10 hours ago
Jamie Sarkonak: Vancouver renaming street 'šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm' puts people at risk
The City of Vancouver describes its new name for Trutch Street, 'šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm Street,' as a gift, but it's more like a curse.
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On Tuesday, city council unanimously voted for the change, condemning 100 or so residents to a lifetime of addressarial grief. Joining them in suffering will be countless drivers who make their way down the route, delivering, visiting and otherwise trying to get from A to B.
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The new name means 'Musqueamview' in Musqueam, but the city itself admits that nobody is likely to be able to read it in its letter-salad form: 'With no fluent speakers left, this street name is a landmark moment for hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ revitalization,' notes a webpage about the change. (That word beginning in 'h' refers to the Musqueam's traditional language.) It will replace the name of Joseph Trutch (1826-1904), B.C.'s first Lieutenant Governor who, among other things, reduced the sizes of Indigenous reserves and denied the existence of some earlier treaties.
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That remark by the city contained an important admission: the purpose of changing the name of pronounceable Trutch Street into something indecipherable at 40 km/h is political. The goal is to involve the local population in a moral exercise at the cost of their comfort and safety. Indeed, not even the Musqueam (who insisted on this visual obstacle course, according to Deputy City Manager Armin Amrolia) are going to be capable of reading it. Beyond signalling solidarity against colonialism, impeding the passage of Vancouverites and offending the local Squamish Nation, it's a functionally useless sign.
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Emergency services have already expressed their concerns that the new name will get in the way of saving lives, largely because 911 callers might not be able to pronounce the name. Most people haven't learned linguistics to the point where they can pronounce Indigenous mainstays like the theta symbol, the tiny W, the 7 and the triangle. 'Help, I'm at Sixwomkeymasem Street' is the most we can reasonably expect from people.
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To address these concerns, the city has suggested a second set of unofficial signs that read 'Musqueamview St.' (though it's unclear whether that solution has been finalized). Emergency mapping systems will use the unofficial English name, but it won't appear in the bylaw, which will use the official name instead. Licenses will have to be redone, as will insurance and registration slips. Then, there are land titles, bank addresses, credit cards, etc.
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Anyone sending or receiving mail by Canada Post is asked to write both official and unofficial street names if possible, but to use English if only one line is available (work is being done to accept these new letters, but 'most non-English lettering is not currently recognized' our letter service told me in an email this week). Other internal and external address and map systems — such as transit or B.C.'s insurance corporation — might be unable to digest these characters.
