What many may know as Newscastle Island has been returned to its Indigenous name.
Ian Simpson is the CEO of the Snuneymuxw first nation’s Petroglyph Development group. He says the Island is once again being called Saysutchan (pronounced “say-SUCH-un”)… the name it had when it was used pre-contact.
He says Sayshuchan played an important role in the life of the Snuneymuxw people. “It served traditionally as a training ground, for our young people, our warriors… And it also served as a place of grieving.
After contact, the First Nation was no longer allowed to use the Island. It was mined for coal and other resources, and was a mecca for wealth Vancouver travellers. There are still old mine shafts on the Island.
Now, the Snuneymuxw and Parks Canada run a provincial park. Simpson says they are still working with the federal government on re-branding the Island. At the moment, some materials such as the Park website still call it “Newcastle Island” https://newcastleisland.ca/
“We have some really amazing knowledge keepers within our membership here who know a tremendous amount about Saysutchan, and they are doing a lot of great work to revitalize that knowledge, and to share it with tourists, and people from Nanaimo, who are interested in going over to the island and doing tours.”
You can take the foot ferry from Maffeo Sutton park, to visit Saysutchan Island. Sailings are on the half hour from 11:00am to 4:00pm Monday and Tuesday, and from 9:00am to 6:00pm Wednesday through Sunday.
