Squamish First Nation (from Wikipedia)

July 6, 2006

Squamish First Nation From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Squamish First Nation are a major Salishan-speaking people of southwestern British Columbia. Their main reserves are near the town of Squamish, British Columbia and at the mouths of the Capilano River, Mosquito Creek , and Seymour Creek in the Burrard Inlet in North Vancouver, British Columbia. The Squamish Nation is an amalgamation of various Squamish speaking villages into one political unit: Sḵwx̱wú7meshulh Uxwumixw (the Squamish Nation).

The Squamish language, written Skwxwú7mesh snichim in the official writing system of the Squamish Nation, is a Coast Salish language most closely related to Shishalh (Sechelt), and Sḵ’emin’em (Musqueam, Nanaimo, Cowichan, Chilliwack dialects of Halkemeylem) and Xwsa7k (Nooksack). They are closely related to the Burrard Band or Tsleil-Waututh First Nation, who reside further east on Burrard Inlet, and have family connections to the Musqueam who reside on the southern edge of the city of Vancouver. The Skwxwu7mesh-ulh’s neighbours on the north are the Lil’wat people, also known as the Lower Lillooet, the main southern branch of the St’at’imc (also known as the Lillooet). Both Squamish and Lil’wat are co-hosts of the 2010 Olympic Games, as the community of Whistler hosting those games straddles the boundary between their traditional territories in the area of the upper Cheakamus River. "Squamish" is the modern name for the Skwxwu7mesh-ulh people.

History The Squamish were the first mainland British Columbia aboriginal people known to have met Europeans, entering Howe Sound in 1792 near St’a7mes, the village near the town of Squamish. St’a7mes is where the English name Stawamus is derived from and is also where the name of the St’a7mes Siy’am’ (the Squamish Chief) comes from. In Pauline Johnson’s Legends of Vancouver two French priests - Jesuits by dress as described in the Squamish history taught her by Chief Joe Matthias - aboard a Russian trading vessel moored in English Bay and afflicted by scurvy were given a talisman by the chief of the Burrard Inlet to help thwart off the disease and replenish the drained life energy of the crew. The chief told the priests that they had heard of the great French chief Bonaparte, and that they should give the talisman to him and he should always have it with him. The talisman was a vertebra from the Sisiutl, the great double-headed serpent which spanned the First Narrows and was slain by a hero of the Squamish people. Johnson’s account of the legend goes on to say that tradition has it that Napoleon lost it on the morning of Waterloo. The language used to communicate between the priests and the Squamish is not known but should be presumed to be the early phase of the Chinook Jargon, as it is unlikely the Jesuits had time to master the complexities and phonological difficulties of the Squamish language. No Jesuit record exists of such a voyage. Many other place names in southwestern British Columbia are derived from Squamish words or names. Kitsilano neighbourhood, for example, of Vancouver is named after a Squamish chief, Xats’alanexw (Khatsahlano a.k.a. August Jack)

Reserves The Squamish Nation is made up of sixteen bands in the following Indian Reserves: Ustlawn I.R. #1 (Mission) Ch’ch’Elxwikw I.R. #1 (Seymour) Homulchsen I.R. #5 (Capilano) Senakw I.R. #6 (Kitsilano) Skowishin I.R. #7 Poyam I.R. #9 Cheakamus I.R. #11 Yookwitz I.R. #12 Poquiosin I.R. #13 Waiwakum I.R. #14 (Brackendale) Seaichem I.R. #16 Kowtain I.R #17 Stawamus I.R. #24 Chekwelp I.R. #26 Sxaaltxw I.R. #27 (Shelter Island) K’ik’elxen I.R. #28 (Port Mellon)

External links Squamish Nation Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squamish_First_Nation" Categories: Coast Salishan languages | First Nations in British Columbia | History of British Columbia

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Caroline is off to Varanasi, India on next Monday!

 

My niece Caroline is going to Varanasi, India next Monday to participate in a summer volunteer literacy program through World Literacy of Canada (see http://www.worldlit.ca/india-summer-program.html).  She did raise some of the necessary funds herself, mostly by request to my friends (thanks a bunch!)  The rest of her trip costs are being covered through The Stephen Leacock Foundation for Children (http://www.leacockfoundation.org/home/index.html).  She is very excited.  Way to go, C!

