Lummi reclaims traditional name for TiLeqw-iLhch at Haida Point
Originally published in the Salish Current
Carson Bob performs with the Lhaq’temish Canoe Family during ceremonies on Orcas Island to reclaim traditional place names. (Courtesy Simon Graf)
A day of ceremony, food and gifts marks the reclaiming of Indigenous place names in the San Juan Islands.
Last month, the Lummi Nation re-claimed the traditional name for Haida Point on Orcas Island – TiLeqw-iLhch (Tee-luck-each). In Lummi language, Xwlemi Chosen, TiLeqw-iLhch means “wild strawberry.” To commemorate the reclaiming of the name, the Lummi hosted a delegation from the Haida Nation, including four hereditary Haida chiefs, for a day of ceremony, food and gifts.
Lummi leaders described the ceremony as a “gifting” of the name “Haida Point” back to the Haida Nation. Later in the day, they also gifted place names for several significant Lummi sites back to the San Juan County Council and to the National Park Service. This is part of the Lummi Nation’s broader effort to reestablish its presence within the full extent of their traditional territory in and around the San Juan Islands.
The entire Lummi Nation, including its fishing fleet – the largest tribal fishing fleet in the United States – was invited to the ceremony, and many people arrived by boat. Most of the day’s events were hosted at Family Tides Farm near West Sound, on Orcas Island.
Early in the day, two canoes carried ceremonial participants from Family Tides Farm to TiLeqw-iLhch. (Courtesy Simon Graf)
Early in the day, two canoes carried ceremonial participants from Family Tides Farm to TiLeqw-iLhch. San Juan County Councilmember Justin Paulsen got his socks wet as he was recruited to paddle.
“It took 30-40 individuals to carry each canoe down to the beach,” he said, “which in and of itself was a pretty powerful experience. Then I was asked to hold the bow of the canoe while people got things ready. And while I was holding the canoe, a man they called Uncle Kimo (Kimokeo Kapahulehua), was organizing everybody in the boat. He looked at me and said, ‘Get in the canoe.’ So, I got in the canoe. I was able to get my shoes off fast enough that they stayed moderately dry. My socks are wet, and my pants… well, they'll dry out.”
Twin brothers Raven and Free Borsey transport a ceremonial bentwood cedar box from a canoe to the bluff at TiLeqw-iLhch. (Courtesy Simon Graf)
Two traditional bentwood cedar boxes were central to the day’s ceremony. In one box, pictured above, the name “TiLeqw-iLhch” was spoken. This box was gifted to Lummi Chairman Tony Hillaire, as a gesture toward the government-to-government work that must be completed in order to officially change the name from Haida Point to TiLeqw-iLhch.
The Washington State Board on Geographic Names has the authority to change geographical names on state maps. If a name change is approved at the state level, the application is then forwarded to the United States Board on Geographic Names, where it is placed on a docket for consideration at the federal level. The process can take up to three years.
The timeline for a potential state map change for TiLeqw-iLhch has yet to be defined.
A second bentwood cedar box was made by Lummi carver Felix Solomon. The name “Haida Point” was spoken into this box and it was gifted to the Haida delegation, as a gesture of returning their name to them. (Courtesy Simon Graf)
History at the point
The name Haida Point was bestowed upon this small bluff in 1859 by Captain George Richards of the British Navy. He spent seven years surveying the inland waters of the Pacific Northwest and named dozens of landmarks.
According to one historical text, Richards found “evidences of Indian battles” at this site, so he named the nearby landmarks Haida Point, Massacre Bay and Skull Island.
In the decades leading up to Richards’ survey, slave raids between the tribes along the coast of what is now British Columbia and Alaska – including the Haida – and tribes in the inland waters of what is now Washington – including the Lummi – were common.
Reggie Young, or G̲itkun, a hereditary chief from Tanu, Haida Gwaii, said that the Haida conducted slave raids as far south as California. “They weren't the friendliest people,” he said, “The Haida sort of had a reputation. They used to be called the Vikings of the Northwest Coast.”
It is therefore not impossible that there was a battle between the Lummi and the Haida on this site prior to Richards’ survey in 1859, although evidence of a particular battle is slim. Reggie Young and multiple other members of the Haida delegation said that it was possible that the name Haida Point was put there arbitrarily. Or, it might have been that when Richards passed through in 1859, there was a group of Haida camped on that bluff. Despite the historical ambiguity around the name Haida Point, the Lummi and the Haida both acknowledged the violence they perpetrated upon each other in their past.
