Emily Pauline Johnson (Takehionwake), a Mohawk-English-Canadian poet and author, came west from Ontario to Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»at the end of the 19th century.
Johnson fell in love with the land and its indigenous people, spending much of her time before she became ill exploring the region and learning stories from local First Nations people.
Pauline Johnson (Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Archives)
Those stories became the material of Johnson's most famous publication, .
When Johnson died in 1913--just three days before her 52nd birthday--her wish was to be buried in her beloved Stanley Park. The problem? The Park no longer served as a cemetery.
Stanley Park was Vancouver's cemetery for settlers until opened in 1886. Â is an area on the east side of the park, and the graves are all unmarked. (Of course, the history of Stanley Park as burial ground, including Deadman's Island, reaches much more back in time, before the settlers came to town.)
Fulfilling Johnson's wish was no small feat. As her illness progress, the request was passed to the Duke of Connaught during his 1912 visit of Vancouver, which helped secure necessary permissions. Her wish could be granted, however her body had to be cremated.
Photo: Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Archives
Johnson wanted to be buried near Siwash Rock, and her grave unmarked. Her ashes were interred on the west side of the park in a clearing near Ferguson Point and what is now the Teahouse.
In 1922, a memorial was put in place to Johnson in the spot. She is the only person to be legitimately buried in Stanley Park after 1886. While there is a in the Shakespeare Garden, Thomas is not buried there.
Pauline Johnson memorial in 2012 (Photograph By DAN TOULGOET)
