Musqueam First Nation
The Musqueam Nation (Hunquminum: šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmaɁɬ təməxʷ) is a First Nation whose traditional territory encompasses much of what is now Greater Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada. It is governed by a band council and is known officially as the Musqueam Indian Band under the Indian Act. "Musqueam" (/ˈmʌskwiəm/ ⓘ MUS-kwee-əm) is an anglicization of the Hunquminum name xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, which means "place of the river grass" or "place where the river grass grows". (məθkʷəy̓ being the Hunquminum name of the plant).
Musqueam Nation šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmaɁɬ təməxʷ | |
|---|---|
| Musqueam Indian Band | |
Seal | |
Traditional territory of the Musqueam Nation, as defined by the 1976 Musqueam Declaration | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | British Columbia |
| Government | |
| • Type | Band council |
| • Chief | Wayne Sparrow |
| • Councillors | Full list (10): |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,448.88 km2 (559.42 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | |
| • Total | 1,656 |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| Postal code span | V6N (Musqueam 2), V4K 3N2 (Musqueam 4) |
| Area code(s) | 604, 778, 236, 672 |
| Ethnic group | Coast Salish |
| Languages | |
| Reserves |
|
| Website | www |
| Person | xʷməθkʷəy̓əm |
|---|---|
| People | xʷməθkʷəy̓əm |
| Language | hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ |
| Country | šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmaɁɬ təməxʷ |
Etymology edit
"Musqueam" is derived from the Hunquminum name xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, which is itself a derivative of məθkʷəy̓, the Hunquminum name for river grass. River grass was historically abundant in Musqueam territory; xʷməθkʷəy̓əm accordingly means "place of the river grass" or "place where the river grass grows".[3]
The oral history of the Musqueam people speak to the plant's cultural significance. The Musqueam origin story tells of an enormous double-headed serpent (sʔi:ɬqəy̓) which lived in Camosun Bog (xʷməm̓qʷe:m). The serpent was so massive that its winding path created the Fraser River (stal̕əw̓). All living things that crossed the serpent's path were said to have died, and from the serpent's droppings bloomed new life – river grass – which grew abundantly around the serpent's home. The people of the area therefore named the land xʷməθkʷəy̓əm.[3]
History edit
The Musqueam people have lived in the Point Grey area of Vancouver, around the mouth of the Fraser River, for at least 4,000 years.[4] Archaeological evidence taken from the Marpole Midden (or Great Fraser Midden) attest to the Musqueam people's thousands-year-old history in the area.[5] The Marpole Midden was the location of c̓əsnaʔəm, a Musqueam village which was the largest 2,500 years ago.[4][6] The changing river delta prompted its inhabitants to move to the present site of the Musqueam 2 reserve.[4] Musqueam 2 has a residential area called "Musqueam Village"; the reserve formerly had a second residential area, the village of Ma Li (maləy̓).[7]
The Marpole Midden is also the location of a sacred Musqueam burial ground which was desecrated by archeologists in the late 19th and early 20th century.[8] Harlan Ingersoll Smith, an archaelogist from the American Museum of Natural History participating in the Jesup North Pacific Expedition from 1897 to 1900, unilaterally excavated from the midden the skeletal remains of as many as 75 Musqueam ancestors, taking them with him back to New York City to be unceremoniously displayed and researched.[9][10] The belongings of those buried at the site, including tools, jewelry, carved artworks and ceremonial objects, were also excavated and taken without consultation of or permission from the Musqueam people. The midden consisted mostly of layers of biofacts such as shells and non-human animal bones, which were not taken.[11]
In 1913, the Canadian federal government and BC provincial government jointly established the McKenna–McBride Royal Commission (officially the "Royal Commission on Indian Affairs") to finalize the boundaries of reserve lands. Musqueam people gave testimonies to federal and provincial commissioners in which they reasserted their rights to live, fish, and hunt on their traditional, unceded territories.[10] In his testimony, Musqueam chief Johnny (χʷəyχʷayələq) contrasted the Musqueam people's traditional ways of fishing and hunting with those of recently-arrived settlers:[12]
I have a few words to say yet. It is indeed true what the Chairman said, the Indian's custom of taking fish was only be the means of a small net, and they only caught by the means of a small net, and they only caught very few so as not to destroy the fish with a net only 3 feet wide. This is the reason I say that I did not destroy the fish. It is the Whiteman that brought the long nets and catches all kinds of fish. That is the reason the fish are all going away. Whenever we go out and hunt for the deer, if we get one we bring it down and use all the meat – we do not waste any of it, only the guts and the tripe is left behind. The Whiteman goes out hunting for the deer, sometime they shoot a buck and just take the horns or maybe just take the skin off and leave the meat there. It is a living for the Indians, it is a pleasure for the whites, and about the ducks it is the same way. When the Whitemen go out, they shoot all descriptions of ducks and leave them floating in the sea, but when the Indians go out shooting, they know when they have enough but the Whiteman never knows, and about the fish it is the same way. The Whitemen use a long net, and whenever they get so much fish that they cannot sell them, they throw them overboard – but the Indians do not do that whenever we get or catch fish, we know when to stop and we eat or sell all we catch. These are the grievances I bring before you commissioners, and I say that the food of the Indians is being seized and destroyed.
He also reasserted the Musqueam people's right to fish along the Fraser River, saying:[10]
When I want to go fishing, the two parties are also holding on to each end of my boat – there are initials and numbers on the bow and initials and numbers on the stern, and I know that I own the water ... When I want to catch fish for my living I do not want to be interfered with at all.
