() or (), rendered in English as ''Xway xway'' and ''Whoiwhoi'', is a

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

village site, located in what is now

Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada, that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Vancouver, Downtown peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay, Vancouver, English Bay. The park bor ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada. The village was located on the eastern peninsula of the park, near what is now Lumberman's Arch. The village was home for many Squamish,

Musqueam The Musqueam Nation ( Hunquminum: ) is a First Nation whose traditional territory encompasses the western half of what is now Greater Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada. It is governed by a band council and is known officially as the Musq ...

and

Tsleil-waututh The Tsleil-Waututh Nation (, ), formerly known as the Burrard Indian Band or Burrard Inlet Indian Band, is a First Nations band government in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Tsleil-Waututh Nation ("TWN") are Coast Salish peoples w ...

people, but after European colonization began in the Vancouver area, the inhabitants were forced to re-locate to nearby villages. The village was named for a mask ceremony; thus, the best translation of would be 'masked dance performance'.

History

is estimated to have been inhabited for more than 3000 years. It was one of many villages on the shores of

Burrard Inlet Burrard Inlet () is a shallow-sided fjord in the northwestern Lower Mainland, British Columbia, Canada. Formed during the last Ice Age, it separates the City of Vancouver and the rest of the lowland Burrard Peninsula to the south from the coa ...

around present-day

. The abundant resources in these lands were used by Squamish,

, and

peoples. was one of the prominent villages in the area, hosting many

houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

; each was occupied by a large extended family. By the late 1800s, was the largest settlement in what is now

. In the village, a big house or

longhouse A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America. Many were built from lumber, timber and ...

measured at 60 metres long and near 20 metres wide (). The structure was built with large cedar posts and slabs. 11 families lived in the house, numbering around 100 people. A large

potlatch A potlatch is a gift-giving feast practiced by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States,Harkin, Michael E., 2001, Potlatch in Anthropology, International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Scienc ...

, a ceremonial event conducted by wealthy families, was held at this house in 1875. This event is also mentioned in the city council meeting minutes, where the medical health officer recommended the destruction of the buildings because of a

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

outbreak, says Eric McLay, president of the Archaeological Society of British Columbia. With colonial British expansion from the east following the opening of the transcontinental railroad in 1886, Vancouver started to boom in population. What is now

was made a military reservation in 1859. The native inhabitants of Vancouver, including those living in and nearby Sen̓áḵw, were seen as an impediment to development, and were removed to reserves. This process was facilitated by the passage of the

Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' () is a Canadian Act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still in force with amendments, it is the primary document that defines how t ...

in 1876. In the 1880s, surveyors and road builders demolished to create the Park Drive perimeter road. In a 1934 conversation with archivist Major J.S. Matthews,

August Jack Khatsahlano August Jack (Khatsahlano, X̱ats'alanexw) (July 16, 1877 – June 5, 1971) was an Indigenous/ Aboriginal chief of the Squamish people. He was born in the village of X̱wáýx̱way or ''Chaythoos'' on the peninsula that is now Stanley Park, Van ...

related to his childhood when he lived in the area. "We was inside this house when the surveyors come along and they chop the corner of our house when we was eating inside... We all get up and go outside see what was the matter. My sister Louise, she was only one talk a little English; she goes out ask Whiteman what's he doing that for. The man say, 'We're surveying the road. My sister ask him, "'Whose road?". Local anthropologist

Charles Hill-Tout Charles Hill-Tout (1858–1944) was an ethnologist and folklorist, active in British Columbia, born in Buckland, Devon, England, on 28 September 1858. In his early years, Hill-Tout studied divinity at a seminary in Lincoln and preached in Cardiff ...

noted several skeletons were found during an excavation near . In the tradition, the deceased were placed in specially made

bentwood Bentwood objects are made by wetting wood (either by soaking or by steaming), then bending it and letting it harden into curved shapes and patterns. Furniture-makers often use this method in the production of rocking chairs, cafe chairs, and ot ...

boxes, and placed high in trees. Some individuals or families of high social standing would be placed in cedar

dugout canoe A dugout canoe or simply dugout is a boat made from a hollowed-out tree. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. ''Monoxylon'' (''μονόξυλον'') (pl: ''monoxyla'') is Greek''mono-'' (single) + '' ξύλον xylon'' (tr ...

Squamish Nation The Squamish Nation, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw, is a First Nations government of the Squamish people. The Squamish Nation government includes an elected council and an administrative body based primarily in West Vancouver, North Vancouver (cit ...

chief Ian Cambell proposed in 2010 that

be renamed Xwayxway Park after the name of this village.

References

External links

Squamish Nation
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Xwayxway Former populated places in British Columbia History of Vancouver Squamish villages Stanley Park

History

See also

References

External links