Aug 17, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n Source: Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n\n\n\n British Columbia continues to rename streets, provincial parks and even entire cities in Indigenous languages that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization classifies as \u201ccritically endangered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One prominent example came in 2018, when the province renamed Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park\u2014home to one of North America’s largest sockeye salmon runs\u2014to Ts\u00fatswecw Provincial Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To receive more up-to-date news from British Columbia to the rest of Canada, consider becoming a subscriber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new name, pronounced \u201cchoo-chwek,\u201d is a Secwepemc term meaning \u201cmany rivers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the B.C. government, the name change formed part of the province\u2019s \u201creconciliation\u201d efforts and its five-year commitment to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Located between Adams Lake and Shuswap Lake, Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park was established in 1977 to conserve and protect the spawning beds used by various species of salmon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The park\u2019s former namesake, Haig-Brown, was a conservationist who wrote several books educating the public about the importance of protecting salmon, watersheds and sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite his efforts \u2014 and both historical and personal significance to the park \u2014 the B.C. government went ahead with the name-change as part of its \u201creconciliation efforts<\/a> with Indigenous peoples.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n More recently, the City of Vancouver made headlines<\/a> this year when it renamed Trutch Street to \u0161x\u02b7m\u0259\u03b8k\u02b7\u0259y\u0313\u0259mas\u0259m following a unanimous 2021 city council vote in favour of the name change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n @fun.flamingos<\/a>Newest street name in Vancouver<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new street name translates from the h\u0259n\u0313q\u0313\u0259min\u0313\u0259m language to “Musqueamview,” referring to a vantage point or perspective overlooking traditional Musqueam territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the most recent comprehensive report on British Columbia First Nations languages, there are just over 100 fluent speakers of the language \u2014 and far fewer are capable of reading or writing in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Delivery agents, banks, emergency responders, city systems, and even agencies like Canada Post and ICBC have said they’ve had trouble displaying and processing the new name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!iF_W!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2b4c8c08-46c0-4097-aa30-a8773d78cdb2_1200x630.png\")
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