Squamish people

The Squamish people (Squamish: Skwxwú7mesh , historically transliterated as Sko-ko-mish) are an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Archaeological evidence shows they have lived in the area for more than a thousand years. In 2012, there was population of 3,893 band members registered with the Squamish Nation. Their language is the Squamish language or Sḵwx̱wú7mesh snichim, considered a part of the Coast Salish languages, and is categorized as nearly extinct with just 10 fluent speakers as of 2010. The traditional territory is in the area now in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, and covers Point Grey as the southern border. From here, it continues northward to Roberts Creek on the Sunshine Coast, up the Howe Sound. The northern part includes the Squamish, Cheakamus, Elaho and Mamquam rivers. Up the Cheakamus River it includes land past Whistler, British Columbia. The southern and eastern part of their territory includes Indian Arm, along Burrard Inlet, through False Creek then English Bay and Point Grey. Today the Squamish people live mostly in seven communities, located in West Vancouver, North Vancouver, and within and nearby to the District of Squamish. The Squamish people’s history, culture, societal customs, and other knowledge was transmitted by oral tradition from generation to generation without a writing system. Today oral tradition continues to be a fundamental aspect of their traditional culture. This continued until European contact and diseases in 1791, which caused drastic changes to the people and culture. Charles Hill-Tout became the first European to document Squamish oral history in the early 1900s. Later, many anthropologists and linguists came to work with Squamish informants and elders to document Squamish culture and history. Although first recorded contact with Europeans happened with George Vancouver and José María Narváez in 1791–1792, disease had devastated much of the population before in the 1770s. For decades following, more diseases, including influenza, reduced the population significantly.

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Related concepts (3)

Coast Salish

The Coast Salish is a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak one of the Coast Salish languages. The Nuxalk (Bella Coola) nation are usually included in the group, although their language is more closely related to Interior Salish languages. The Coast Salish are a large, loose grouping of many nations with numerous distinct cultures and languages.

Lower Mainland

The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland coast of British Columbia that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05 million people as of the 2021 Canadian census, the Lower Mainland contains sixteen of the province's 30 most populous municipalities and approximately 60% of the province's total population. The region is the traditional territory of the Sto:lo, a Halkomelem-speaking people of the Coast Salish linguistic and cultural grouping.

Vancouver

Vancouver (vænˈkuːvər ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The Greater Vancouver area had a population of 2.6 million in 2021, making it the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada. Greater Vancouver, along with the Fraser Valley, comprises the Lower Mainland with a regional population of over 3 million.