Drawing of Ro Veidovi by U.S. Exploring Expedition artist Alfred T. Agate| Courtesy American Historical Society
The island in the Salish Sea known to the Lummi Nation as Pen’e’nex’weng—described by Lummi poet Rena Priest* in her poem “Creation Story” as “the island where we go to p’aneq, to dig for xwelol” (camas)—is today known as Vendovi Island. It was charted and renamed by the United States Exploring Expedition in the 1840s, reflecting the imposition of colonial names on lands long held in relationship by Indigenous peoples.
*Read Rena Priest’s full poem, “Creation Story,” along with the Author’s and Editor’s notes here.
The Story of Ro Veidovi
The name Vendovi dates back to 1840, when Fijian Chief Ro Veidovi Logavatu was taken prisoner near Fiji by the U.S. Exploring Expedition—the same expedition that later surveyed the Salish Sea—and transported to New York to stand trial for the murder of eleven men. During the voyage, crew members began calling him “Vendovi,” the name they later gave the island.
Descendants of Ro Veidovi with museum artifacts | Terry Lindell
Ro Veidovi died in 1842 before his trial. His body was dissected, and his skull sent to the Smithsonian Institution, where it remained for nearly two centuries. After sustained advocacy by descendants and Fijian leaders, his remains were repatriated late last year to Fiji’s Rewa Province and returned in ceremony to Lomanikoro Village, affirming the deep, enduring bond between a person and their ancestral soil.
Pen’e’nex’weng and Spálhxen
Vendovi Island and Pen’e’nex’weng are the same place, held in different histories. Long before it was charted, the island was known to the Lhaq’temish (Lummi Nation), and its rare coastal prairie ecosystem is known among Samish peoples as Spálhxen.
Today, the island’s name is both a reminder of colonial history and a call to repair it. Speaking original names, honoring cultural landscapes, and stewarding significant ecosystems like Spálhxen are ways to care for both land and memory.
Sam Barr of the Samish Tribe shares insights on Vendovi Island, explaining Spálhxen—the unique coastal prairie ecosystem.
At the San Juan Preservation Trust, we are honored to share these stories, and to care for the entirety of Vendovi Island as a nature preserve open to the public. Being good ancestors means learning the names that came before our maps and protecting the places they describe, so future generations inherit both healthy landscapes and the deep histories they hold.
Spring wildflowers on Vendovi Island | Kurt Thorson
Visit Vendovi Island Preserve
Vendovi Island Preserve is open to the public annually from April through September. Learn more here.
