Saanich celebrates PKOLS history and importance in renaming ceremony

In October 2022, Mount Douglas Park was officially renamed PKOLS—meaning “White head” or “White rock” in the SENĆOŦEN language. 

This renaming was result of a collaborative effort between the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council and Saanich in an effort to restore Indigenous place names to culturally significant areas within the district. 

This renaming was nine years in the making and was prompted by a 2013 movement by the W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples, who marched up PKOLS and dedicated a sign that was at the summit. 

The sign was originally created by the late Charles Elliott, a renowned artist who dedicated his life to reviving ancient Coast Salish art practices. 

This week, as the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council and the District of Saanich celebrated a three year anniversary of PKOLS name change, Charles’ son, Chas Elliot restored and rededicated the sign in his late father’s honour. 

“I’m so grateful to be able to work with the District of Saanich and the W̱SÁNEĆ people and grateful for them working with us to restore the sacred name of PKOLS and recognize how important it is to our people,” said Eric Pelkey, Community Engagement Coordinator, W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council.

PKOLS is a significant site that is steeped in millennia of W̱SÁNEĆ history, culture and tradition.

To this day, it serves as a sacred gathering place, where stories are woven into the fabric of the landscape, and ancestral connections are preserved. 

Additionally, PKOLS holds profound historical significance as the site of the treaty meeting on February 11th, 1852, between W̱SÁNEĆ leaders and Governor James Douglas. This meeting resulted in the Douglas Treaty.

“My Saanich Council colleagues and I were honoured to join with the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council, Elders and community members for this important occasion,” says Saanich Mayor Dean Murdock. 

“The District and this Council are committed to walking the journey of reconciliation, healing wounds of the past and finding new ways to collaborate, uplift and move forward together in a good way.”

At the rededication ceremony, people from all four W̱SÁNEĆ First Nations on the peninsula—Tsawout, Tsartlip, Pauquachin and Tseycum First Nations—were able to speak and share stories and words of appreciation.