Can You Tell Me How to Get to šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm Street?

On June 20, the new street signs for šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm Street (pronounced sh-MUS-quee-um-AW-sum) were unveiled in a celebration that included the Vancouver city council, the Musqueam Indian Band and local residents of the newly renamed street.

The new name replaces Trutch Street, which memorialized Joseph Trutch, a racist figure in B.C.'s history. The City of Vancouver described the renaming of the street to šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm Street in the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language as a part of its ongoing efforts in reconciliation.

“This is the first step that the city is taking in its ongoing commitment to truth and reconciliation while we maintain these difficult lessons in our history,” said Michelle Bryant-Gravelle, senior director of Indigenous relations for the City of Vancouver.

šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm Street, or Musqueamview Street in English, means to be looking at Musqueam, explained Larry Grant, an Elder and the manager of the band's language and culture department.

“When you’re on this street, whichever way you turn or look, you are looking at Musqueam territory,” said Grant.

A legacy of harm

Trutch’s legacy is defined by anti-Indigenous legislation and land theft. He served as the first lieutenant-governor of B.C., and the chief commissioner of lands and works for colonial B.C.

“He was openly racist and actively worked to erase the rights of Indigenous Peoples,” said Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim during his opening remarks.

During his tenure, Trutch sought to extinguish Indigenous title by ignoring previous land agreements promised by his predecessor James Douglas. Trutch also halted taking Indigenous people’s wishes into account when laying out reserves and stopped providing financial compensation. He also significantly reduced reserve sizes by over 90 per cent.

Trutch’s racism extended beyond his policies. According to Canadian historian Robin Fisher, Trutch told Prime Minister John A. Macdonald in 1872 that Indigenous people were "utter Savages living along the coast, frequently committing murder and robbery amongst themselves, one tribe upon another, and on white people who go amongst them for the purpose of trade.”

“This renaming acknowledges our painful past and moves us toward a more inclusive future,” said Bryant-Gravelle.

A process several years in the making

People in Vancouver have been pointing to the problems with the name Trutch Street for years. In 2012, stickers stating “Joseph Trutch was a racist bigot” defaced the Trutch Street signs.

In 2022, Trutch Street in Victoria was renamed Su’it Street, a Lekwungen word for truth.

Even though people knew a change was needed, the actual process took 10 years, Chief Wayne Sparrow of the Musqueam Indian Band explained during his speech.

“It takes a lot of consultation with neighbours, with residents, with all three nations, host nations as well,” Sean Orr, a Vancouver city councillor, told The Tyee. “The legal department has to get involved, engineering. It's a big thing so this day isn't to be taken lightly.”

The process began when Leona Sparrow, director of treaty, lands and title for the Musqueam Indian Band, brought the proposal to the Musqueam council and formally submitted it in writing to the City of Vancouver during previous mayor Gregor Robertson’s administration, Chief Wayne Sparrow explained. Robertson’s last year in office was 2018.

Robertson then passed the torch on to the next mayor, Kennedy Stewart, who passed the motion in 2021.

On Sept. 30, 2022, the Musqueam First Nation gifted the City of Vancouver the name šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm Street in a renaming ceremony.

June 17, 2025, saw the beginning of the end of this decade-long process, as Vancouver’s city council voted unanimously in favour of the name change.

Three days later, the new street signs, displaying both šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm Street and the English translation, Musqueamview Street, replaced the old ones in a community celebration hosted by the City of Vancouver and the Musqueam Indian Band.

On June 23, TransLink buses began announcing the legal name, šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm Street, on board for routes 2 and 33. The English translation, Musqueamview Street, will be displayed on board.

As a next step, the City of Vancouver has announced that an audio box along with an interpretive sign will be installed near šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm Street at Point Grey Road. There will also be a series of storytelling signs along the 16-block street.

The importance of language

Renaming the street is not just changing an address, “but participating in reconciliation in a very tangible way,” said Sim.

Although some residents raised concerns about the street sign not being in English, part of that reconciliation effort is tied to decolonizing language, Chief Sparrow said.

“Our ancestors were forced to speak English, they were forced to do away with our language,” said Sparrow. “And if we're walking reconciliation, we walk together, and we all have a part to learn our language, and we will get there.”

The sign is written in the North American Phonetic Alphabet, as opposed to the Latin alphabet people regularly see on street signs, Grant explained.

“It's not like English, where you can just forget the different sounds,” said Grant. “It really, really records exactly how the word sounds.”

Members of the community at the event were invited to learn how to say šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm Street from hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language learners. Additionally, people can learn to say šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm Street from an audio recording on the City of Vancouver's website.

Lawrence Guerin, one of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language learners at the event, told The Tyee that it's powerful to be in a time where the language is represented throughout their territory.

“To see [the language] represented so respectfully, and to be able to engage with anyone else who's interested, like at this event today, is really amazing, to try to be able to bring as many people as we can into the efforts of revitalizing this language,” said Guerin.

More street names should change, says councillor

While the street renaming is a step in the right direction, Orr acknowledged there are still other street names that represent the same attitudes that Trutch did.

“It's not the only one in the city. There’s a lot more,” he said.

Orr listed the streets Robson, Denman and Dunsmuir and many other avenues in Vancouver.

He said he hopes there will be the opportunity to collaborate with other local First Nations on street renaming in the future.

This includes potential collaboration with the Squamish Nation, who had sent a letter to the mayor and Vancouver city council on the Monday before the vote, urging them to withdraw the new Musqueam name. As the Vancouver Sun reported, the letter stated that they were “disappointed with the lack of proper consultation with the Squamish Nation on this project.”

“It's really unfortunate that there was some exclusion,” said Orr. “There's always going to be overlap. It's this new process; we're all kind of figuring things out and that speaks to the rich history of this area.”

The Musqueam First Nation also hopes this means more collaboration with the city for reconciliation in the future.

“I'm excited for the commitment the city is making that it's just the first step of how we can move forward,” Chief Sparrow told The Tyee. “[We] hope for many more and to have our staff work along with their staff and then build on this.”

*Story updated on June 25 at 3:50 p.m. to correct the name of a street listed by councillor Sean Orr.