Quadra Island
 Quadra Island is located at the northern end of the Strait of Georgia. |
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| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Strait of Georgia |
| Coordinates | 50°10′N 125°14′W / 50.167°N 125.233°W |
| Archipelago | Discovery Islands |
| Country | |
| Demographics | |
| Ethnic groups | Laich-kwil-tach |
Quadra Island is an island off the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, part of the Discovery Islands. It is separated from Vancouver Island by Discovery Passage, and from Cortes Island by Sutil Channel. The population of Quadra Island and surrounding mainland inlets as of the 2006 federal census count (excluding Indian Reserves tallied separately) was 2,472, down from the 2001 federal census count of 2,548.
Quadra Island was given its name in 1903 by the Geographic Board of Canada, in honour of Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra.[1][2]:406
There are two small business centres on the island, one near the Vancouver Island BC Ferry terminal at Quathiaski Cove, and one near the Cortes Island ferry terminal at Heriot Bay. The island has many beaches, trails, lakes, and parks. Main Lake Provincial Park is located on the northern part of the island, and Rebecca Spit Marine Provincial Park is on the eastern shore, near Heriot Bay.
The island is home to a thriving art community, as well as a growing number of white-collar professionals who commute to Campbell River, on Vancouver Island.
There is an elementary school on the island. Schoolchildren in grades 7 through 12 travel by ferry to Campbell River to attend École Phoenix Middle School or Carihi Secondary School. The Cape Mudge Reserve on the south tip of the island is home to the We-wai-kai, one of the main bands comprising the Southern Kwakiutl (the other being the We-wai-kum based in Campbell River on Vancouver Island. Together they are known as the Laich-kwil-tach (historically known as the Euclataws or Yucultas, names which are more familiar to speakers of British Columbia English). The Nuyumabales Cultural Centre is located within the Cape Mudge village and holds an important collection of art and regalia from earlier times, items that were repatriated after many years from museums elsewhere.[3]
The Southern Kwakiutl (part of the larger Kwakwaka'wakw ethnic grouping) migrated into the northern Georgia Strait from Queen Charlotte Strait over two centuries ago, enslaving, displacing and absorbing the Comox and Pentlatch peoples who formerly lived there[4].
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Rayburn, Alan (2001). Naming Canada: Stories about Canadian Place Names. University of Toronto Press. p. 113. ISBN 0802082939.
- ^ Walbran, Captain John T. (1971). British Columbia Place Names, Their Origin and History (Facsimile reprint of 1909 ed.). Vancouver/Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre. ISBN 0-88894-143-9. http://www.nosracines.ca/e/toc.aspx?id=3545
- ^ Mauzé, Marie (2003) Two Kwakwaka'wakw Museums: Heritage and Politics. Ethnohistory, Vol.50, No.3: 503-522.
- ^ MacLeod, William Christie (1925) Debtor and Chattel Slavery in Aboriginal North America. New Series, Vol. 27, No. 3:370-380.
[edit] External links
- Quadra Island - Heart and hub of the Discovery Islands
- Quadra Island, British Columbia, Canada
- Quadra Island History, British Columbia, Canada
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