X̱wemelch'stn , usually anglicized as Homulchesan, is a large community within the

Squamish Nation The Squamish Nation, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw () in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Sníchim (Squamish language), is an Indian Act government originally imposed on the Squamish (''Sḵwx̱wú7mesh'') by the Federal Government of Canada in the late 19th cen ...

of the

Squamish people The Squamish people (Squamish language, Squamish: ''Skwxwú7mesh'' , historically transliterated as Sko-ko-mish) are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Archaeological evidence sh ...

, who are a part of the

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 Coas ...

ethnic and linguistic group. The name X̱wemelch'stn, translates to "Fast Moving Water of Fish", relating to the

Capilano River The Capilano River flows from north to south through the Coast Mountains on Vancouver's North Shore between West Vancouver and North Vancouver (district municipality) and empties into Burrard Inlet, opposite Stanley Park. The river is one of three ...

. The village is one of the oldest and major villages of the Squamish and continues to be so, being the

's most populated

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

. The community is also known as the Capilano Indian Reserve, formally Capilano Indian Reserve No. 5, and is named like the adjacent

after the Capilano chieftaincy, the best-known

Joe Capilano Joe Capilano (c. 1854–1910), also known as Capiano Joe, was a leader of the Squamish from 1895-1910, who called him ''Sa7plek'' (Sahp-luk). He fought for the recognition of native rights and lifestyle. He spent his youth fishing and hunting a ...

. The name ''Kiapila'noq'' means "people of Kiap", and was the title of the supreme chief of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh in the area of English Bay. Chief George Capilano was the chief who met

Captain Vancouver Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what are ...

at X̱wemelch'stn in 1792, and had met

Captain Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

in 1782.BC Names/GeoBC entry "Capilano River"
/ref>

Population and Services

The community to date hold more than 502 houses, along with the newly named Chief Joe Mathias Centre, the "Li'l Ones School", the

Youth Centre, as well as many small businesses.

History

X̱wemelch'stn first entered recorded history at the time of the voyage of Captain George Vancouver, when it and neighboring

X̱wáýx̱way X̱wáýx̱way ( Squamish ) or x̌ʷay̓x̌ʷəy̓ (Halkomelem ), rendered in English as Xway xway and Whoiwhoi, is a First Nations village site, located in what is now Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The village was located o ...

, across the inlet on the eastern peninsula of what is now Stanley Park, otherwise known as Lumberman's Arch, became recorded in the Captain's journals. At the time it was a palisaded village and one of the largest Sḵwxwú7mesh villages in the Burrard Inlet.

Developments

The Capilano Reserve is the site of major commercial and residential developments, mostly on the West Vancouver side of its area. These include the

Park Royal Shopping Centre Park Royal Shopping Centre, also known as simply Park Royal, opened in 1950, is a shopping mall located in West Vancouver and X̱wemelch'stn, British Columbia, Canada. Park Royal was Canada's first covered shopping mall. Park Royal has seen multi ...

and associated apartment buildings, and a small office tower adjacent to the intersection of Taylor Way, and a large recreational vehicle park more or less beneath the northern end of the Lions Gate Bridge (the highway interchange for the bridge is also on reserve land). Foreshore properties along

Vancouver Harbour french: Baie Burrard , image = Burrard Inlet 201807.jpg , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption = Aerial view of Burrard Inlet , image_bathymetry = Burrard-Inlet-map-en.svg , alt_bathymetry ...

leased from reserve lands include bulk terminals and other port facilities. Revenues from all these arrangements are part of band finances.

References

External links

Squamish Nation
* Lower Mainland Squamish villages {{FirstNations-stub

Population and Services

History

Developments

See also

References

External links