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.

Vancouver Park Board to undergo ‘colonial audit’

Board also looking to formally apologize to Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations

Jessica Kerr Vancouver Courier  July 24, 2018

 

Vancouver Park Board is looking to formally apologize to Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations for “core acts of colonialism” including dispossession and theft of ancestral lands in traditional Coast Salish territories including Vancouver beach areas and the area that came to be known as Stanley Park in the years after the park board was formed in 1888.

Vancouver Park Board is looking to formally apologize to Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations for “core acts of colonialism.”

Board chair Stuart Mackinnon recommended making the formal apology Monday night as commissioners approved a colonial audit of the board’s history and actions, including dispossession and theft of ancestral lands in traditional Coast Salish territories including Vancouver beach areas and the area that came to be known as Stanley Park in the years after the park board was formed in 1888.

“The occupation of unceded territories has produced the uncomfortable question of what it means for the park board to hold jurisdiction over the federally and internationally recognized territories of Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples,” Mackinnon said.

“To move forward we must come from a position of truth and humility and acknowledge that our colonial past requires us to take responsibility,” he added. “This responsibility means we must be willing to admit fault and seek an opportunity to formally apologize to the local First Nations.”

Commissioners approved the colonial audit and directed staff to undertake a more comprehensive audit for a deeper analysis of all areas of colonial impact, fully documenting long-term practices, impacts and the ways in which colonialism is woven into the day-to-day operations of the park board.

The park board started its reconciliation work at a meeting in 2015 between the commissioners and the three First Nations, marking the first time the board officially acknowledged the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples are rights holders and launching a joint process to develop a long-term plan for Stanley Park.

In 2016 the board approved 11 reconciliation strategies and hired the first municipal archeologist in Canada, Geordie Howe, to work exclusively on Indigenous issues. And late last year, the board approved hiring a reconciliation planner.

@JessicaEKerr

jkerr@vancourier.com

Vancouver Park Board stops the music at fitness centres and pools

Tunes will no longer be played in gyms or during public swims

CBC News · Posted: Jul 26, 2018


The Vancouver Park Board announced Thursday that its fitness centres and indoor pools will no longer play music as of Aug. 1.

Donnie Rosa, director of recreation with the Vancouver Park Board, said the decision was made after they received some feedback.


"People with auditory impairments, they wouldn't come use our facilities because of the background music," Rosa told On The Coast's Gloria Macarenko.

It also caused arguments between patrons and staff, who disagreed about what should be played over the speakers, Rosa said.

"Really, it came down to creating a space that was welcoming and inclusive for everybody."
A bit of backlash is expected, but Rosa said being inclusive is the priority.

 With files from On The Coast

Vancouver Park Board approves landmark audit into past actions and colonial roots

Truth telling is the first step towards reconciliation, says park board chair

Clare Hennig · CBC News · Posted: Jul 24, 2018

 The area that is now called Stanley Park was federal territory, given to Vancouver on a 100-year lease that was recently renewed but never ceded by the First Nations who lived there. (David Horemans/CBC)


The Vancouver Park Board is focusing on its own role in colonialism, having voted Monday night to proceed with an unprecedented audit scrutinizing past actions stretching back to 1888.

The approval of the audit follows 11 reconciliation recommendations the park board adopted in 2016.

• Vancouver Park Board hires reconciliation planner

"The first step towards reconciliation is truth telling," said board chair Stuart Mackinnon.

"We have to look at our past practices to understand how we've got to where we are."

That includes past actions like the dispossession of people and the theft of traditional territories, such as the area now called Stanley Park, disturbance of archeological sites and discounting local Indigenous knowledge.

• A guide to First Nations plant use in Stanley Park

Mackinnon also recommended a formal apology to the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations as part of the colonial audit.

"There has been no recognition that people have lived in that area for thousands of years," he told Stephen Quinn, the host of CBC's The Early Edition.

"We have to recognize that with that colonial history, there have been some costs."

Taken in 1889 or 1890, this photo shows a man in a canoe paddling past Siwash Rock. The Vancouver Park Board voted unanimously to work with First Nations to rename Siwash Rock last year. (City of Vancouver Archives)

Names that 'negate the very essence'

One way of recognizing the people who were in the area first has to do with the names of locations, as one example.

• Vancouver Park Board votes unanimously to work with First Nations to rename Siwash Rock

"The idea that a place they have been for millennia is called Spanish Banks — named after some folks who came in here a couple hundred years ago, looked around and left — it negates the very essence of the people who have always been here," Mackinnon said.

In Monday's meeting, he also submitted a motion on notice for September to work with First Nations in Vancouver on acknowledging and accepting place names.

• Analysis
  'Who owns this city?': why debates around Vancouver place names are divisive

Collaborating with First Nations on the issues of the audit is key, he emphasized.

"Truth telling means that we are listening," he said.

The Early Edition