Musqueam Indian Band
Encyclopedia
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
government in the Canadian province of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, and is the only Indian band whose reserve community lies within the boundaries of the City of Vancouver.
The name Musqueam relates to the grass məθkʷəy' which grew in throughout the community of Musqueam. It was noted that in some periods the məθkʷəy' grass flourished, and in some periods it could scarcely be found. It was also noted that in some periods our people would flourish and in some periods the population would dwindle, perhaps by a plague or war. In this way the people became known as the xʷməθkʷəy'əm or Musqueam.
The Musqueam are the oldest-known residents of Vancouver. Located near their main residential area is the Musqueam midden, also known as the Great Fraser Midden, a thousands-year old deposit of shells and other household debris. Formerly there was a second residential area near the current one, Mahlie. The area of the Musqueam Reserve is the closest Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
explorer Simon Fraser
Simon Fraser (explorer)
Simon Fraser was a fur trader and an explorer who charted much of what is now the Canadian province of British Columbia. Fraser was employed by the Montreal-based North West Company. By 1805, he had been put in charge of all the company's operations west of the Rocky Mountains...
made it to the Strait of Georgia
Strait of Georgia
The Strait of Georgia or the Georgia Strait is a strait between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is approximately long and varies in width from...
; he was driven back by hostile Musqueam who had had bad experiences with white men on ships just previously. The chief Whattlekainum of the Kwantlen
Kwantlen
Kwantlen may refer to one of the following:*Kwantlen people, an indigenous Coast Salish people in British Columbia*Kwantlen First Nation, the band government of the Kwantlen people...
warned Fraser of an impending attack which is said saved his life.
Musqueam’s ancestors have lived in the Fraser River estuary for thousands of years. Their traditional territory encompasses the lands, lakes and streams defined and included by a line commencing at Harvey Creek in Howe Sound and proceeding Eastward to the height of land and continuing on the height of land around the entire watershed draining into English Bay, Burrard Inlet and Indian Arm; South along the height of land between Coquitlam River and Brunette River to the Fraser River, across to the South or left bank of the Fraser River and proceeding downstream taking in the left Bank of the main stream and the South Arm to the sea, including all those intervening lands, islands and waters back along the sea shore to Harvey Creek, and the sea, its reefs, flats, tidal lands and islands adjacent to the above described land and out to the centre of Georgia Strait.
Though today limited to the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
banks of the city, their territory also once included Burrard Inlet
Burrard Inlet
Burrard Inlet is a relatively shallow-sided coastal fjord in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Formed during the last Ice Age, it separates the City of Vancouver and the rest of the low-lying Burrard Peninsula from the slopes of the North Shore Mountains, home to the communities of West...
until they were displaced there by the expanding Squamish people and their kin, the Tsleil-Waututh
Tsleil-Waututh First Nation
The Tsleil-Waututh First Nation, also known as the Burrard Indian Band or Burrard Band, is a First Nations government in the Canadian Province of British Columbia...
. Musqueam and Squamish/Tsleil-Waututh
Tsleil-Waututh First Nation
The Tsleil-Waututh First Nation, also known as the Burrard Indian Band or Burrard Band, is a First Nations government in the Canadian Province of British Columbia...
land claims still overlap. A brief political unity was obtained in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century by Chief August Jack, aka Qahtsahlano, who inherited the chieftaincy of both peoples and established his residence at Snauq at the mouth of False Creek
False Creek
False Creek is a short inlet in the heart of Vancouver. It separates downtown from the rest of the city. It was named by George Henry Richards during his Hydrographic survey of 1856-63. Science World is located at its eastern end and the Burrard Street Bridge crosses its western end. False Creek is...
, now Vanier Park
Vanier Park
Vanier Park is a municipal park located in the Kitsilano neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is home to the Vancouver Museum, the Vancouver Maritime Museum, the City of Vancouver Archives, and the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre.-History:...
just west of the Burrard Bridge, rather than choose between residence at the Capilano Reserve or at Musqueam, as either of those would have had political implications for the one not chosen.
Language
Their traditional language, now nearly extinct, is (usually anglicized as hun'q'umin'um'), the Downriver Dialect of the Salishan languageSalishan languages
The Salishan languages are a group of languages of the Pacific Northwest...
Halkomelem, and they are closely related to neighbouring peoples of the lower Fraser River. The nearby Kwantlen
Kwantlen First Nation
The Kwantlen First Nation is the band government of the Kwantlen subgroup of the Stó:lō people in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada, located primarily at Fort Langley. They traditionally speak the Downriver dialect of Halkomelem, one of the Salishan family of languages...
and Katzie
Katzie First Nation
The Katzie are an Indigenous people of the Lower Fraser Valley in British Columbia, Canada. The Katzie historically spoke Halqemeylem, the Upriver Dialect of Halkomelem, one of the Coast Salish family of languages. They are part of the Sto:lo group of peoples, historically referred to as the...
peoples just upriver share the same Hun'qumi'num' dialect, while the upriver Sto:lo people
Stó:lo
The Sto:lo , alternately written as Stó:lō, Stó:lô or Stó:lõ and historically as Staulo or Stahlo, and historically known and commonly referred to in ethnographic literature as the Fraser River Indians or Lower Fraser Salish, are a group of First Nations peoples inhabiting the Fraser Valley of...
speak another dialect, Halq’əméyləm (known as the Upriver Dialect). The Straits Salish peoples of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
and the Gulf Islands
Gulf Islands
The Gulf Islands are the islands in the Strait of Georgia , between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada....
of the southern Gulf of Georgia speak another dialect,
Indian Reserves
Indian Reserves under the administration of the band are:- Musqueam Indian Reserve No. 2, at the mouth of the Fraser River to the north of Sea Island, 190.40 ha.49°14′00"N 123°13′00"W
- Musqueam Indian Reserve No. 4, to the east of Canoe Passage near Westham IslandWestham IslandWestham Island is an island located near Ladner, British Columbia, Canada. The island is accessible via the Westham Island Bridge. The George C. Reifel Refuge for migratory birds is located at the northern end of the island. The Alaksen National Wildlife Area is also located on the...
, 57.30 ha. 49°04′00"N 123°07′30"W - Sea Island Indian Reserve 3, on the northwest corner of Sea Island, 6.50 ha.49°12′00"N 123°12′00"W
Miscellaneous Dates
- In 1952, Musqueam elected the youngest Chief and Council ever in Canada.
- Musqueam elected the first female Chief and first female Councilor in Canada
- Musqueam was one of the first to assume delegated authority of Sections 53/60 of the Indian Act to assume control over reserve lands.
- Musqueam was one of the first to assume membership authority in Section 10 of the Indian Act.