ȾEL¸IȽĆ/ c̓əl̓íɫč  at Cordova Bay

Centred on a mapping project of indigenous land values, Professor Brian Thom, the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council, and the District of Saanich have partnered in an ongoing collaborative, community-engaged research project to Indigenize municipal land use planning in Saanich, focusing on the ancient village site of  ȾEL¸IȽĆE in Cordova Bay.

ȾEL¸IȽĆE, a historic village was at the centre of the South Saanich Treaty of 1852.  As a part of this ongoing project, we are working to map the entire Cordova Bay area with ancestral places, traditional use sites, transformer sites, ancient fish traps and canoe runs, and other culturally significant landscapes. We are working to ensure that Indigenous values, knowledge, and law are at the centre of conversations around land use planning, bringing Indigenous senses of place into the future, and promoting the respect for Indigenous rights. 

Resources

• Anthropology Colloquium:  ȾEL¸IȽĆ/cə ̓ lí̓ɫc - Indigenizing municipal land use planning in Cordova Bay
• Cordova Bay Local Area Plan Update 
• Indigenous History in Cordova Bay
• Tarling, Gemma. 2025. “Situating Cultural Heritage Management: How the ȾEL¸IȽĆE / c̓Əl̓Íɫč Village in Cordova Bay Informs the Pasts, Presents, and Futures of BC Archaeology.”
• ȾEL¸IȽĆ - Cordova Bay Ancestral Village Sites