The rebirth of X̱wáy̓x̱way, X̱epx̱páy̓em and Iy̓ál̓mexw as Vancouver place names

The park board will be looking at adding traditional First Nations names to many civic parks and beaches. 

 

John Mackie Updated: September 19, 2018 Vancouver Sun

 

Many local landmarks had names long before Europeans arrived in the Vancouver area. And Vancouver park board chair Stuart Mackinnon thinks they should be acknowledged.

Mackinnon was visiting the Musqueam First Nation when the subject came up.

“We got talking about reconciliation and things that are going on,” said Mackinnon.

“Somebody mentioned that for them, it always was an issue that Spanish Banks was called Spanish Banks. These people came in on their big ships and stayed for a short period of time, three hours or three days, and the beach was named for them, when there was already a name for that place in the Musqueam language for lots of time before that.”

This week Mackinnon proposed fixing the situation.

“My motion had three parts,” he explains.

“The first part was for the park board to work with the Musqueam, Squamish and Tseil-Waututh on identifying traditional names.

“The second part of the motion is, once those have been identified, that the park board acknowledge them. The third part was to work with the three nations on appropriate ways to acknowledge those names.”

The motion passed, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that Spanish Banks will be renamed šxʷsyiΦəm (its Musqueam name) or Ḵweḵw7úpay̓ (which is what the Squamish called it).

Mackinnon said in some cases, the traditional names may just be posted at the site, alongside the English name. In other cases, a name change could be in order, but that would be up to a future park board to work out with the local First Nations.

It’s a complicated issue, because the Squamish and Musqueam speak different languages, and have different names for various sites. Both languages also feature sounds you don’t find in English, which makes for spellings that may bewilder people.

In the early 1930s Vancouver’s first archivist Major James Matthews produced several maps that showed the Squamish names for local beaches and landmarks. A stickler for getting things right, he even went to the Squamish council to make sure it was correct.

Thus Vancouverites found that the original name for the area around Lumbermen’s Arch in Stanley Park was Whoi-Whoi, that Kitsilano Beach was Skwa-Yoos and that Jericho Beach was E-Eyalmo.
But that was the 1930s. Written today, the Squamish name for Lumbermen’s Arch is X̱wáy̓x̱way, the name for Kits Beach is X̱epx̱páy̓em, and the name for Jericho is Iy̓ál̓mexw.

“Major Matthews was attempting to use English letters to capture sounds that are not found in English, that are only found in our language,” explains Khelsilem, a member of the Squamish council.

“X̱wáy̓x̱way (Whoi-Whoi) is one example of that. There are consonants in the name X̱wáy̓x̱way that do not exist in the English language, so how do you represent those sounds?”

The Squamish nation updated the spellings to reflect the correct pronunciation.

“These writing systems were developed back in the ‘70s and ‘80, working with our elders, and it’s kind of become the standard system,” he said.

“What a lot of Indigenous communities have done is create their own kind of system, their own pattern and their own set of rules around a writing system to capture those sounds that are not found in English. They are using the Latin alphabet, that’s why you see things like an x underlined or a k underlined and things like that.”

The Squamish nation has put up a map on its website that shows the traditional names, and also has an audio clip with the pronunciation. The Musqueam have their own map with Musqueam names. Some of the Musqueam spellings are so unusual they couldn’t be replicated for this story, because the publishing system wouldn’t allow them to be copied and pasted into the copy.

Khelsilem thinks the names from both First Nations could be listed at sites.

“I think it’s possible to recognize both together,” he said. “It’s part of the history of Vancouver, it’s important to recognize both languages.”

As a descendent of people who lived at both Jericho and the old Kitsilano reserve in today’s Vanier Park (Iy̓ál̓mexw and Sen̓áḵw, to the Squamish), Khelsilem is happy that the park board is finally acknowledging the original names.

“I think it’s because of these types of steps that we’re allowed to begin having larger conversations down the road,” he said.

