Sqwélqwel Places

S’ólh Téméxw is our land, as Stó:lō people. Our world is unique. It is built from our very long and close connection with the land, the rivers, and our relations. It is full of thousands of years of our history. Like a library, which contains books with titles telling us what information they hold, the land contains places which name important points of connection between our land and people. Here you see Sonny McHalsie guiding Sq’éwlets youth and community members on a place name tour of their territory.

Only since the 1970s has our language, Halq’eméylem, been written in the form of letters and words. Since then, we have recorded and mapped over 700 important places within S’ólh Téméxw, including those in Sq’éwlets territory. These 700 places are only a few of those known from before our losses from smallpox and residential schools. These remaining places contain both our sqwélqwel and sxwoxwiyam. Our ancestral places tell us who we are and locate us in our world.