sən̓aʔqʷ

"The area now known as Burrard Inlet is host to numerous Musqueam villages, camps, and transformer sites. It was connected by water ways, trails, histories, and genealogies to other villages throughout our territory. For example, trails radiated from sən̓aʔqʷ across ʔəlqsən (Point Grey) to our villages of c̓əsnaʔəm and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm on the North Arm of the stal̕əw̓ (now called the Fraser River).

Burrard Inlet was also part of our core hunting and fishing area. Our families stayed at sən̓aʔqʷ while hunting elk and waterfowl. sən̓aʔqʷ was also important for harvesting and processing salmon, sturgeon, and smelt that frequented False Creek and its many streams, many of which have been lost to urbanization and development."

The history of this place is told by the Musqueam First Nation.

(Please note that a physical plaque at this location does not exist yet.)

“xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people have lived in our territory, what is currently called Vancouver and the surrounding areas, for thousands of years. Some of our sχʷəy̓em̓ (ancient histories) describe the landscape as it was over eight thousand years ago.” (www.musqueam.bc.ca)

Musqueam’s traditional language is called hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓. Please learn more about the Musqueam Language and Culture department and their work with language learners and educational resources here.

“Due to colonization, there are no longer any fluent hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speakers, however many people have dedicated their lives to revitalizing the language.

In the 1970’s, Musqueam began our journey of revitalizing hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓. Since then, our community has invested decades of commitment into documenting, researching, and developing teaching and learning resources for hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓.” (from Musqueam A Living Culture website. www.musqueam.bc.ca)

Visit the Museum of Vancouver‘s exhibit: c̓əsnaʔəm: city before the city

Check out the resources at the UBC Library Guide, including videos

Please spend time learning about Musqueam territory and places names  and use this comprehensive teaching tool, the Musqueam Teaching Kit, created for the public.