Your source for in-depth news and inside information from the SFU Library
Kwantlen Traditional Territory include Richmond, New Westminster, Surrey, Langley, Mission, and the northernmost edge of Stave Lake (“Our lands”, Kwantlen First Nation). q̓wa:ńƛəń translates to “tireless runner” and this is embodied in the Nations tireless work within their community (“Our culture and legacy”, Kwantlen First Nation). q̓wa:ńƛəń speaks hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓, a dialect of the Halq’eméylem langauge group (
Located in New Westminster, qiqéyt is the one of the smallest First Nations and currently without a land base. Chief Rhonda Larabee has been working on a land claim, noting in the 2003 NFB film that a land base is a legacy for the children and grandchildren of qiqéyt members.
Located on the present-day municipalities of Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, Surrey, Langley, and Delta, q̓ic̓əy̓ territory centre is sq̓ə́yc̓əyaʔɬ x̌acaʔ, known as Pitt Lake in English. The name, q̓ic̓əy̓, means “land of the moss” in their traditional language hənq̓əmínəm̓. On their website, q̓ic̓əy̓ share that Swaneset’s sky wife directed them to gather moss for a village site foundation and from here she released eulachon into the Fraser River (Who we are).
Kwikwetlem First Nation’s name translates to “red fish up the river,” referencing the sockeye salmon runs that flourished before the construction of the Coquitlam Dam (from Our People). Kwikwetlam Elders talk about the there being so many salmon in the river that it was difficult to navigate the waterway in their canoes.
səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ is one of the many Nations referred to as Coast Salish, and they speak the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language. Their name means “People of the Inlet,” which tells of their long history in the area around Burrard Inlet. Like many Nations and communities, Tsleil-Waututh lived “by ‘seasonal round,’ a complex cycle of food gathering and spiritual and cultural activities.” (from Our Story) What this means is that səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ moved around their territory, going to where the resources were located.
Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw territory include Burrard Inlet, English Bay, False Creek, and the Howe Sound watershed, with many people living in North Vancouver and West Vancouver (from About Our Nation). Úxwumixw is the Sk̲wx̲wú7mesh word for village, though today the word is used for Nation (from About Our Nation).
xʷməθkʷəy̓əm gets their name from the məθkʷəy, which was a flowering plant that grew in the Fraser River estuary (David Suzuki Foundation, 2022). Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm can be translated to “People from where the məθkʷəy grows” (Musqueam First Nation & MOA, p. 8). A sχʷəy̓em̓ (ancient history) about the place explains that the sʔi:ɬqəy̓ (double headed serpent) travelled from xʷməm̓qʷe:m (Camosun Bog) to the stal̕əw̓ (river), creating a creek.
The names we know for the local mountains, rivers, lakes, etc. are typically the names given to them by settlers. Sometimes the names became Anglicized versions of the Indigenous language. These colonial names replaced the names Indigenous peoples knew and know these places by.
In the previous posts we learned about how diverse the First Nations communities in BC are. In this post we’re going to learn about the languages in this province.
You will sometimes hear Indigenous peoples be referred to as “urban Indigenous.” This phrase refers to Indigenous peoples who are no longer living in their communities and have moved to (or grown up in) an urban setting. It’s important to note that this phrase doesn’t include Indigenous peoples living on their reserve or settlement in an urban local, such as Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) which has reserves within Vancouver.
There are many reasons that Indigenous people live in urban settings:
