The Construction of Stanley Park: Movement of People

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 Though opened to the public for recreational purposes since September 7th, 1888, the establishment of Stanley Park contributed to the erasure of Musqueam, Tsleil Waututh, and Squamish First Nations culture. As a result of park road construction in 1887, much evidence of Indigenous inhabitation, debris, had discovered, but also lost; of course, existing structures in the Squamish village, Whoi Whoi (X̱wáýx̱way), were not spared from being demolished. In addition to the destruction of Indigenous structures, the majority of residents in Whoi Whoi were forced out of the area.



 Although a small number of Indigenous residents continued to reside in Stanley Park during the 20th century, faced with a series of losses in legal cases against the Park Board in the 1920s, remaining residents were soon evicted. Upon the Park Board's victory at the B.C. Supreme Court in 1923, four Kwakwaka’wakw / Kwakiutl totem poles were put up near Lumberman's Arch for the purpose of indicating the eviction of the last Indigenous residents in the park (Barman 4). As well, Squamish presence had been concealed with the help of these totem poles, along with an imitation Indigenous village at Whoi Whoi. These structures were made to honor the Indigenous peoples of northern Vancouver Island, which were referred to as "the Kwagwelth Indians", and not native to Whoi Whoi, but considered by settlers to be superior compared to other Indigenous groups (Barman 26-27). Therefore, muting the heritage and association between the land and Squamish peoples.


    Within a conversation between August Jack Khahtsahlano and Archivist J. S. Matthew in the mid-1900s, Khahtsahlano, the grandson of Squamish Chief Khahtsahlanogh, mentioned that "When they make Stanley Park road we was eating in our house.....We was inside this house (at Chaythoos) when the surveyors come along, and they chop the corner of our house."  This short piece of the conversation is a clear representation of the sudden change in Chaythoos, a village near Prospect Point at the time; from an inhabited land and place for living, to a forthcoming park road.

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