The City of Vancouver has returned a portion of a village and burial site to Musqueam Indian Band.
The land, known as c̓əsnaʔəm to the Musqueam people, is located at 8902 Milton St. in present day Marpole and is part of a site known as the Great Fraser Midden, Eburne Midden and Marpole Midden.
“As part of our traditional territory, c̓əsnaʔəm is very important to the Musqueam people,” Chief Wayne Sparrow said in a press release. “It has never ceased to be part of our identity, as we have a sense of knowing and belonging to our land that is very strong. c̓əsnaʔəm has special significance to us, as it is one of the named places that our ancestors lived and practiced their culture and way of life.
“The site is invaluable in preserving a small, tangible and intangible part of our history and culture that, unlike so much else, has to date survived non-Aboriginal settlement on our traditional lands,” Sparrow said. “It is the final resting place of many of our ancestors, and contains belongings of immense cultural value to Musqueam, British Columbians and Canadians.”
The donation was announced Tuesday night at a community event held at the Musqueam Cultural Education and Resource Centre.
“As a City of Reconciliation, Vancouver is committed to working with the Musqueam Indian Band to move forward together,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson. “Returning the City’s parcel on the c̓əsnaʔəm site to its original caretakers is one of many necessary steps we need to take as a city that is truly committed to building a deep and meaningful relationship with Indigenous communities.”
c̓əsnaʔəm is more than 4,000 years old. The Musqueam people had many villages but the main winter village was always located at the mouth of the Fraser River. More than 8,000 years ago, that village was səw̓q̓ʷeqsən, where the south footing of the Alex Fraser Bridge currently stands. AS the delta grew and the mouth of the river moved, many Musqueam people moved with it. c̓əsnaʔəm was Musqueam’s largest village 2,500 years ago. Most people moved to xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Musqueam’s current community, about 1,500 years ago.
Like much of Musqueam’s territory, c̓əsnaʔəm was converted to an industrial and residential area, and ancestral remains and belongings were unearthed, collected and traded. In 1991, Musqueam purchased the Fraser Arms Hotel to protect the portion of c̓əsnaʔəm buried underneath it. In 2012, development on another portion of the site unearthed more ancestors. Community members held vigil at c̓əsnaʔəm for over 200 days, until an agreement was finally reached and Musqueam purchased the parcels imminently threatened by development to protect them.
Muqueam is working to remediate the site to protect the ancestors and belongings still there. The long-term vision is to protect and commemorate c̓əsnaʔəm, with further details to be confirms through future engagement with the Musqueam community.
@JessicaEKerr
