1st of 1 work found
E. Pauline Johnson's Legend of Deer Lake
Title
E. Pauline Johnson's Legend of Deer Lake
Artist
Artist Unknown
Date
1992
Medium
bronze
Type
bronze plaque
Dimensions
13cm height x 30cm width
Owner
City of Burnaby
Accession Number
PA2014.16
Location
Deer Lake Park
Category
City of Burnaby Public Art Collection
Collection
Public Art
Lat/Long
49.233582,-122.983358
View in Google Maps
http://www.google.com/maps?q=49.233582,-122.983358
A trail of 312 steps leads from the southwest corner of Deer Lake Park through Royal Oakland Park. The Legend of Deer Lake, as told by E. Pauline Johnson, is recounted on bronze plaques mounted to steps as you ascend. A total of thirteen text panels may be found along the 550 metre trail, each stating its position in the sequence, and telling a brief part of the story, told to those who walk the full length of the trail. The Legend of Deer Lake is an Indigenous story of how the first Chief Capilano discovered an unknown waterway between False Creek and Deer Lake. The story describes how a young hunter speared a king harbour seal in False Creek with a magical elk-bone spear only to lose the beast to a hidden underground river. Months later, he awoke to a forest fire—an omen to the east. On the shore of Deer Lake, he found the remains of the seal and recovered his magical elk-bone spear. Reunited with his spear, the man became a brave hunter and the first Chief of Capilano.