The island

Letter calls for Indigenous women’s role in Hornby history to be recognized

A letter responding to a Grapevine article says its account of Hornby’s first settler omitted his Indigenous wife.

The Denman Firestarter · reporting 2021-04-01 · compiled 2026-10-01

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A letter signed by Mary Jane Stewart says a Grapevine article about settling Hornby Island neglected to mention that George Ford had an Indigenous wife.^[1]

Stewart quoted historian Jean Barman’s account of Mary James, daughter of Fort Rupert Chief Kla Kwa Keela, and wrote that Indigenous women and their relatives brought knowledge and skills that helped sustain families while land was cleared for farming.^[1]

The letter argues that the roles of Indigenous women are often erased from history and says they were indispensable contributors to farms such as the Fords’.^[1]

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