Following consultation with shíshálh Nation, the Roberts Creek Community Association announced its operational renaming to xwesam/Roberts Creek Community Association at their annual Creek Daze community festival on Aug. 13.
This new name honours the traditional shíshálh name for the area on which the Roberts Creek Community Hall sits.
“We gratefully recognize that we operate on the lands of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nation and within the shíshálh swiya,” reads a statement from the association’s board of directors. “Moving forward, we hope to continue to collaborate with shíshálh Nation as part of our commitment to meaningful reconciliation.”
“This is a positive step forward in reconciliation and highlights the importance we all play in making progress,” says lhe hiwus yalxwemult (Chief Lenora Joe) of the shíshálh Nation. “Recognizing these original placenames honours our ancestors, heals and teaches our present shíshálh members, and will continue to revitalize our language and culture for future generations. We are grateful for the support of community organizations as we walk this path of reconciliation together.”
Learn to pronounce xwesam and other shíshálh placenames, words, and phrases at shishalh.com/culture-language/sechelt-language.
