A couple of busy Vancouver outdoor spaces have been given new Indigenous names as part of the city’s ongoing reconciliation process with the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.
The plaza in front of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre is now known as šxʷƛ̓exən Xwtl’a7shn, which refers to a place one is invited to celebrate and is connected to the past use of the plaza as a gathering place for the Walk for Reconciliation, according to a City of Vancouver news release.
The north plaza of the Vancouver Art Gallery is now called šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square, referring to a place where a cultural gathering, like a wedding or funeral, occurs.
Robertson said these name changes, announced at Vancouver’s Walk for Reconciliation last summer, have been in the works for a long time and are all part of a process that began years ago with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
“Today this naming and renaming ceremony is an important next step,” Robertson said.
“We are a city with many immigrants and we have a lot of work to do to not only acknowledge and heal from all of the challenges and troubles of the past, but to build this future together,” he added.
Many Vancouverites are going to have to learn the new names and struggling to pronounce them is all part of the process, according to B.C. Minister of Citizens’ Services, Jinny Sims.
“Just imagine what it was like for the First Nations and the Indigenous people who lived here when people arrived from Europe and suddenly started to put English names everywhere, using the English language, and how challenging it must have been for them,” Sims said at the event on Monday.
Signage for each of the plazas, expected to be installed sometime in the fall, is being designed by city staff collaborating with Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh.
You can click here for audio and video pronunciation guides of the names that were recommended by a joint-naming committee.
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