Mee-qan

I am currently a little bit busy with a non-photographic project so I hope you will forgive me if I use an archival photo here today, one taken in the early spring of this year. It is another of the seven "Signs of Lekwungen" monuments recently installed around the city to mark sites of importance to the local native people.

The hill here is called MEE-qan which means "warmed by the sun." This seaward slope was a popular place for rest and play - a game similar to field hockey, called Coquiallis, was played here. At the bottom of the hill was a small palisaded village that was occupied intermittently from 1,000 to approximately 300 years ago. The settlement was here for defence during times of war and it was also important for reef net fishing. The starchy bulbs of the wildflower, Camas, were an important food source gathered in this area. The hill here is also known as Beacon Hill.

(From the City of Victoria website.(Internal links added)

I posted photos of another of these monuments in January and you can see it by clicking HERE.