Cordova Bay
2023 UVic Archaeology Fieldschool
In 2023, I partnered with Tsawout First Nation and WSP archaeologist Heather Pratt to lead the UVic summer archaeology field school at and around the ancient village site of ȾEL¸IȽĆE in Cordova Bay. this area are part of the “village and enclosed fields” mentioned in the South Saanich Treaty 1852, (one of the "Douglas Treaties"). The field school was the first research-focused archaeological project ever done at the original village site of the South Saanich Treaty area.
There was a lot of media coverage of our work (and of archaeological site disturbance and destruction in Cordova Bay more generally) which can be seen here.
I kept a blog of our activites, which can be seen here.
Surface DEM model of intertidal rock features from drone imagery flown in 2020
Cordova Bay Archaeological Sites
The archaeological remains of the village site was observed in and around Agate Park at least as early as 1952. While the municipal park was dedicated in 1928, the surrounding area has seen mostly unmitigated private land development. In 1978 the Archaeology Branch estimated that 15-20% was left intact. Numerous artifacts and burials were accessioned by the Royal BC Museum from various home owners over the years.
The village site doesn't exist in isolation, so our work investigated several previously documented nearby archaeological sites on municipal lands, including at McMorran Park, Cordova Bay Park, and Water's Edge Road.
Our work also focused on documenting an intertidal rock feature, which I had noticed during summer low tides in 2018 near the mouth of Galey Brook.
Public Articles on the Cordova Bay Project
In 2018 I began to circulate this working paper on the history, archaeology, and future land use planning in Cordova Bay.
I consider this paper still under development and welcome feedback: https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/ethnographicmapping/wp-content/uploads/sites/6278/2024/12/Thom_2018_Cordova-Bay-Indigenous-Land-Values-Planning-Statement_15Oct2018.pdf
The Original Cordova Bay Village, ȾEL¸IȽĆE
Article from The Cordovan 37:12-13, Spring 2023
Cordova Bay's Original Village, ȾEL¸IȽĆE
Article from The Cordovan 38:1,3 Fall 2023
Cordova Bay Local Area Plan
Much of the context for this work was set through my collaborations on the Cordova Bay Local Area Plan. I have made several public presentations on how the work to Indigenize municipal land use planning can be transformative in communities.
(2022) “Mapping Indigenous Pasts and Futures: the Indigenization of Municipal Land Use Planning. Invited Paper Presented at the 2022 International EHESS Seminar Justice & Indigenous Peoples Rights Panel: Ethnographic mapping / Approches ethnographiques de la cartographie autochtone, Convened by Irène Bellier (CNRS-Paris), 20 May 2022
(2021) Thom, Brian “Giants, Ancestors and Kin: Reconfiguring Cartography for Entangled Indigenous Worlds.” Invited paper presented at the annual meetings of the Australian Anthropological Society, panel Mapping New Ontological Relationships to Redefine Settler-Colonial Futures, organized by Frances Morphy and Annick Thomassin, ANU. 30 Nov 2021.
LAP-Cordova-Bay-proposed-plan-FINAL_15Mar2022.pdfCordova Bay Local Area Plan
Much of the goundwork for this project was set in the 2002 Cordova Bay Local Area Plan. This plan has a broad summary of Indigenous histories related use and occupancy in Cordova Bay, and sets out managment and planning objectives for archaeological sites in the community.
ÁTOL,NEUEL MOU.pdf ÁTOL,NEUEL MoU
The District of Saanich and the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council signed the ÁTOL,NEUEL Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to guide the future of the relationship between municipal and Indigenous governments. Archaeological and ancestral sites are an important priority within this new framework.