“So I would say it’s overdue. Where we end up 40 or 50 years from now is only possible because we’ve taken the step here.”

jmackie@postmedia.com
(c) Vancouver Sun

Please revert to the original article here for some amazing maps. 


 

Vancouver Park Board passes motion to recognize Indigenous place names

'Names form an integral part of culture and heritage,' says board chair

CBC News · Posted: Sep 18, 2018 8:09 AM PT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

 

 

 The motion to recognize traditional names could mean areas like Queen Elizabeth Park soon

 feature an Indigenous name alongside the current one. (Daria Wojnarski/Vancouver Park Board)

 

 The Vancouver Park Board has passed a motion to recognize traditional Indigenous place names for the city's parks and beaches.

Voted on by commissioners Monday evening, the motion notes the lands under the jurisdiction of the park board are unceded by the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh people.

And with the board having previously approved of several reconciliation strategies, including Aboriginal language rights, it decided to recognize the traditional names of places in Vancouver as they are known to Indigenous peoples.

"Names form an integral part of culture and heritage," said park board commissioner and chair Stuart Mackinnon, who put forward the motion.

"Part of the colonization of Vancouver was the changing of traditional names. My motion is part of reconciliation in Vancouver, to recognize that these Indigenous people have been here forever and that they had place names long before we were here."

The park board says it will work with the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh nations to identify the traditional names of places within the board's jurisdiction.

It says those names will be recognized by the park board and acknowledged in ways deemed appropriate by the relevant First Nations.

(c) CBC 2018

Vancouver park board passes motion to learn Indigenous place names

The Canadian Press
Published Tuesday, September 18, 2018 8:56AM PDT 
 

VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Park Board has passed a motion to learn the traditional Indigenous names for the lands it administers, including areas within Stanley Park and the many beaches lining the Fraser River, English Bay and Burrard Inlet.

Board chair and Green party member Stuart Mackinnon introduced the motion as part of the park board's ongoing efforts at reconciliation, and it was approved by the board at its Monday night meeting.

The board will now work with the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations to identify traditional place names and determine appropriate next steps.

Related Stories

• Vancouver Park Board considers motion to ID, recognize First Nation names
   

The Green party of Vancouver says in a release that Mackinnon's motion continues reconciliation efforts that include a colonial audit to identify ways the city's history erased the Indigenous presence in what became city parks.

In particular the audit will look at how archeological sites were disturbed, Aboriginal cultural activities were wiped out or non-Indigenous activities were given priority within parks.

Mackinnon says learning traditional names adds to that work because names form a key part of culture and heritage.

Vancouver Park Board considers motion to identify, recognize First Nation names

The Canadian Press

Updated: September 13, 2018 

 

 Commissioner Stuart Mackinnon says the motion is not about renaming locations such as Vancouver’s Stanley Park. 

 

 A motion before the Vancouver Park Board could mark the next step toward reconciliation with three Vancouver-area First Nations.

Commissioners are scheduled to vote Monday on a proposal that would recognize and acknowledge traditional places and names within Vancouver park boundaries.

The commissioner behind the motion, Stuart Mackinnon, says it asks the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh to identify traditional names of places, such as those along Burrard Inlet or within Stanley Park.

He says the board would then recognize the names and locations and work towards reflecting them in the city’s public spaces.

Mackinnon says the motion is not about renaming locations such as Vancouver’s Stanley Park. Instead it celebrates the rich language and culture of the region’s original inhabitants and offers the chance to share place names from their oral and written history.

A motion for a colonial audit, examining how colonialism was entrenched in park board operations, passed unanimously earlier this year and Mackinnon says he’s hoping the latest proposal will see the same outcome.

Vancouver park board chair Stuart Mackinnon's motion seeks to advance decolonization efforts

Travis Lupick on September 12th, 2018


When, in 1792, Capt. George Vancouver named the body of water that today flows beneath the Lions Gate Bridge the Burrard Inlet (after his friend Harry Burrard), Vancouver did not actually name it but, more accurately, renamed it.

