Latest news with #MusqueamIndianBand
Global News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Global News
Vancouver's Trutch Street to officially change to šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm
Vancouver City Council is set to vote on Tuesday on adopting a new Musqueam name for Trutch Street in Kitsilano. The street is named after Joseph Trutch, B.C.'s first lieutenant-governor whose policies inflicted harm on First Nations people. City councillors asked the Musqueam Indian Band to choose a replacement after voting to rename the street in 2021. The Nation gifted the name šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm, which is Musqueamview in the Musqueam Indian Band's hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language. 1:58 Vandals put 'Truth' in Trutch Street ahead of official name change Trutch Street runs between 18th and 1st Avenues on the city's west side in the unceded traditional territories of the Musqueam people. Story continues below advertisement Trutch, who arrived in the province in 1859 and became B.C.'s chief commissioner of land and works in the 1860s, was considered an extreme racist. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy According to the Musqueam Indian Band, Trutch was openly hostile to First Nations, denied the existence of Aboriginal rights, and did not recognize previously established Indian Reserves, resulting in reserves shrinking throughout the province. The Musqueamview name will debut on the street on June 20.
CBC
6 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
Vancouver's Trutch Street set to officially be renamed following council vote
Social Sharing A street in Vancouver's Kitsilano neighbourhood will soon be officially renamed in what members of the Musqueam Indian Band call a step forward for reconciliation. Trutch Street will be called Musqueamview Street in English and šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm in the Musqueam Indian Band's hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language. It comes after a unanimous vote by city council in July 2021 to replace the name of the street, located between Blenheim and Balaclava streets on the city's west side. Musqueamview Street runs 16 blocks, with its northern apex near the water at Jericho Beach, and the southern end near Carnarvon Park. Its hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ name is pronounced "sh-muck-wi-um-awe-sum." The street — originally named after Joseph Trutch, B.C.'s first lieutenant-governor — was renamed because of Trutch's racist policies against Indigenous people, including drastically reducing the size of reserves and refusing to let Indigenous people purchase land from non-Indigenous people. Vancouver city council will rubberstamp the renaming after a council vote on Tuesday, with city staff making the recommendation to change the name to šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm — a name gifted to the city by the Musqueam Indian Band in September 2022. Larry Grant, an elder and the manager of the band's language and culture department, said that the renaming comes as Canada tries to work on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. "It's really, really important that our young ones that are coming up behind [us] to understand our language has some meaning ... and it brings forward community pride," he said. "So that's really my hope for all." Grant and the Musqueam Indian Band worked alongside the city to implement the changes, and the elder said that there would be storyboards along the largely residential street talking about Trutch and why the street was once named after him. "We did not want to completely erase his name ... but also keep history in focus, so that people would understand why the name was changed," he said. Vanessa Campbell, another member of the Musqueam language and culture department, said the band's members were very excited and honoured by the change, especially given there are no fluent speakers of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language left. She acknowledged that hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ orthography may be a new sight for some Vancouverites. "We're going to make sure that there's lots of different types of educational materials so that you can learn in any way that makes you feel most comfortable," she said. Some systems can't display new name In the report to city council on Tuesday, city staff said it had sought input from first responders on the name change, given it has been in the works for years. It found that emergency responders, city systems and even agencies like Canada Post and ICBC had trouble displaying the new name. In those instances, the city says the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ name will be used where possible. "Those that cannot will use the name 'Musqueamview [Street]' with a footnote wherever possible stating 'Musqueamview [Street] is a translated name available for use while colonial systems work to accept multilingual characters,'" the report says. The city said the change will impact 100 unique addresses on the street. Vancouver resident Verity Livingstone told CBC News on Monday that she was in favour of the renaming. "I think history marches forward and, therefore, we should all be cognizant of of the fact it's time for change," Livingstone said. "And if we can come up with a name that respects the history of this place, I think we should use it." Streets and institutions around B.C. that were named for Trutch have been renamed in the wake of the reappraisal of his racist and colonizing legacy. In Victoria, what was once Trutch Street is now səʔit Street, pronounced say-eet.
CBC
24-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Vancouver's West Point Grey set to be transformed by Jericho Lands development
The Jericho Lands development received backing from Vancouver City Council last week. The First-Nations-led project has a massive footprint in the West Point Grey area, adding about 13,000 housing units over the next 25 years. To speak more on the coming changes are three guests representing the three nations involved with the project: Chief Jen Thomas with the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, Chief Wayne Sparrow with the Musqueam Indian Band and Coun. and spokesperson Wilson Williams with the Squamish Nation.
CBC
08-03-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Musqueam First Nation, Ottawa sign self-government agreement
The federal Crown-Indigenous relations minister and the chief of the Musqueam Indian Band have initialled an agreement they say brings the band one step closer to self-governance. Minister Gary Anandasangaree told a ceremony on Friday afternoon that signing the Musqueam self-government agreement is a "significant milestone" and a "powerful step" toward self-determination. He said once the agreement is in effect, it will revitalize the Musqueam Nation's inherent right to self-government and restore the community's ability to create laws, programs, services and economic opportunities on the nation's own terms. "The self-government agreement will establish areas of jurisdiction for the Musqueam Nation in a wide range of subject matters, including governance, land, natural resources, environment, fish membership, cultural matters, language, education, financial management and accountability, and health and social services," Anandasangaree said. Musqueam Chief Wayne Sparrow said being self-sufficient and looking after the community's affairs has always been their vision. Rosalind Campbell, a former Musqueam councillor who worked on the agreement, said it's the first self-government agreement that implements aspects of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. "It allows us to create our laws that incorporate our language and culture, our values," she told the ceremony. "We get to reflect our values in our laws, and I'm so excited and look forward to that part of the work when we get there." Musqueam has a population of more than 1,400 people with more than 50 per cent living on reserve. A joint statement said the next steps are for the Musqueam to launch community engagement and begin the process of ratifying the self-government agreement among its membership. If approved, the agreement will need federal legislation to give it legal effect.
