Cadboro Bay is located on the southernmost end of
Vancouver Island, roughly eight kilometers from downtown
Victoria. The Songhees First Nation calls the bay “Sungyaka”, which means
snow patches,
and it is a significant early village site, primarily used in the winter for fishing.
1 The bay is traditional Songhees territory and is a part of the Douglas Treaties of
the mid 1800’s.
2 The name
Cadboro,
also spelled as
Cadborough,
comes from the first regular HBC trading ship on the coast of
British Columbia.
3 Both the Chekonein and the Chilcowith are families within the Songhees Nation and
occupied the area, but
Douglas did not see this territory sharing as practical, and declared the Chekonein as the
sole
owners
of Cadboro Bay.
4 This site was used by settlers even before
Fort Victoria was established.
5The Songhees lived in Cadboro Bay until 1843-44, when they left to the bank of
Victoria Harbour in order to be closer to
Fort Victoria, as the HBC were very influential trading partners.
6 As the population of
Fort Victoria grew larger, the Songhees were moved a number of times in order to accommodate settler
land needs.
7 In 1911, the government of British Columbia financially compensated the Songhees
as part of the move to the New Songhees Reserve.
8 Cadboro Bay is a part of B.C.’s modern treaty process: it is included in negotiations
of the Te’mexw Treaty Association.
9 The Songhees members of this particular treaty are former Douglas Treaty constituents.
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