By the time the British explorer arrived, the Tsleil-Waututh people had lived in this area for thousands of years. And to them, the Burrard Inlet was called səl̓ilw̓ət (spelled Sleilwaut using the English alphabet, according to the Bill Reid Centre).

On September 17, the Vancouver park board will consider a motion to learn the names that the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh people called areas that today fall under the jurisdiction of the board. From there, the civic body would work with members of the three Coast Salish nations to “acknowledge those names at parks, beaches, and other public spaces within the jurisdiction of the Park Board, in a way deemed most appropriate by the Nations”.

In a telephone interview, the motion’s author, Green party park-board chair Stuart Mackinnon, said these acknowledgments should become a part of Vancouver’s reconciliation process.

“Part of the colonization of Vancouver was the changing of traditional names,” he told the Straight. “My motion is part of reconciliation in Vancouver, to recognize that these Indigenous people have been here forever and that they had place names long before we were here.”

Mackinnon emphasized that the motion does not specify what actions might be taken next.

“No one, at this point, is talking about renaming anything,” he said. “But I was heartened during the [2010] Olympics that on the Sea to Sky Highway, that they had road signs that were in both English and Squamish. I think something like that could be done in various places in Vancouver.”

Ḵálḵalilh Deanna Lewis is a councillor for the Squamish Nation and a member of the council’s committee on language, culture, and heritage. She worked on those signs that Mackinnon mentioned, which place Squamish names alongside English ones from Vancouver International Airport through the city and up the Sea to Sky corridor to Whistler.

“Identifying and letting the broader community know about them [Squamish names], it feels like our cultural heritage is alive again,” Lewis said in a telephone interview. “It’s reconciliation and having ownership back.”

She explained that the signs spark questions, leading to conversations that acknowledge and create a larger understanding of B.C.’s colonial past and the Indigenous people who lived in B.C. before Europeans arrived.

“To understand the people, you need to speak their language,” Lewis said. “Revitalizing these languages, we’re bringing back a sense of belonging and a sense that we should respect that history and culture.”

Travis Lupick is a journalist based in Vancouver and the author of Fighting for Space: How a Group of Drug Users Transformed One City's Struggle with Addiction. 

 

 

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Side Glance With Al Tee – Why You Should Vote For Stuart For Parks Board

 This is a posting from the wonderful ILiveInEastVan site. Please visit them for all the goings on in East Vancouver.

I am one of those cynical types who harbors deep skepticism towards politicians. I have never voted for a major political party’s candidate and often vote Communist or Marxist-Leninist as form of protest. Civically I generally mark an X on my ballot for the fringe and the extreme, be it Jamie Lee Hamilton or Cowboy Bob Ellis. I am telling you this so you’ll know I’m not easily swayed, and therefore genuine when I say you should vote for Stuart Mackinnon for Parks Board.

Mackinnon is a two term Parks Board Commissioner and current Board Chair who is seeking to continue to advance his belief that Vancouver’s parks pitches and pools should be places where citizens play, relax and explore. Places that allow people and nature to exist in balance. Now sure, you could argue that every candidate for Parks Board says that. But not every candidate is:

• Still a fan of the Canadian Football League.
• Follows Everton in the English Premier League.
• Spent seven years teaching at the indigenous community of Nemaska in James Bay, Quebec.
• Fought off the Vision-ista plans to close the Bloedel Conservatory in 2009.
• Believes that the city’s parks and community centres gave him a magical childhood that everyone else’s kid should have too.
• Has close to three decades in teaching, two of those decades as a Vancouver High School teacher. (surely a testament to one’s patience when working with groups).
• Grew up in a conservative household – his grandfather was an MP in the 40’s and his mother once worked for House Speaker John Fraser – and came away from it with an ability to appreciate while not necessarily agreeing with the other guy’s point of view.
• Is not out to change the name of Stanley Park or any other park in the city. His Colonial Audit merely seeks to identify places that originally had indigenous names and then let the public decide.
• Has, unlike many Parks Commissioners before him, no political ambitions. (former Parks Commissioners have gone on to be 4 city councilors, 3 provincial cabinet ministers, 1 city mayor and one Federal MP).
• Wears a kilt on special occasions.

