Case file · Folklore / legend
Deadman's Island, Vancouver
A small island in Vancouver Harbour, used for tree burials by Coast Salish people and later as a cemetery, carries a legend of a battle in which captives chose death.
1911 CE · 49.29, -123.12 · status: legend
The account
The poet E. Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake) printed the story as 'The Deadman's Isle' in 'Legends of Vancouver' (1911), from Squamish chief Joe Capilano. Smallpox and squatters' burials followed in the 19th century; the island now holds a naval reserve base.