Welcome to šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm Street: Vancouver's newest street name is also its first using alphabet other than English
Vancouver follows the City of Victoria, which in 2022 changed all of its Trutch Street signs to Su’it Street, removing the name of the early colonial politician.
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Vancouver’s newest street name is set to be the city’s first officially named in an alphabet other than English: šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm Street.
The new name, which comes from the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language of the Musqueam First Nation, will replace Trutch Street on Vancouver’s West Side if city council approves a staff report at a meeting next week.
The report says the Musqueam First Nation has long advocated for removing the name of B.C.’s first lieutenant-governor, Joseph Trutch, from the street as a way to “acknowledge Trutch’s racist legacy, reduce the prominence of his name, and advance reconciliation efforts.”
Trutch denied the existence of Inidegnous rights and reduced the size of reserve lands, the city website says, and the politician is now “acknowledged as being openly racist and hostile to First Nation Peoples."
In July 2021, Vancouver’s then-mayor Kennedy Stewart proposed removing the Trutch name and choosing another picked by the Musqueam chief and council, a move that was unanimously supported by council. In September 2022, the Musqueam Nation, or xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, provided the name “šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm Street,” which translated into English as “Musqueamview Street.”
Some Vancouver neighbourhoods, including Chinatown and the Punjabi Market, have street signs featuring other languages along with the official street name, such as Pender or Main Street. The difference in the new proposal would be that šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm will be the street’s sole official name.
“In accordance with xʷməθkʷəy̓əm wishes, the legal name of the street will be solely šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm Street, making this Vancouver’s first street named in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓,” the city report says. “With no fluent speakers left, this change is a landmark moment for the revitalization of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm language, weaving the display of hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ into the public fabric of city life.”
Because this is the first Vancouver street named in an alphabet other than English, the city requested input from several entities, including the city’s legal department, Vancouver Police Department, Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services, B.C. Emergency Health Services, and others.
Emergency service providers raised concerns about “way-finding and ease of pronunciation for callers in distress on the street,” the report states. To address these concerns, city staff recommended posting two street signs on each post along the street, one with “šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm St.” and another below with “Musqueamview St.”
In 2022, the City of Victoria also changed all of its Trutch Street signs to Su’it Street, which means “truth” for the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations.
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If council approves the staff report next week, the new šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm Street signs are scheduled to be officially revealed at an event on June 20 at St. James Community Square.