This Fall’s civic election will feature a lot of first timers (including the mayor) and possibly a lot of one termers (including the mayor). Doesn’t it make sense to retain an experienced commissioner on the Parks Board?  One who not only has the political experience, but also the experience of a true Vancouverite. I’m talking swimming outdoors at public pools like New Brighton, picnicking at beaches like Spanish Banks, and walking the sidelines of pitches like Clinton Park on dreary rainy Saturday mornings. I’m talking Stuart Mackinnon for Parks.

Contributing Writer: Al Tee
(c) 2018 iliveineastvan.com

Public toilets in parks: can we make them less crappy?

by Jodi Lastman | Sep 4, 2018



 

The topic may, at first blush, seem unimportant. But, make no mistake about it, public toilets are a major public health issue. In an excellent article, The Globe & Mail’s Andre Picard commented that:

“In Canada, we behave as if urination, defecation and menstruation are not routine bodily functions, but are somehow optional if we are away from our homes.” Adding that: “The answer is not to refuse to build public bathrooms, it is to value and maintain them as any other public infrastructure.:

The following five thinkers and doers from across Canada have something to say on the topic of public toilets in parks.

   Lezlie Lowe, The Journalist

 

Halifax Journalist Lezlie Lowe is literally writing the book on public toilets in Canada. She was inspired to write the book when she became a mother, spending time in Halifax’s Common, Canada’s oldest urban park. “The only bathroom on the premises was in a basement where I couldn’t take the stroller and the public bathroom was often locked.” This caused her to contemplate the politics of public bathrooms.

Lowe’s way of moving through the city changed because, as the parent of two daughters, her needs had shifted. What she’s discovered through this new lens is that it’s challenging to try and fix the lack of access to public bathrooms, particularly if you’re not a person of privilege.

“If you have compromised access to public bathrooms and you don’t have a voice, it’s hard to get things changed.”

Lowe points to the particular challenges of homeless, trans and disabled people who face unique challenges when accessing public bathrooms.

“Public bathrooms are supposed to be for anybody. But that access is compromised if there are activities deemed “anti-social” going on in public bathrooms. When that happens,  instead of fixing the challenge, bathrooms are simply shut down.”

Lowe points to the fact that while most public bathrooms are divided 50/50 for men and women, women actually need more bathrooms than men do. First, women tend to use bathrooms more frequently. Also, because women are more often the caregivers of children and seniors, they have others who accompany them on their bathroom visits. That explains why there’s always a lineup for the women’s bathroom.

Watch out for Lowe’s book No Place To Go, being released by Coach House books in September, 2018.

   Joan Kuyek, The Advocate

 

 An Ottawa Civics Bootcamp gave birth to an organization that advocates for public toilets. At the session, Joan Kuyek and her team developed a 5 minute pitch that was so well received that it led to GottaGo!, a campaign for safe, clean, accessible and easy to find toilets in Ottawa. 

Kuyek believes that public toilets suffer under a veil of silence that needs to be broken. She likens breaking the stigma around public toilets to Margaret Mitchell’s pronouncements about domestic abuse in the House of Commons in 1983. “It’s time to let go of the stigma, shame and silence that gets in the way of providing publicly accessible toilets,” says Kuyek. Gottago! does just that.

