuse. The attempt to destroy native culture left a terrible, lasting impact on generations of First Nations families.
Reconciliation with the shíshálh people has finally begun.