“There's a lot of history,” said Young, “but now we're more or less making peace with people. We're straightening it out. People want to get along.”
Hereditary Haida chief Jim Hart, or 7IDANsuu, watches as the bentwood cedar boxes come ashore. Hart is a renowned master carver.
In 2010, the Haida Nation reclaimed its traditional name “Haida Gwaii” for the “Queen Charlotte Islands.” This happened in a similar ceremony, in which the Haida gifted the colonial name back to the British Columbia government by speaking the name into a bentwood cedar box. Since then, the Haida have reclaimed more than 14,000 place names on the Haida Gwaii Archipelago, which the Haida Nation says is an important step in the process of reconciliation.
In 2024, the Haida were granted title to 98% of the archipelago that was formerly Crown land – the equivalent of federal land – on the islands. The new agreement will soon be enshrined into B.C. law, naming the Haida as the rightful owners of all 200-plus islands of Haida Gwaii. After a two-year transition period, the Haida Nation will manage the islands, including protected areas and forest lands.
“It's kind of crazy,” said Reggie Young. “Some guy came along in the sailboat and wrote on a piece of paper, ‘We own this,’ and then you’ve got to tell them, ‘No, you don't,’ but they won't accept that. It took us more than 200 years to get our land back.”
Another member of the Haida delegation, Christian Kihlguulaans White, not pictured here, is currently showing his work at an exhibit called Shapeshifters at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art, now open and continuing through September 15, 2025.
Dana Wilson and Jay Julius, pictured here from behind. (Courtesy Simon Graf)
Inspired by a gift
Dana Wilson and Jay Julius first got the idea for this event in 2020 when the land at TiLeqw-iLhch was gifted to the Lummi Nation by a local philanthropist and conservationist, Malcolm Goodfellow.
Goodfellow originally purchased the six-acre parcel with the intention to donate it to the San Juan Preservation Trust. But after researching the history of the property, he came to understand that it was an important part of the ancestral homeland of the Lummi people, so he decided to gift the land to the Lummi Nation instead.
Dana Wilson said that all of West Sound on Orcas Island was a permanent Lummi village site called Al’le’lang. “It's paradise there,” said Wilson, “It’s sheltered, it rains 90 days less per year than it does on the mainland, it’s close to our reef netting sites… Who wouldn't want to live there?”
Wilson said that after the Lummi Nation took ownership of the land at TiLeqw-iLhch in 2020, they started having conversations with the Haida about reclaiming the Lummi name for the bluff. “We have the utmost respect for the Haidas and the great work they are doing in their own territory, changing names. That’s true sovereignty. Our ceremony was inspired by theirs.”
Lummi singer and songwriter Johnnie Bob, at left, composed an original song to celebrate the spirit of place at TiLeqw-iLhch, as a gift to the Haida. (Courtesy Simon Graf)
Lummi singer and songwriter Johnnie Bob’s original song was introduced by his brother Jeffrey James: “The first part of this song is about those traumas that we’ve endured in our history. You look back in time and you think about all the different traumas that we as a people have gone through. Maybe it was through the wars (with the Haida and other northern tribes), or European contact, or the boarding schools. A lot of us carry those traumas. They say it gets passed down from generation to generation … And the second half of this song is about bringing out that peace, letting go of those feelings, so that we can come here and share this work together.”
Toward the end of the ceremony, Haida hereditary chief Jim Hart (at left) spread eagle down on the ground. Eagle down is a sign of the highest honor and a symbol of peace in Haida culture.
Hereditary chief Gidansda Guujaaw, pictured above with the drum at right, said that ceremonies like this could help people around the world who are confronted with violence and its aftermath.
“It's a very troubled world out there,” he said, “But we can come together as friends and look each other in the eye without the animosity for the things that have occurred before. People should know that this can happen. People out there in the world should know that there can be peace. The world doesn't need the troubles that are happening.”
Lummi fisher Robin Wilson was among those who donated salmon for the 200-plus people who attended the event.
When the ceremonial participants returned to Family Tides Farm, there was a traditional salmon meal awaiting them. Lummi fisherman Robin Wilson, pictured above, donated some of the salmon for the event. He said the fish he brought for the ceremony were “early chinook,” caught on the Nooksack River, and pointed out that they were reared in a hatchery.