Ottawa’s highly trafficked Dundonald Park was recently renovated, without the inclusion of a publically accessible toilet. What are the practical implications? “The seniors who used to do Tai Chi in the park can no longer get together there. Not without a bathroom,” says Kuyek. We know that only 5% of seniors use parks. Kuyek believes this number would be much higher if we provided basic facilities that would make it easier for seniors to venture out without worrying about how they’ll be able to find a bathroom should they need one.

Kuyek acknowledges that building new public toilets is expensive. Installing and maintaining a new bathroom is somewhere between 200,000 to 300,000 dollars. In the interim, she welcomes the use of porta potties, but doesn’t see that as a suitable long term solution. 

Montreal has installed composting toilets that cost in the neighbourhood of $30,000 to $40,000 dollars, which Kuyek sees as the best solution for everyone.  A typical composting toilet is completely waterless and the waste from composting toilets is processed on-site.  

“Every park needs a public bathroom. Otherwise the amenities created for people simply can’t be used by many. If we want the health benefits of parks, we have to provide bathrooms.”

Most importantly, we need to have the conversation about public toilets in a way that reduces the stigma associated with bodily functions. “It can’t be hidden away anymore.”

   Jason Singh, The Disruptor

 

Living with Crohn’s or Colitis can mean upwards of 20 urgent bathroom trips a day. It’s a huge issue for the 250,000 Canadians who have Crohn’s or Colitis and face serious social isolation without enough access to public bathrooms. That’s why Crohn’s and Colitis Canada developed the GoHere Washroom Access Initiative which is based on three key components:

1. Local businesses and organizations sign on to the program and display a decal letting people know their bathrooms are open to those in need-no questions asked
2. There’s a mobile app that helps people find the closest available washroom registered with the GoHere initiative
3. A GoHere card (both printed and virtual versions) acts as a safeguard for people facing emergencies and needing access to a location. It’s a shorthand that helps people explain their need without having to speak about it in public.

Crohn’s and Colitis Canada is actively working with a number of municipalities such as Toronto, Mississauga, Calgary and Stratford to open up washroom access at city operated facilities such as civic and community centres, helping to make communities more accessible.

“All people should be in a position to venture out without anxiety,” says Jason Singh Manager, Innovative Health Initiatives with Crohn’s and Colitis Canada. “This is a hidden disease that affects so many Canadians. When our constituents have the right accommodations, everyone benefits.”

   Rebecca Pinkus, The Urbanist

 

“I’ve been a park person for the better part of my life,” says Rebecca Pinkus. And she means it. Pinkus is an “”Olmsted groupie” who focused her masters research on the history of engineering green space, and she is deeply interested in the role of urban parks on mental health. Her park-time increased last year when she got an allotment garden in High Park, a 109 plot garden in Toronto’s biggest park. In her section of the park, a porta potty has been provided by the City and is used by the gardeners who often work on-site for several hours. It’s also used by dog walkers, runners and the general park population.

Rebecca finds that the porta potties do the trick, as they are generally well maintained and clean. In fact, she sent a thank you note to the City when they replaced the free standing flush-model unit that people had trouble using with a standard no-flush model.



However, Pinkus worries that the porta potties aren’t accessible to people in wheelchairs and mobility devices. Also, she says, there have been times when the lock has been broken and fellow gardeners have had to stand watch while others used the facilities.

Rebecca understands the risks and costs associated with installing bathrooms. City workers need to address issues such as drug use, vandalism and misuse of the space. However, she wonders whether compost toilets might be a better long term, year-round solution. “I’ve used them at Everdale Farm and they’re amazing,” she says. “I wish the city would consider installing them in places like High Park.”

Photo Credit: Rebecca Pinkus

    Stuart Mackinnon, The Commissioner

 

Stuart Mackinnon is a Commissioner of the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation. Mackinnon’s long been an advocate for public bathrooms across Vancouver. He is adamant that “”publicly accessible bathrooms need to be approached as a public health issue.” This issue is particularly urgent as the population ages, he says.

