Public Art Showcasing Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s Work on Water Quality 

Public Art Showcasing Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s Work on Water Quality 

News & UpdatesPublic Art Showcasing Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s Work on Water Quality 

Public Art Showcasing Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s Work on Water Quality 

Since 2016, səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) has been leading a project, in collaboration with the Province of BC, to update the water quality policy that applies to səlilwət (Burrard Inlet). This policy is called the Water Quality Objectives, and redefines what constitutes a clean Inlet.

This summer 2025, visit Gastown in downtown Vancouver to see a series of benches featuring Tsleil-Waututh artists Olivia George, Candace Thomas, and Jordan Gallie that display some of the research and results of this work in a highly visual way. 

The updated səlilwət Water Quality Objectives is the first water quality policy in BC that has been co-approved by the Province and a First Nation. It aims to protect Water Values, including seafood consumption by humans at rates relevant to coastal First Nations.

səlilwətaɬ assembled a multi-sector Roundtable, including representatives from First Nations, all other levels of government, industry, non-governmental organizations, academics, and health authorities to contribute to this important work. Updating this policy was a priority in TWN’s 2017 Burrard Inlet Action Plan.

səlilwətaɬ have been stewards of the Inlet since time out of mind. In less than 200 years following European settlement, our marine foods in səlilwət were wiped out, contaminated, or made inaccessible. At least 700 contaminants were detected in səlilwət between 1971 and 2016. They enter from more than 600 points around the Inlet’s vastly altered shoreline. These include provincially-authorized wastewater discharges, raw sanitary sewage overflows, storm sewer outfalls, marine vessels, and others.

Tsleil-Waututh Nation produced a “Restoring a Healthy Inlet” Storymap that explains how the flow of rainwater to the ocean carries urban and industrial runoff and is a major contributor to pollution in səlilwət. 

It’s a goal of Tsleil-Waututh Nation to once again be able to harvest healthy, abundant wild foods.

Many historical and ongoing activities have contributed contaminants to the Inlet, so everyone has a role to play to help clean it. As a result of our stewardship efforts to date, we are seeing a return of marine life to the Inlet, including herring, dolphins, and orcas. We all need to do more, so that we can once again safely harvest clams from səlilwət.

Water Quality Objectives - Gastown

Latest Articles

səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) and the City of Burnaby have signed a historic agreement, outlining a process for government-to-government engagement for projects in Burnaby.
səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) and UBC researchers have published groundbreaking research demonstrating severe colonial impacts that have devastated Burrard Inlet and səlilwətaɬ rights since European contact.
səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) is seeking the services of a professional consultant to submit proposals to work collaboratively with the TWN Emergency Program to complete an Evacuation Plan for the Tsleil-Waututh community.
A house post carved by səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) artist Zac George Sko-Kay-Lem, commissioned by the City of Vancouver, is now installed at šxʷƛ̓exən Xwtl’a7shn, the plaza outside the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in downtown Vancouver.
After the unthinkable tragedy that claimed a child’s life on our traditional waters, səlilwətaɬ Chief and Council recognize and call for better safety measures, signage, and enforcement, both at the boat launch at Whey-ah-Wichen and on the water to help keep Tsleil-Waututh Members and the public safe.
səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) is joining the chorus of First Nations, pro-democracy organizations, environmental groups, and civil society in raising grave concerns about Bill C-5, the so-called Building Canada Act.