The Stz'uminus First Nation (formerly known as the Chemainus Indian Band and Chemainus 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 Natio ...

government located in southeastern

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

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

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 tot ...

, near the town of

Ladysmith, British Columbia Ladysmith, originally Oyster Harbour, is a town located on the 49th parallel north on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The local economy is based on forestry, tourism, and agriculture. A hillside location adjacent to ...

. The Stz'uminus First Nation is a member government of the

Naut'sa mawt Tribal Council Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council is a First Nations Tribal Council located in British Columbia, Canada, with offices in Tsawwassen and Nanaimo. NmTC advises and assists its 11-member Nations in the areas of Community Planning, Economic Development, F ...

. In early 2009, chief and council unanimously passed a band council resolution to officially change the name from Chemainus to Stz'uminus in order to reflect its original

Hul'qumi'num 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 ...

language name.

"Salish Sea"

In March 2008, the Stz'uminus First Nation representative George Harris proposed renaming the nearby

Strait of Georgia The Strait of Georgia (french: Détroit de Géorgie) or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada and the extreme northwestern mainland coast ...

as the

Salish Sea , image = PNW-straits.jpg , alt = , caption = The Salish Sea, showing the open Pacific Ocean at lower left, and from there, heading inland: the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the narrow Puget Sound at lower ri ...

, an idea that reportedly met with approval by B.C.'s Aboriginal Relations Minister

Mike de Jong Mike de Jong, (born 1963 or 1964) is a provincial politician and was cabinet minister of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Early life De Jong was born to Dutch parents who immigrated to Canada after Canadian soldiers liberated th ...

, who pledged to put it before the B.C. cabinet for discussion. Renaming would require a formal application to the

Geographical Names Board of Canada The Geographical Names Board of Canada (GNBC) is a national committee with a secretariat in Natural Resources Canada, part of the Government of Canada, which authorizes the names used and name changes on official federal government maps of Canada ...

. The name was formally adopted as of the Throne Speech opening the BC Legislature on February 9, 2010. The Salish Sea name has been used by the Coast Salish Gathering, a trans-boundary organization of Coast Salish leaders, since 2007. The Stz'uminus First Nation's largest Indian reserve,

Chemainus Indian Reserve No. 13 Chemainus is a community within the municipality of North Cowichan in the Chemainus River, Chemainus Valley on the east coast of southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Founded as an unincorporated logging town in 1858, Chemain ...

, is located on

Stuart Channel Stuart Channel is a strait in the Gulf Islands region of the Gulf of Georgia, separating Vancouver Island on the west from Thetis, DeCourcy and Penelakut (Kuper) Islands on the east. Ladysmith Harbour and the town of Chemainus face onto it from ...

, which is one of the countless smaller waterways within the Salish Sea as defined. The Salish Sea name was originally proposed by Bert Webber from Bellingham, Washington in March, 1989,BC Names/GeoBC entry "Salish Sea (sea)"
/ref> for the

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

and the

Strait of Juan de Fuca The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada) is a body of water about long that is the Salish Sea's outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The international boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the centre ...

and all adjoining waters.

References

External links

Stz'uminus First Nation website

Naut'sa mawt Tribal Council website
Coast Salish governments Mid Vancouver Island {{FirstNations-stub

"Salish Sea"

See also

References

External links