Mackinnon was pleased to see that Vancouver’s recent capital plan included $12.3 million to maintain and renovate publicly accessible washrooms which include washrooms in field houses and concession stands.  Even though that’s a big investment, Mackinnon admits, “it’s very expensive to put in a public bathroom.” Those capital costs include building the infrastructure to pipe in water.

“No one really likes porta potties,” says Mackinnon, “they’re ugly, smelly and community members complain about them.”

One solution to the lack of publicly accessible bathrooms is mixed use development, which Mackinnon says is “just good design.” Once the city is investing in infrastructure for new seniors or daycare centres or community centres, they also build publicly accessible bathrooms outside the building when they’re located adjacent to parks. It’s a solution Mackinnon would like to see spread around his city, and across Canada.

Also, during his term as Commissioner Mackinnon has championed the availability of hand soap. It seems obvious, but before 2010 many public bathrooms did not provide soap because there had been issues of soap being misused and soap dispensers being pulled off the wall.

As a public school teacher, he knows how hard the government has worked to inform people about the importance of hand washing as a critical method of avoiding communicable ailments like the flu. “Dealing with this kind of stuff is just the cost of running public services,” says Mackinnon, “and the cost of not providing soap, from a public health standpoint, is much higher”

(c) 2018 Park People  https://parkpeople.ca/archives/9644

Federal Court Quashes Trans Mountain Expansion

Today I woke up to exciting news on an issue that all Greens, especially myself, have been concerned about for quite some time; the Federal Court of Appeals has quashed the government's approval to build the Trans Mountain expansion!

I have seen first hand the damage an oil spill can do to our beaches, water, wildlife and ecosystems. I was on the frontlines after the highly toxic oil spill in English Bay in 2015 and I have been speaking out about the dangers ever since. I am relieved not only because the courts have recognized the irresponsible manner with which approval was rammed through, but also because it “recognized that the federal government did not adequately, or meaningfully, consult with Indigenous people.”

It was fitting that today's First Nations response to the Trans Mountain Federal Appeals Court decision was held in a Vancouver park. We all would be severely impacted by an oil spill on the West Coast. Such an occurrence would be devastating, not only for Stanley Park, English Bay, Burrard Inlet and the western beaches, but for our entire coast. Today was a very good day for all Canadians. My sincere thanks to the First Nations for taking this heroic action and proving their case in court.

The Green Party of Vancouver campaign launch party is just over a week away and it is the perfect opportunity to celebrate such a momentous decision but also learn what more can be done. Our campaign team has been working hard to get all 10 of your Green candidates elected in October but they need your help. The first step is showing up. We are kindly asking all our supporters to RSVP for our Launch Party on September 7th as soon as possible so that we can plan accordingly. We have been building momentum and successes rapidly and we want to make sure the green movement continues to build.

I look forward to seeing you September 7th. Until then, thank you for your support.

with Green Park Board Commissioner Michael Wiebe and Squamish Nation Councillor Khelsilem

What's in a name?

The Park Board resolutions concerning the 'colonial audit' have inspired a lot of discussion, as has my notice of motion on the recognition of traditional place names within the jurisdiction of the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation. None more so than the concept of re-naming some parks. This editorial from the Prince George Citizen is an interesting view. But as Khelsilem, a member of the Squamish nation, has tweeted:

"We don’t need to rename Stanley Park. We need to rename areas that had actual place names. 

Do you know what the traditional and historical name for Stanely Park is? 

The answer is nothing. Because there was none! It was a forest."

There are no current plans at the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation to re-name Stanley Park. Despite this I am sharing the editorial for information. 

Stanley Park name change overdue

Neil Godbout / Prince George Citizen,
July 25, 2018

Three summers ago, Prince George city council voted to changed the name of Fort George Park to Lheidli T'enneh Memorial Park.

Now Vancouver is looking at doing the same with Stanley Park.

The Vancouver park board has approved a "colonial audit" dating back to 1888 to chronicle the forced removal of First Nations communities from Stanley Park and other public spaces.

