SFU's Burnaby campus gets official Indigenous names, complete with new signs | Daily Hive

SFU's Burnaby Mountain campus gets official Indigenous names, complete with new signs

New signage at SFU Burnaby campus displaying Indigenous and English names. (Simon Fraser University)

Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) Burnaby Mountain campus has received two Indigenous names as part of a project that also names four other locations at this campus.

The Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, and Kwikwetlem First Nations joined university officials in revealing the names last week, following years of work with the university.

Each location received a name in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and another in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, with hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ spoken by the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and Kwikwetlem peoples, while Sḵwx̱wú7mesh is spoken by the Squamish people.

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For the Burnaby Mountain campus, the names are xʷtatəl̕ləm ʔə ƛ̓ səltaɬ sme:nt, meaning “learning place of Burnaby Mountain,” and Xwta7ltáw̓txw tl’a Lheḵw’lhúḵw’aytn, meaning “learning house of Burnaby Mountain,” respectively.

SFU’s new public relations guidelines describe the Indigenous and English names as co-existing official names. The university has developed a policy to use both Indigenous names together, with the English name as a secondary reference.

The four locations within the campus that have been assigned with Indigenous names are the First Peoples’ Gathering House, Indigenous Student Centre, Indigenous Curriculum Resource Centre, and Indigenous Garden.

The First Peoples’ Gathering House received the names sƛ̓exənew̓txʷ (“feast/local gathering house”) and Tl’e7enḵáw̓txw (“ceremony house”), while the Indigenous Student Centre is named q̓pəθətew̓txʷ (“gather house or room”) and Ḵxwúsemay̓aḵin (“a purposeful gathering room”). The Indigenous Curriculum Resource Centre received xʷəlməxʷaʔɬ tatəl̕ew̓txʷ (“Place of learning of the Indigenous Peoples”) and Xwtél̓ay (“place of discovery”). The Indigenous Garden is named spən̓əm (“the garden and what is planted in it”) and Npen̓em̓áy (“garden”). Each pair lists the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ name first, followed by the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh name.

New signage to support the naming effort has been installed at select indoor and outdoor areas at the campus, including a major new sign that prominently displays the Indigenous campus names next to the campus entrance — at the intersection of Gaglardi Way and South Campus Road. This particular sign uses a smaller font size for “SFU BURNABY CAMPUS” in English.

simon fraser university burnaby sfu indigenous names

New signage at SFU Burnaby campus displaying Indigenous and English names. (Simon Fraser University)

SFU asserts that these four First Nations were not consulted when the Burnaby Mountain campus opened in 1965. The university describes the naming project as part of its reconciliation efforts and an attempt to better recognize their history and connection to the area.

The university hopes to carry out similar naming projects at its Downtown Vancouver and Surrey City Centre campuses.

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