Quadra Island

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Quadra Island is located at the northern end of the Strait of Georgia.
Quadra Island is located at the northern end of the Strait of Georgia.

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 honor of Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra.[1]

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.

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 the hereditary seat of the powerful chiefs of the Weewaikai, who are the leading group within the Southern Kwakiutl; their main other group, the Wewaykum, live in Campbell River just across the strait 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 Southern Kwakiutl 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[2]. The aggressive Cape Mudge Band, also known as the Laich-kwil-tach or Southern Kwakiutl, was also renowned for its artwork and lavish potlatch-feasts.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Rayburn, Alan (2001). Naming Canada: Stories about Canadian Place Names. University of Toronto Press, p. 113. ISBN 0802082939. 
  2. ^ 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 50°10′N 125°14′W / 50.167, -125.233Coordinates: 50°10′N 125°14′W / 50.167, -125.233

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The Discovery Islands of British Columbia