# The Lost Island explained — Legends of Vancouver

> Chapter companion for Legends of Vancouver by E. Pauline Johnson.

## What happens

The narrator's old tillicum laments the loss of Indian lands, culture, and traditions, comparing them to a legendary lost island in the North Arm. He recounts a vision of a great medicine-man who, foreseeing the white man's arrival, prayed for his strength and courage to be preserved for his people. The medicine-man then paddled to a mysterious island, where his strength left him, and he died. Ever since, the tribe has searched for the island, believing it holds their lost courage and bravery. The tillicum has twice seen only its shadow.

## Themes in this chapter

### Cultural Preservation and Oral Tradition

The legend of the lost island is passed down through generations, preserving the memory of the medicine-man's sacrifice and the tribe's lost courage.

### Colonial Encounter and Cultural Exchange

The medicine-man's vision of the white man's camp foreshadows the colonial encounter and the resulting loss of Indigenous ways of life.

### Sacrifice and Heroism

The medicine-man sacrifices his own strength and life to preserve courage and bravery for future generations of his people.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The narrator listens to the old tillicum's story and empathizes with his longing for the lost island.

### Klootchman

The old tillicum, referred to as 'my old tillicum,' who shares the legend of the lost island and his personal search for it.

### Sagalie Tyee

The Sagalie Tyee is invoked by the medicine-man in his prayer and is credited with granting the vision of the future.

### Medicine Man Hides His Strength on the Lost Island

The unnamed medicine-man who dreams of the white man's arrival, prays for his strength to endure, and hides it on the lost island before dying.

## Key lines

> Yes, said my old tillicum, we Indians have lost many things. We have lost our lands, our forests, our game, our fish; we have lost our ancient religion, our ancient dress; some of the younger people have even lost their fathers’ language and the legends and traditions of their ancestors.

The old friend acknowledges the profound losses suffered by Indigenous people, including land, resources, religion, clothing, language, and cultural stories.

_Sets the theme of cultural loss and the search for what is irretrievable._

> There is something on that island that I want. I shall look for it until I die, for it is there, he affirmed.

The tillicum declares his lifelong quest to find the island, believing it holds something essential that he must recover.

_Highlights the personal and spiritual significance of the lost island._

> Keep my strength living for them; hide it so that the Paleface may never find or see it.

The medicine-man prays that his courage and power be preserved and concealed from the white settlers.

_Central to the legend: the hiding of strength for future generations._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/legends_of_vancouver_se/chapters/the-lost-island
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/legends_of_vancouver_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/legends_of_vancouver_se/chapters