I live on the north-east coast of Vancouver Island in an area now known as the Comox Valley, five blocks away from the rich and ancestral K’omoks harbour. The local First Nation is known as the K’omoks First Nation and have been the tuwa akʷs χoχoɬ ʔa xʷ yiχmɛtɛt (ʔa) kʷʊms hɛhaw tʊms gɩǰɛ (caretakers of the ‘land of plenty’ since time immemorial). The K’omoks First Nation is a convergence of many different bands, which are culturally K’ómoks, Pentlatch, or Laich-wil-tach. Historically many dialects were spoken on these lands, however today the two languages that are spoken by local First Nations are Kwak’wala and/or Pentl’ač.

What is now known as the Comox Valley is home to the largest ancient fishing weir in North America. These complex wooden structures were used by the ancestors of the K’ómoks First Nation to catch salmon and herring year round (Comox Valley Regional District, 2019). This steady influx of nutrient rich fish fed populations of First Nations across Vancouver Island through trade, fueling the K’omoks Nation’s economy and livelihoods. Ancient fish traps existed in the K’omoks Estuary prior to the K’omoks Nation’s arrival in the valley, and so “… these enormous traps were owned, maintained, and used by households from the resident Indigenous Pentlatch peoples whose settlements surrounded Comox harbor” (Connaughton et. al., 2022, p. 17).

References

Comox Valley Regional District. K’ómoks First Nation shares historical knowledge with CVRD.    

                 (2019, June 26).  

                 https://www.comoxvalleyrd.ca/connect/news/k-moks-first-nation-shares-historical-knowle

                dge-cvrd

Connaughton, S. P., Hill, G., Morin, J., Frank, C., Greene, N., & McGee, D. (2022). Tidal

                Belongings: First Nations-Driven Archaeology to Preserve a Large Wooden Fish Trap 

                Panel Recovered from the Comox Harbour Intertidal Fish Trap Complex in British

                Columbia. Canadian Journal of Archaeology, 46(1), 16–51. 

               https://doi-org.ezproxy.tru.ca/10.51270/46.1.16