“Salish Sea” is a Foreign Term
The Strait of Georgia near centre, the Strait of Juan de Fuca below, Puget Sound at the lower-right, Johnstone Strait at the extreme upper-left, Pacific Ocean at lower left. Sediment from the Fraser River clearly visible.
The Washington State Board on Geographic Names and the Geographical Names Board of Canada through a recommendation from the BC Geographical Names Office have officially added “Salish Sea” to refer to the Georgia Straight, Puget Sound, and surrounding area’s on both the Washington state and British Columbia province side of the water-body. The name Salish is actually the endonym of the Flathead Nation. The name was later extended by linguists to refer to other related languages. Many languages do not have self-designations and instead have specific names for local dialects as the local group was more important culturally than larger tribal relations.
Many believe there to be a “Salish” language, or “Coast Salish” language, yet nothing of this type exists. The “Coast Salish” language category on the other hand includes dozens of distinct and separate languages. This includes examples like Halkomelem, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Lushootseed, and many more. There includes dozens of nations, communities, and village encompassing a large geographic region for Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast.
Often, the term “dialect” is improperly used when refing to this language category. There is no existance of a “Coast Salish” language, with different dialect. There is the “Coast Salish” language category, which has similaries, sounds, and make-up for all the included network for Coast Salish languages, but it is not one single language. A dialect refers to a variety of a language that is characteristic of a particular group of the language’s speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors, such as social class.
Halkomelem has dialects: Hul’q’umi’num’, Hǝn̓q̓ǝmin̓ǝm̓, and Halq’eméylem. There might of been even more at one time. The Lushootseed language has upper and lower dialects. Even Sḵwx̱wú7mesh is said to be like this.
An example of the diversity is within the City of Vancouver. Musqueam’s native-language is Halkomelem. Squamish’s native-language is Sḵwx̱wú7mesh snichem (Squamish language). Within a 20km difference, there is two distinct languages, each with their own set of vocabulary, grammar, syntax, and history. Could our elders speak to their elders and understand each other? Not easily. Sqaumish language shares about 200 vocabulary words, but that’s about it.
In the recent move to re-name this water body “Salish Sea”, it must be an attempt to acknowledge the indigenous people as some sort of reconciliation toward recognition. Although I do believe recognition by Settler populations is important, adopting a term originally appropriated from a tribe to blanket an entire language group is racist and prejudice. It does not recognize our diversity or cultural heritage as distinct peoples.
In a move to unify their cultural and language group, both the Nuu-chah-nulth and Kwakwaka’wakw dignified themselves in the 1960’s and 1970’s to create a new term, within their languages, to refer to their collective selves. They are contemporary terms, but drafted and recognized by the people themselves, in an act of self-determination. I would support such a measure amongst Coast Salish peoples. Although, that tasks is a bit more daunting and difficult because there is no language cohesion amongst that language and cultural group, which does exist amongst the northern neighbors.
Coast Salish is a term that may stay for now, but perhaps those who identify as Coast Salish can reconfigure their labels and titles. Perhaps we can look to collaboratevly creating a new term that is unique to us. One thought I had, if this idea was at all possible, was there to be one common word, but with variations to each of our languages. An example of this is our word for Settler (or Whiteman).
In Squamish it is Xwelitn
In Halkomelem Xwunitum
In Shishalh it is Kwenitem
It also includes other neighboring groups who have their own variation, but the further from this region, some language have their own distinct word. This example highlights how we could determine our own term for our collective selves; the peoples, languages, and region who share common cultural, linguistic, and social structure. It’s an idea worth thinking about, no?
As for this foreign term, anyone who supports the designation of this water-body as “Salish Sea” should learn the history first.
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Dustin…what is the Skwxw7mesh name for the Strait of Georgia?
I get your point about the Salish Sea, but there is widespread support for the name from First Nations leaders, and I like the way it erases the national border. Not that that necessarily qualifies it. It is clearly not a historical name – it’s only 20 years old – but it has a ring to it I like.
Of course I am an advocate of using tradiitonal names wherever possible, and I always formally introduce myself as a permanent visitor to Skwxw7mesh Temexw, living above a bay called Xwalaxhwm by my hosts.
That is usually enough consonants to scare most people!
http://www.coastsalishgathering.com/
There is no word for the Straight of Georgia in my language. I highly doubt there is one in most Coast Salish languages.
Widespread support doesn’t mean anything. I am skeptical of that too: “Widespread support”. Sure, among the politicians from band council’s and tribal council’s, which if anything my blog conveys, rarely ever represents the voice of the community they claim the represent. The “Coast Salish Gathering”, and it’s trumped up politicians are fools for supporting this endeavor too!
Recognition of historical place-names is an entry-way into repatriation between Settlers and Indigenous peoples. Entry-point though! Deep relationship building requires much more. (Primarily a “leave us alone” policy should work for a first hundred years). Instead we get shallow endeavors like the name-plaques that adorn the Sea-to-Sky highway now. It’s like, how does putting up expensive rocks with a phonetic alphabet and words most will barely see, read, or understand, replace the recognition we deserve as actual owners of this land? It doesn’t. It’s a shallow way to build a veil of lies around the “peaceful co-existance” between native and non-native populations.
