New research confirms that Tsleil-Waututh Nation has consistently and sustainably fished for chum salmon for 1,200 years longer than the archaeological record had previously demonstrated.
This supports Tsleil-Waututh knowledge and further demonstrates that Tsleil-Waututh people have been sustainably living on and stewarding their traditional territory for longer than Western science may recognize.
Researchers from Tsleil-Waututh Nation and UBC analyzed 245 salmon bones gathered as part of an archaeological dig in the 1960s and 1970s from təmtəmíxʷtən, a large and important site for the Nation located near what many British Columbians now know as Belcarra.
Extension of time
The research builds on a previous study which showed that the Nation sustainably and preferentially fished for chum salmon for 1,300 years, from about 400 BC to 1200.
Using carbon dating on eight new samples, the researchers extended this period of time a further 1,200 years, confirming Tsleil-Waututh ancestors fished for salmon from about 850 BC to 1650.
Old chums
They found that chum salmon were the most commonly fished, and were caught consistently over the entire period. This consistency and the fact that chum are particularly sensitive to overfishing both point to a sustainable chum fishery under Tsleil-Waututh Nation stewardship, says co-author Michelle George.
Lessons to learn
The research points to the lessons to be learned from Tsleil-Waututh Nation stewardship, including around sustainable, selective salmon fisheries that focus not on extraction but on long-term ecosystem health, says first author Meaghan Efford, a doctoral candidate in the UBC Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries.
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.
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), called the Water Quality Objectives.
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.
