Remember the barge? A few years ago after a particularly nasty storm this barge washed up on the shore near Sunset Beach in English Bay. It turned out to be too stuck to push off the rocks, even during a “king tide,” and had to be dismantled piece by piece. And so, after an iconic year as everyone’s favourite Vancouver landmark, sometime in late 2022, it was no more.
According to the Squamish Atlas, the area where the barge landed is called Í7iy̓el̓shn (pronounced ey-ee-el-shin, according to the atlas). The 7 is an interesting character in the written Sḵwx̱wú7mesh language that we don’t have in English. Similar to the hamza (“ء”) in Arabic, it signifies a glottal stop, kind of like the stop in the middle of “uh-oh.”
This kind of stuff is top of mind for me right now as I’m reading Tiná7 Cht Ti Temíxw: We Come From This Land, the history of the Squamish People. I highly recommend it if you live in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh territory, or if you’re simply interested in the history of the area.
The photo above was taken at Sunset Beach, by the concession stand. You can see Vanier Park across the water. Vanier Park, which is also home to the Planetarium, Vancouver Museum, City of Vancouver Archives, and Bard on the Beach, was once a village called Sen̓áḵw.
This photo is starting to push the “west end” theme a little. I took this one from a False Creek Ferry going between Granville Island and the Aquatic Centre. Looking ahead, you can see the Granville Street Bridge, but if you use your imagination, put yourself on that little ferry, and turn your head to the right, you would see the massive new towers that are the first phase of the development at Sen̓áḵw.
The development promises 6,000+ new rental homes spread out over 11 towers. The three towers north of Burrard that are currently under construction, and eight more of varying heights on the southern side. It was a little controversial, considering the massive scale of the development, but because the lands belong to the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, they don’t have to follow the typical City of Vancouver development process.
I won’t be the first person to point out the massive irony in members of a mostly-white neighbourhood complaining that an Indigenous development is going to dramatically change their community. But it still feels like it needs to be said.
To be honest, I started writing this blog post to show off some of the photos I’ve taken over the years, and also to just put something here. The website has just been parked for years now, and I felt like it was time to slap on a new coat of paint and re-launch the blog, for what feels like the hundredth time.
But I live in Kitsilano now, a neighbourhood named after Chief August Jack Khatsalano (X̱ats’alanexw Siy̓ám̓), and I’m reading about the history of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation/Squamish community/Squamish people). So, when I started putting this together, the first thing I thought about when I chose to start with the barge photo was: hey, I actually think there’s another name for this place.
This was the view from my old apartment. Living here, I was very close to Stanley Park, which was home to another significant village. As I understand it, X̱wáýx̱way was home to Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, səlilwətaɬ, and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm peoples and was one of the largest Indigenous settlements in the region.
X̱wáýx̱way (meaning “mask” according to Tiná7 Cht Ti Temíxw) was on the north shores of Stanley Park around where Lumbermen’s Arch sits today. There was apparently even a longhouse that was over 60 metres long.
I guess there haven’t been a ton of actual photos of the West End here yet. Above you’ll see the Denman Market, at Denman and Barclay. They used to have all sorts of good flavours of Coke Zero, like Cherry, Vanilla, and sometimes even Cherry-Vanilla.
X̱wáýx̱way, like Sen̓áḵw, was in the way of the brutal forces of colonization, and the people who lived there were forced out. Initially, it was to build a road around today’s Stanley Park.
The people living in Sen̓áḵw, however, were displaced because their community was too close to the Vancouver neighbourhoods popping up around it. White people didn’t want to live so close to an Indigenous village.
The trouble with non-fiction is that you often know how the story ends before you start reading the book. I’m only halfway through but I know that while, after an enormous struggle, some things have gotten better, it’s not necessarily a story with a happy ending. At least not yet.
Anyway, it’s something to think about.
Questions, comments, concerns, complaints, and compliments can be directed to Mark at mark@markdunn.ca.
All photos were taken on 35mm film by yours truly.
Stay tuned for more.