Pender Island
Pender Island is part of the southern
Gulf Islands, located east of
Saltspring Island, between mainland
British Columbia and
Vancouver Island.
1 Originally a single island, it is now divided into North Pender Island and South
Pender Island: the two islands are separated by a man made canal, dredged in 1911.
2 A single-lane bridge was built between the islands in
1955.
3 The Island's name has changed from an Indigenous place name, to a Spanish name and,
finally, to its contemporary British name. The
WSÁNEĆ (Saanich) name, in SENĆOŦEN, for Pender Island is sťéyəs.
4 In
1791, Juan Pantoja y Arriaga, an officer aboard the San Carlos, named the Island Isla
de Zayas, in honour of the explorer Juan Martínez y Zayas.
5 Scott notes that it is thought that the commander of the San Carlo, Francisco Eliza,
then changed the name to Isla San Eusebio.
6 Captain George Richards, of
HMS Plumper, later named the island after his senior survey officer,
Second Master Daniel Pender, in 1859.
7Numerous archeological sites across sťéyəs are indicative of the rich Coast Salish
Indigenous life that has persisted on the island for over 6000 years;
8 portions of Pender Island are part of Parks Canada’s Gulf Islands National Park Reserve
and is the site of the largest archaeological excavation in the
Gulf Islands.
9 Tourism threatens many archaeological sites with development.
10 As noted in BC Archaeological News, industrial activities have disrupted several
shell middens and burial sites.
11 The island has one reservation, located at Hays Point, the traditional territory
of the Tsawout and Tseycum First Nations.
12 Today, some residents of Pender Island have begun a reconciliatory process with the
local Indigenous people.
13
- 1. Andrew Scott, Pender Islands, The BC Encyclopedia.
- 2. Ibid.
- 3. Pender Island History, The Pender Island Guide.
- 4. Place Names, SENĆOŦEN Word List.
- 5. Andrew Scott, Pender Island, The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names.
- 6. Ibid.
- 7. About Pender Island, Pender Island Chamber of Commerce.
- 8. Andrew Scott, Pender Islands, The BC Encyclopedia.
- 9. Pender Island History, The Pender Island Guide.
- 10. Hul'qumi'num Treaty Group,Ancient Coast Salish Village Site Destroyed by Luxury Seaside Resort Expansion in
Southern Gulf Islands, BC Archaeological News.
- 11. Ibid.
- 12. Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, Reserve/Settlement/Village Detail, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada.
- 13. Hans Tammemagi, Pender Island Reconciliation, roadstories.ca.