The board will also apologize to three area First Nations for seizing traditional territory, demolishing burial grounds for roads and community amenities.

The completion of that audit, along with the apology, could lead to the renaming of the iconic Stanley Park, named after Lord Frederick Stanley, a former Governor General of Canada.

"Stanley Park was the home to many First Nations peoples and over the course of time they were evicted, removed from the park," park board chair Stuart Mackinnon said. "What we call our western beaches - Kitsilano, Jericho, Locarno and Spanish Banks - were also home to First Nations people, a gathering place and a place for food collection. They were all removed from there as well."

Unfortunately, this commendable work will just fuel another tiresome round of complaining from historically-illiterate, culturally-entitled white people who will ask with wide-eyed ignorance when Canada's Indigenous peoples will "move forward," stop living in the past and stop messing with history.

To move forward, however, we need to be honest about our past.

That whitewashed version of history taught in schools up until recently was a racist fantasy of white settlers arriving to bring civilization to an empty wilderness populated by only a handful of destitute savages.

More than land was stolen from Canada's proud and diverse First Nations. So was their way of life, their children, their culture and their language.

Canada's first prime minister, John. A MacDonald, was one of the architects of the attempted eradication of the identity of Aboriginal people, an effort that meets the definition of genocide as laid out by the United Nations.

That honesty is uncomfortably painful, because it shatters the childish illusion that Canada was founded peacefully, not through conflict as the republic to the south was.

What's also uncomfortably painful is making meaningful amends, rather than just offering shallow apologies that allow the status quo to remain unchallenged and unchanged.

Acknowledging Canada's Indigenous peoples through geographical names is already well-established, starting with the name of the country itself.

More recently, name changes have been adopted from Lheidli T'enneh Memorial Park to Haida Gwaii.

There's no need to fret about the disappearance of Canada's colonial history. There's still British Columbia and Prince George and Prince Rupert and Vancouver and the Fraser River and Mount Robson and on and on and on.

As for poor Lord Stanley, whose name might longer grace Vancouver's amazing park, he will hardly be forgotten.

His name already graces the best trophy in professional sports, which Brett Connolly will bring to Prince George Aug. 20 after winning it as a member of the Washington Capitals in June.

Visiting a renamed Stanley Park will help all Canadians see that special place in a whole new light, one that celebrates Indigenous peoples, their history and their vital role in Canada's present and future.

That's one step moving forward.

-- Editor-in-chief Neil Godbout.
Link to original article here.

Recognition of Traditional Place Names within the Jurisdiction of the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation

At the 23 July 2018 meeting the Park Board I put forward the following Notice of Motion. This will be brought forward for debate at the next meeting on 23 September 2018.

NOTICE of MOTION

Recognition of Traditional Place Names within the Jurisdiction of the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation

MOVER: Commissioner Mackinnon

WHEREAS:

1.    The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation approved eleven Reconciliation Strategies in support of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action; one of those strategies calls for the acknowledgement that “Aboriginal rights include Aboriginal language rights; that preservation, revitalization and strengthening of Aboriginal languages and cultures are best managed by Aboriginal people and communities;

2.    The Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh people have inhabited this land known as Vancouver since time immemorial;

3.    That lands the Park Board maintains jurisdiction over remain unceded, and that Park Board occupation of this territory and commitment to UNDRIP demand that local Indigenous rights be respected and acknowledged;

4.    Names form an integral part of culture and heritage;

5.    The traditional names of places are known to the Indigenous peoples of Vancouver;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

A.   THAT the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation work with the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations on identifying the traditional names of places within the jurisdiction of the Park Board;

B.   THAT the use of traditional names be recognized by the Park Board;

C.   THAT staff work with the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations on ways to acknowledge those names at parks, beaches, and other public spaces within the jurisdiction of the Park Board, in a way deemed most appropriate by the Nations.