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Caroline’s article on Ecuador (Summer, 2005)

http://within-reach.net/articles/Ecuador/Ecuador.html
Within Reach:  A magazine by Queen’s Medical Outreach
With Open Arms – A Canadian Experience in Ecuador
By Caroline Cormier
As we approached the coast of Ecuador, the sun was setting. Beautiful shades of gold and blue embraced us as we descended into the colorful city of Quito. I remember looking out the window and thinking to myself that I was about to step foot on to an earthly paradise. As long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to travel. I wanted to understand the different cultures of the world – to experience them through my own eyes. In Ecuador, I was given the chance to open both my heart and my mind to a new culture and it was, without a doubt, the best thing that I have ever done.

At first, I could only see the things that these people didn’t have. My first host family didn’t have clean or running water, they had minimal electricity and clothing, and the children didn’t have any books or toys. Many families in the rural community I lived in did not have money to pay for education or to access proper medical assistance. Statistically, more than 65% of Ecuadorians live in extreme poverty. I couldn’t believe that these people were being denied the things that I had always taken for granted. I started to doubt that I could actually make a difference.


Greeted by the fragrance of the crisp Andean air, I hiked to my elementary school each morning and was captivated by the beauty of the landscape around me. I was amazed to find myself standing in the middle of the Andes watching the sunrise over the Imbabura volcano. It was very surreal.

Although the surrounding scenery was breathtaking, the school itself was a basic structure. It consisted of six small classrooms, worn-out desks, and minimal supplies. There were no washrooms. Through my Western eyes, I could not help but wonder how children could learn in an environment like this.
My first week at the school was frustrating because I didn’t understand the language and I was beginning to really miss the familiarity of my Canadian lifestyle. Within the first few days, the teachers discovered that they could use the school’s computer to communicate with me by translating word documents from Spanish to English. During one of our lunch breaks, I broke down and started to cry in front of them. Mauricio, one of the teachers, motioned to me to follow him to the computer where he typed: “We are your friends. We do not always understand you but we love you”. It was at this moment that I knew everything was going to be okay. I realized that these people appreciated a form of beauty and kindness that I had yet to experience. Each day, when I arrived at the school, both the teachers and the students greeted me with beaming smiles. It did not take me long to realize that in spite of their living conditions, these children still had the ability to learn, laugh, and love. Hidden beneath the statistics, Ecuador has a very beautiful culture.
I’m not a certified teacher – not even close. When I showed up at the school on the first day, I had no idea what to expect. Before I left Canada, I was told that I would be acting as an assistant for an English teacher; however, upon arriving I quickly discoveredthat none of the teachers at the school spoke a word of English. Four weeks into my placement, the grade five teacher was transferred to another community and I was on my own to teach three classes a day. I spent every day working to become friends with the students, to learn about their culture, and to encourage them to exchange their language for mine. It became obvious that I needed the kids as much as they needed me.
I will never forget the last day of class at San Jacinto. Throughout the school year, the girls at the school were always weaving friendship bracelets to sell at the indigenous market in Otavalo to help fund their education and support their families. While I was sitting on the grass talking with some of my students, Zarya, one of my fourth grade students, came over and hugged me with tears in her eyes. She handed me a piece of paper, on which she had written, in perfect English: “Carolina please do not go to Canada again”. Underneath her message she had drawn a picture of a Canadian flag. When she saw the sadness in my eyes, I felt her hand press up against mine and I looked down to see that she had placed a bracelet in my hand. She looked up at me and asked me not to forget her.
 
Volunteering, to me, is about making a difference in a world that is in desperate need of change. It is about sharing your knowledge and understanding with the people around you. No matter what your field of expertise, you have something valuable to contribute. I cannot emphasize what an enriching experience this was for me. Not only did I make friends and memories that will last a lifetime, but I challenged myself in ways I had never imagined. I learned a lot about the Ecuadorian culture, but at the same time, my Ecuadorian family and friends taught me a great deal about myself and about the beauty of life. I could never thank them enough for that.
Finally the day came when I had to return to Canada. As the plane ascended into the blue sky, above the mountainous landscape I had called my home for the past few months, the tears came. My mother once said that those tears were a sign that I had fully opened up both my mind and my heart. She was right. I had embraced a whole new world, a world which had welcomed me with open arms.

 

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