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Vancouver - Whistler

For more than 10,000 years people have been living in the area known as present-day Vancouver. The culture discovered by the first European explorers had existed around English Bay and Burrard Inlet relatively undisturbed and flourishing. The local First Nations' people, lived in villages of large rough-hewn plank houses arranged in rows with totem poles set up nearby marking the families and telling the historical mythology of the people involved.

First Nations' societies were structured with many families often sharing a single plank home divided

by hanging mats and centered around a large cooking fire. They were prolific craftspeople with tools, ornaments and carvings made from copper, stone, jade, bone and wood. Dugout canoes were their main mode of transportation, and the ocean and land around Vancouver was richly populated with salmon, shellfish, seal, porpoise, sturgeon, deer, elk, bear and goats. Wild berries, fruit, edible roots and the wapato, a type of potato, grew along the soft banks of the Fraser River. The People gathered and preserved this bountiful cast of edible plants for the cool, wet winters, native to the area.

By the 1700s when Europeans arrived in the area, several distinct groups of native peoples had set up camps. Looking at a present-day map of Vancouver, the First Nations people of the region can largely be plotted according to current place names. The Musqueam populated Burrard Inlet, English Bay and the mouth of the Fraser River and shared some of this area with the Squamish who were largely based at the head of Howe Sound. They also had villages in North and West Vancouver, Kitsilano Point, Stanley Park and Jericho Beach. The area around New Westminster was controlled by Quantlen and Delta and Richmond were home to the Tswassen. The Tsleil-Waututh occupied much of North Vancouver while Coast Salish Tribes such as the Cowichan, Nanaimo and Saanich, set up seasonal camps along the Fraser River. Some were permanent residents of the region while others came and went, setting up seasonal hunting camps according to the annual running of the salmon.

In mid-July or early August, most of the Coast Salish groups, traveled to the Fraser River to catch and dry the most favored type of salmon: sockeye. During this time, people would visit, exchange news of relatives, and form alliances. Large volumes of many kinds of berries were also harvested and dried during the summer months.

After the Fraser River run finished in the fall, the families would congregate in camps on the Indian, Capilano, Seymour, Fraser and other rivers to fish for pink and chum salmon. Most of the catch was dried for winter use. By December families returned to their winter villages with the provisions collected throughout the year, and the yearly cycle began again. Their "seasonal round" involved a complex cycle of food gathering, hunting, and spiritual and cultural activities that formed the heart of the First Nation’s culture.

Today, although Vancouver has a rich First Nations heritage, it is estimated only 3% of the population has Aboriginal routes or roughly 60,000 people. Of these, approximately half live in First Nation communities.

Despite vast changes that have been imposed within their traditional territory, the community members continue to practice a wide range of traditional activities.The Squamish Nation has approximately 3,200 members. Its traditional territory encompasses much of Greater Vancouver and the entire Squamish Valley and Howe Sound drainages. The Lil'wat Nation has approximately 2,000 members.Its traditional territory lies between Squamish and Lillooet.

These two Nations have partnered to build a world-class Cultural Centre in the resort of Whistler, which is scheduled to open in Fall 2006. The Centre will celebrate the joint history of the Lil'wat and Squamish tribes by showcasing their history, creative works, and cultures, enabling both nations to share their culture with the world and invite visitors to the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics Games to enjoy First Nations hospitality.