Interesting post,in fact I referred to the Salish Sea in my intro page on my blog,i.e…
“D.Buchholz @ metro-Vancouver B.C [on the shores of the Salish Sea], Sept/ 16/2008″
My motives were to point out at ever opportunity(well at least I thought I was) and to remind non-indigenous people on whose lands we/they are living of the historical reality.
With that in mind what is the appropriate geographic term for the area now known as Vancouver/metro-Vancouver,indeed is there a term that recognizes this as being the home territory of a specific First Nation(s)?
Also you wrote…”Recognition of historical place-names is an entry-way into repatriation between Settlers and Indigenous peoples. Entry-point though! Deep relationship building requires much more. (Primarily a “leave us alone” policy should work for a first hundred years). Instead we get shallow endeavors like the name-plaques that adorn the Sea-to-Sky highway now. It’s like, how does putting up expensive rocks with a phonetic alphabet and words most will barely see, read, or understand, replace the recognition we deserve as actual owners of this land? It doesn’t. It’s a shallow way to build a veil of lies around the “peaceful co-existance” between native and non-native populations”…
Indeed I whole heartily agree!anyway keep telling it as it is Dustin.
The Musqueam language is Henqeminum. I am Musqueam and I’m learning it right now. OTHER than that, this is an awesome article. P.s. Will you write my term paper for me? It’s due next week
How much you paying me? lol…jk
Glad you liked it.
This is an important topic. The credibility and perhaps science-worthiness of such an article could be greatly improved if the author had taken the trouble to have his/her copy edited for grammar and spelling prior to publication. The wiki process has really potholed the state of information publishing into the dirt-road class; small wonder the world’s professionals find Americans to be ignorant, many can’t even write in their own language.
Erica, this a blog run by a single person. It ain’t the Globe and Mail. Not sure what kind of expectations you have for a weblog, but If your offering to help copy-edit, that’d be awesome.
Interesting post. I live on Tulalip Bay and have often had to tell people that I don’t live on Puget Sound. Few know where Possession Sound is, much less Port Susan. Even those that grew up in the Snohomish area. The idea of Salish Sea hit me with mixed emotions, first because it was awkward to say, and second because it seemed that most would equate it with a renaming of Puget Sound, which after three years living here, my wife sometimes call this area when describing it to family.
Given that most places are not named by the actual “discoverers” (Stigler’s Law: “No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer.” (http://www.gladwell.com/2008/2008_05_12_a_air.html)) we here are seeking a new name for a region that, while we all seem to see it as a whole, has no unifying name. How this has escaped happening well into the era of political correctness is odd. I can understand why someone dependent upon grants might want to clarify a expand his realm of (funded) study, but I’m not sure, after reading your post, that it is really needed. We natives (I didn’t say indigenous because I’m mostly of Irish decent, but I know far more about indigenous people here, and in Yakama where I grew up, than I do of those in Ireland) know where we are and who we are, and a new name is not going to change that.
I guess that to be euro-centric we should call it the Flathead Sea. But that would keep all other coastal regions in the Americas (see note above) from calling their local waters that. To be correct we can’t really find a “local” name for the whole 200 mile area since none exists. Unless we name it after some dead white guy that happened to sail in to it, we really have not much to go by. Maybe something like the Cascade Sea would work, since it’s more of a landmark descriptor than someones or some imagined people’s name. I don’t know, but it has a nice ring to it.
If George Vancouver had a bit more respect for Peter Puget and carried his name about a hundred miles north, we wouldn’t have this problem.
Anyway, thank you for your insightful post. It made me think.
Given that Georgia Strait, Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca are all interconnected portions of an inland saltwater body, it makes sense to have a name for the whole – “Salish Sea” seems appropriate because it refers to a language group prominent on this coast. I see your point about the very general nature of the term…it is very easy to misunderstand or misrepresent the word “Salish” as somehow referring to a nonexistent group of people. But given that it is recognized by linguists as a language grouping, and given that many First Nations people recognize the term, it seems relatively harmless to me. (As evidence of that, you yourself have a “Coast Salish” category on this site).
True, it’s just a name…nothing revolutionary is happening here. But I’d like to view it less cynically. It might not be repatriation, but it’s a name change based on ecological and scientific realities, and it takes into account a (contemporary) language grouping of First Nations people rather than King George or whoever the Strait of Georgia is currently named after. I like it.
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About
Liberated Yet? is a weblog by indigenous activist, artist, and writer Dustin Rivers. It is a medium of contemporary indigenous dialogue about issues connected to indigenous peoples. It's a tool for mass communication to his community. It's a way to explore deeply into issues. It's service to the world in history and story. It asks for readers to face the truth fearlessly. It asks, are we liberated yet?
Dustin Rivers is a Sḵwxwú7mesh-Kwakwaka'wakw writer who created this blog in September 2006 to bring independent media into the hands of the people who need it. He's had a obsession with history from a early age, but also raised in a time of cultural re-generation, he uses his ancestors legacy of political uprising to accomplish his vision of decolonization. He is also an artist in the Coast Salish artform, intending to revive and regain the pride of his ancestors artwork. He has written and been a speaker at numerous events locally and worldwide.
As a useful tool, blogging can share information about what is happening, as it happens, and easily and quickly share that with the world. As a community organizer with his people, he uses this blog to communicate critical analysis, news, updates to his people.
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