Indigenous
The term Coast Salish refers to people from many different communities along the coast of the Salish Sea, near present-day southern British Columbia, Washington, and northern Oregon. Prior to colonial governments imposing boundaries on these communities and their membership, people identified themselves according to their family relationships and the villages where they lived.
¶¡ÏãÔ°AV’s Burnaby campus is located on the traditional territories of four Coast Salish First Nations: The xÊ·məθkÊ·É™yÌ“É™m (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), sÉ™lilÌ“ilwÌ“É™taʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and the kÊ·ikʷəƛwÌ“É™m (Kwikwetlem). These nations have a spiritual, cultural, and economic connection to this land that spans thousands of years, and they have marked the land with many named places. These place names embody stories that connect people, animals, the supernatural, villages, mountains, bodies of water, and entire territories. These places represent the hÉ™nÌ“qÌ“É™minÌ“É™mÌ“ (Hun’qumyi’num) language spoken by the xÊ·məθkÊ·É™yÌ“É™m (Musqueam), sÉ™lilÌ“ilwÌ“É™taʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and kÊ·ikʷəƛwÌ“É™m (Kwikwetlem) peoples, and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Snichim spoken by the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) people.
We are deeply indebted to Dr. Rudy Reimer (Yumks), a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh archaeologist and ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV Faculty member, and Mr. Gabriel George, a prominent community leader and Manager of Language and Culture at sÉ™lilÌ“ilwÌ“É™taʔɬ Nation, for their guidance, support, and generosity on this project. We are deeply grateful to these two individuals for sharing their knowledge of the landscape, and of their respective languages with us.
For More Information Please Visit Coast Salish Place page