The Sc'ianew First Nation or Beecher Bay First Nation is a

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: ** First Nat ...

group, governed by a band governmental body of the same name. They are a party involved in the

Douglas Treaties The Douglas Treaties, also known as the Vancouver Island Treaties or the Fort Victoria Treaties, were a series of treaties signed between certain indigenous groups on Vancouver Island and the Colony of Vancouver Island. Background With the signi ...

and are negotiating a modern treaty as a member of the

Te'mexw Treaty Association The Te'mexw Treaty Association handles Treaty negotiations in the BC Treaty Process for a number of First Nations located in the northern Strait of Georgia of British Columbia. The members of the association are former signatories of the Douglas Tr ...

along with the Malahat, Nanoose,

Songhees The Lekwungen or Lekungen nation (lək̓ʷəŋən often called the Songhees or Songish by non-Lekwungens) are an Indigenous North American Coast Salish people who reside on southeastern Vancouver Island, British Columbia in the Greater Victoria a ...

, and T'Souke Nations. The Sc'ianew First Nation number 261 (as of March, 2020). Sc'ianew lands are located on southern

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

in southwestern

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

and include Beecher Bay, Fraser Island, Lamb Island, Long-neck Island, Twin Island, Village Island, and Whale Island.

Languages

The word "Sc'ianew" (pronounced CHEA-nuh) translates from the

Klallam language Klallam, Clallam, Ns'Klallam or S'klallam (endonym: Nəxʷsƛ̓ay̓əmúcən), is a Straits Salishan language that was traditionally spoken by the Klallam peoples at Becher Bay on Vancouver Island in British Columbia and across the Strait of J ...

as "the place of the big fish." The group recognizes four ancestral languages though not all are currently spoken. Historically, the predominant language was Hul’q’umi’num’, the downriver dialect of the

Halkomelem Language Halkomelem (; in the Upriver dialect, in the Island dialect, and in the Downriver dialect) is a language of various First Nations peoples of the British Columbia Coast. It is spoken in what is now British Columbia, ranging from southeastern ...

References

Coast Salish governments Southern Vancouver Island {{FirstNations-stub