Fotoeins Fotografie

Civilization, before colonization

In the District of North Vancouver, Maplewood Flats is a wildlife conservation area including lush green space and a set of mudflats (off-limits to humans). In this image facing east are the following place names, courtesy of the SFU Bill Reid Centre:

•   Stitsma – fishing spot for the Skwxwu7mesh (Squamish) people, an area once abundant in salmon, trout, and crab.

•   Lhuḵw’lhuḵw’áyten – Squamish for “arbutus from which bark is removed in spring”; Barnet Marine Park, formerly Barnet Mill. Now includes all of Burnaby Mountain and Simon Fraser University (SFU).

•   səl̓ilw̓ət – hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ word meaning “waters of Burrard Inlet and Indian Arm”; root word for səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ – “Tsleil-Waututh” place/residence/village in the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language, meaning “People of the Inlet.” Land remnant today is Burrard Inlet Reserve No. 3.

I’m grateful to the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples on whose lands I was born as guest. I made the photo above on 16 Jun 2021 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime with the following settings: 1/1000-sec, f/11, ISO1000, and 18.5mm (28mm) focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-lfy.

Civilization, before colonization

•   q̓əmq̓ə́mələɬp in the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language of the Musqueam people.
•   Ḵ’emḵ’emel̓áy̓ in the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh language of the Squamish people.

The meaning of the words is roughly “leafy maple trees”.

The headquarters for the Canadian Fishing Company (Canfisco) and the massive cranes of the Port of Vancouver’s CenTerm shipping facility provide this present-day picture at the foot of Gore and Dunlevy Streets. Recent history has this location as the home of Stamps Mill (1865, later Hastings Mill). Lining the image at right are the tracks of the Canadian Pacific Railway, connecting the Colony of British Columbia with national confederation and accelerating settler expansion from east to west.

The Sea-to-Sky highway between Vancouver and Pemberton has highway signs with locations printed in English and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh. Vancouver is listed as “Ḵ’emḵ’emel̓áy̓” on signs along route BC-99, even though the physical area defined by the modern city once had multiple indigenous names for settlements and landmarks before colonization.

I’m grateful to the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples on whose lands I was born as guest. I made the photo above on 2 Jul 2021 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime with the following settings: 1/1000-sec, f/10, ISO1000, and 18.5mm (28mm) focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-lfs.

Civilization, before colonization

On 18 June 2018, the City of Vancouver changed the name of the north plaza at the Vancouver Art Gallery:

•   šxʷƛ̓ənəq in the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language of the Musqueam people.
•   Xwtl’e7énḵ in the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh language of the Squamish people.

Both words mean “a place for (cultural) gathering or ceremony.”

The correct pronunciation for these names can be found on YouTube.

I’m grateful to the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples on whose lands I was born as guest. I made the photo above on 29 May 2021 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime with the following settings: 1/500-sec, f/13, ISO800, and 18.5mm (28mm) focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-lf4.

Civilization, before colonization

On 18 June 2018, the City of Vancouver changed the name of the front or north plaza at Queen Elizabeth Theatre:

•   šxʷƛ̓exən in the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language of the Musqueam people, meaning “place where people are invited”.
•   Xwtl’a7shn in the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh language of the Squamish people, meaning “place where people are invited to celebrate”.

The correct pronunciation for these names can be found on YouTube.

I’m grateful to the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples on whose lands I was born as guest. I made the photo above on 8 Jun 2021 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime with the following settings: 1/1000-sec, f/14, ISO1250, and 18.5mm, 18.5mm (28mm) focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-lf0.