A large stone sculpture honouring Staqeya (stqéyə), the lone wolf of Discovery Island, will be unveiled in Oak Bay’s Cattle Point on Thursday morning.
The sculpture, called Soul of a Wolf, was created to commemorate Staqeya who lived on Discovery Island, just east of Oak Bay, for about eight years.
The wolf lived there from 2012 to 2020 before swimming onto Vancouver Island, where he was then relocated up Island before being killed by a hunter just months after moving.
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Staqeya the lone wolf is pictured.
The new sculpture also commemorates Songhees Chief Robert Sam, who died in 2012. Shortly after his passing, Staqeya appeared on Discovery Island, something the nation says reminded it of the chief’s presence.
“The Songhees Nation is honoured to see the sculpture of Stqéyə being raised in Oak Bay,” said Songhees Chief Ron Sam in a release Tuesday.
“Stqéyə represents a great leader for the Nation, late Chief Robert Sam. Due to the arrival of the Wolf to Tl’ches days after his passing, as a community, we felt as if this was our late Chief returning to watch over and protect us,” said Chief Ron Sam.
The Songhees Nation will join Oak Bay in unveiling the sculpture on Thursday.
The art piece is made out of glacial erratic boulder sourced from Vancouver Island and was carved by artist Ken Laforme.
A circle in the center of the sculpture allows visitors to peer through it and see the Chatham and Discovery islands where Staqeya lived.
The unveiling ceremony is open to the public and will begin at 10 a.m. at Cattle Point.
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Staqeya the wolf on March 22, 2020, in the San Juan Valley near Port Renfrew. TJ Watt/Ancient Forest Alliance
Adam Chan