Territory edit
Musqueam Declaration edit
On June 10, 1976, the Musqueam people collectively made the Musqueam Declaration, which was ratified by then Musqueam chief Delbert Guerin and the five members of the Musqueam band council.[13] The Musqueam Declaration described the traditional territory of the Musqueam people as follows:
The lands, lakes and streams defined and included by a line commencing at Harvey Creek in Howe Sound and proceeding Eastward to the height of land and continuing on the height of land around the entire watershed draining into English Bay, Burrard Inlet and Indian Arm; South along the height of land between Coquitlam River and Brunette River to the Fraser River, across to the South or left bank of the Fraser River and proceeding downstream taking in the left Bank of the main stream and the South Arm to the sea, including all those intervening lands, islands and waters back along the sea shore to Harvey Creek, AND, the sea, its reefs, flats, tidal lands and islands adjacent to the above described land and out to the centre of Georgia Strait.
Reserves edit
The reserves under the administration of the band are:[14]
- Musqueam 2 (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm), at the mouth of the Fraser River to the north of Sea Island, 470 acres (190.40 ha).[15] 49°14′00″N 123°13′00″W / 49.23333°N 123.21667°W
- Musqueam 4, to the east of Canoe Passage near Westham Island, 142 acres (57.30 ha).[16] 49°04′00″N 123°07′30″W / 49.06667°N 123.12500°W
- Sea Island 3 (sqʷsaθən), on the northwest corner of Sea Island, 16 acres (6.50 ha).[17] 49°12′35″N 123°12′00″W / 49.20972°N 123.20000°W
Language edit
Their traditional language is hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓, the Downriver Dialect of the Salishan language Halkomelem; they are closely related to neighbouring peoples of the lower Fraser River. The nearby Kwantlen and Katzie peoples just upriver share the same hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ dialect, while the upriver Sto:lo people speak another dialect, Halq’əméyləm (known as the Upriver Dialect). The Cowichan, Chemainus, Snuneymuxw and neighbouring Coast Salish peoples of Vancouver Island and the parts of the Gulf Islands of the southern Gulf of Georgia speak another dialect, Hul'qumi'num' (usually spelled Hulquminum), often called the Straits dialect, or Island Halkomelem. It is not to be confused with North Straits Salish, which is a group of related dialects to the south.
In early 2018 the University of British Columbia installed at its main Vancouver campus 54 street signs in the Musqueam language, written in Americanist phonetic notation. (In 2010, UBC’s Okanagan satellite campus had put up signs in Nsyilxcen, the language of the Okanagan Nation.[18]
The xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Musqueam dialect, hən̓q̓əmin̓əm is from the Hul’q’umi’num’ / Halq'eméyle / hən̓q̓əmin̓əm language family.[19]
Flag edit
The flag of Musqueam was designed by Musqueam artist Susan Point, who also helped design the flag of Nunavut.[20][21] The design of the flag is a white Canadian pale on a teal field, with an arrowhead in the centre depicting a salmon leaping above a net.
The flag was permanently raised at the Point Grey campus of the University of British Columbia (UBC) during a public ceremony on February 25, 2019. The act was meant to symbolize the university's commitment to furthering their partnership with the Musqueam people, as the Vancouver campus is located on unceded Musqueam territory. Musqueam students Grace Point and Brett Sparrow were invited to raise the flag. Musqueam chief Wayne Sparrow and then UBC president Santa Ono were in attendance.[20][22]
References edit
- ^ "Chief & Council".
- ^ "Profile table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population – Musqueam 2 & Musqueam 4, Indian reserve (IRI) [Census subdivision], British Columbia". Statistics Canada. Government of Canada. February 9, 2022.
- ^ a b "Musqueam's Story". xʷməθkʷəy̓əm – Musqueam: A Living Culture. Musqueam Nation.
- ^ a b c Klashinsky, Dena (October 17, 2018). "Portion of c̓əsnaʔəm village and burial site returned to Musqueam". Musqueam Nation. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
- ^ Roy, Susan (October 20, 2010). These Mysterious People: Shaping History and Archaeology in a Northwest Coast Community. McGill-Queen's Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-7735-9106-6.
- ^ "c̓əsnaʔəm, the city before the city". Museum of Vancouver. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ "Musqueam Village (IR2) Plan – Community Update, December 2022" (PDF). Musqueam Nation. December 2022. p. 5.
- ^ Roy 2010, pp. 18, 22.
- ^ Smith, Harlan Ingersoll (1903). "Publications of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition". Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History. 4 (4): 187.
- ^ a b c "Historic Timeline of Musqueam". Musqueam Teaching Resources. Musqueam Nation and the Museum of Anthropology at UBC.
- ^ Roy 2010, p. 18.
- ^ "Increasing First Nations' Participation in BC's Forest Industry: Presentation by Grand Chief Edward John". First Nations Summit. June 7, 2004.
- ^ "Musqueam Declaration" (PDF). June 10, 1976. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
- ^ Indian and Northern Affairs Canada – Reserves/Villages/Settlements detail
- ^ "Musqueam 2". BC Geographical Names.
- ^ "Musqueam 4". BC Geographical Names.
- ^ "Sea Island 3". BC Geographical Names.
- ^ Seal, Andrew (April 4, 2018). "UBC adds Musqueam language to street signs on campus". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
- ^ "xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam)", First Peoples Language Map, Aboriginal Languages Initiative (ALI), First Peoples' Heritage Language and Culture Council (FPHLCC), 2011–2012, retrieved December 4, 2013
- ^ a b "Raising the Musqueam Flag: Acknowledging the past, recognizing our future responsibilities". University of British Columbia. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
- ^ Bramham, Daphne (March 17, 2019). "Daphne Bramham: By reflecting the past, Susan Point's public art defines the urban landscape". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
- ^ "Musqueam flag raised at UBC". Salish Sea Sentinel. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
External links edit
- Musqueam Band homepage
- History of the University of British Columbia