“When we catch wild Chinook, we save them in a tank,” he said. “We keep them alive and release them upriver. We want to keep them away from our fishing grounds and get them closer to home. Each individual. It's been over 40 years since we fished on that wild stock. We’re hoping to help the wilds make a comeback by releasing them and not retaining them. But if they're hatchery, they go in the cooler.”
Serving as witnesses for the ceremony, from left, were Kimokeo Kapahulehua (president of the Kimokeo Foundation on Maui), Shannon Wheeler (chairman of the Nez Perce Tribe), Swe’lus Vernon “Sonny” Lane Jr. (respected fisher and member of the Lummi Nation) and Malcolm Goodfellow (who gave TiLeqw-iLhch to the Lummi in 2020)
Organizer Dana Wilson said that before the Lummi had a written language, witnesses were hired to remember important events. Later, if anyone had any questions about the event, they could ask a witness about it.
Witness Shannon Wheeler, Chairman of the Nez Perce Tribe and a leader in the decades-long movement to breach the four Lower Snake River Dams suggested that ceremonies like this could be used to help restore humanity’s broken relationship to the rest of the natural world.
“There's a greater calling for all of us,” he said, “When we talk about tomorrow, when we talk about the land itself. The land calls for all of us to do something, to come together and to speak for the land, for the land is silent now. And ceremonies like this, where we come together and heal, where we become one, that's how you do this. So this ceremony and this healing is a part of how we start to come together for a greater cause.”
Lummi Nation Business Council chairman Tony Hillaire (at right) attended the ceremony with his father, Darrell Hillaire (at left), a former Lummi chairman and current Executive Director of Children of the Setting Sun Productions.
Chairman Hillaire said that the Lummi Nation intended to pursue the official renaming of Haida Point to TiLeqw-iLhch. But he emphasized that for the Lummi, the name TiLeqw-iLhch had never changed.
“We already have its name,” he said, “We have always had its name, which has been passed down from generation to generation. The next step will be the follow-up on the government-to-government relations that we have with the county, state and federal governments. But we've always had our name for that place. If the world would like to follow suit, then we're totally open to that.”
Chairman Hillaire said that the non-native community can support the Lummi Nation’s efforts by learning more of the true history of the San Juan Islands. “You cannot tell the history of these islands without telling the history of our ancestors. We've been here since the very beginning. So get more involved in the work that we're doing, keep up on our social media, help us tell our story. Because this (renaming) is just one of the many different priorities that we're trying to drive today.”
Jay Julius, at right, presented gifts on behalf of Lummi Nation to hereditary chief from Haida Gwaii Reggie Young (center) and other Haida; Xwlemi Chosen speaker Talon Paul (at left) explained the significance of the carvings on the talking stick held by Young. (Courtesy Simon Graf)
Toward the end of the day, Julius and other representatives from Lummi presented the Haida with gifts, among them hand-carved wooden talking sticks, blankets, paddles, jewelry, woven bark baskets, cedar boxes, oyster shuckers and ironwood salmon roasting sticks.
Young thanked the Lummi, saying, “The beauty of the gift is that every time you see that gift, you remember that event. So it’s a memory that keeps going on and on.”
The talking sticks were made of yellow cedar and were hand-carved by Lummi carver Chris James.
Talon Paul explained the significance of the carvings on the talking sticks: “On the top we have Eagle. Eagle flies the highest, and he sees all. He’s seeing what’s happening here today. He will carry that on. In the middle we have Black Bear, who represents the strength of our relationship that we’re building here today. And below is the Killer Whale, who will travel from here up to your territory, and he’ll visit you, and he’ll come back to us. He represents our mutual understanding.”
Cedar boxes which had colonial place names spoken into them were given to a representative from the National Park Service, and to San Juan Council Member Paulsen.
“From the county government side, I am interested in listening, learning and understanding,” Paulsen said. “I need to hear from the tribal representatives and the Indigenous people. Long term, my goal is to get a better understanding of what this place means to them. I think each island has a different story to tell. So, I am genuinely interested in hearing what those stories are, and to the extent that it informs future decisions that we’re making and policies that we’re setting, if we don’t know those stories, then we can’t set those policies correctly.”
— Special thanks to Simon Graf for the photos / Instagram @simons_lens.art