Today was one of those work days that got me away from my desk and out into the watershed that provides drinking water to the area, as well as supplies water to the river and the salmon hatchery below. The facility is being rebuilt over the next few years and the public interpretation centre is being completely redone to tell the stories of the river, the forest, the fish, and the people. It will speak to the connections between the past and the present, and the communities that all of it supports. I’ve been closely involved in both the hatchery design considerations to ensure fish health and fish culture practices are being considered, and I’ve had the extreme pleasure to be involved in advising on the biology and science of fish culture and the fish themselves. It’s been an amazing journey these past four years of being part of the team working towards both the public side and the behind the scenes operational infrastructure. Today we had a workshop to review the public display ideas, but we started with a tour of the dam above the hatchery.
I almost didn’t attend this part, I mean….I walk, hike, and run up here on such a regular basis…but it was a sunny, though nippy, day and when I looked at the agenda and saw how much time was being spent up there, it seemed like maybe I should go. And I am glad I did. While we didn’t get to go into the cool places I’d hoped (confined spaces aren’t really where Metro would take a group), we did learn a lot about the infrastructure that lies below the ground, the infrastructure that ties the Capilano Reservoir to the Seymour Reservoir and to the Coquitlam Reservoir. We learned about the water treatments, the watershed itself, how our drinking water is protected, the risks to it, and so on. It was fascinating.
To most, the twin peaks are known as The Lions, but to the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) they are known as Ch’ich’iyúy Elxwíkn (“Twin Sisters” or “Two Sisters”). The mountains remain sacred for their legal marker of a peace treaty, family lineage histories, and spiritual value. The two peaks were transformed by the Sky Brothers, or Transformers, after twin sisters that had married with Haida twins created the path for the war to end between the Squamish and Haida people and provided lasting peace among the Coast Salish. The families that made the Peace Treaty and married together still live in the Squamish and Haida Nations.
In another version of the myth, the Haida (Stek’in in Squamish), the mortal enemies of the Squamish, travelled down the coast to raid and enslave the Squamish. Among the Haida raiders were young twin brothers who were the son of a Haida chief. The brothers were given the task of guarding the canoes while the elder raiders scouted out the target village. The Haida boys grew restless and climbed up a ridge to view the Squamish village themselves. At sunrise they were surprised to see that the first Squamish villagers up were twin sisters. The Haida raided, killing many Squamish. The twin sisters were spared and given over to the brothers as wives, who returned to the north with them. Among the Haida the Squamish wives were admired but sad. They persuaded their new Haida family to seek peace with the Squamish, which the Squamish accepted. The Creator commemorated their peacekeeping by making them into immortal mountains.
Sometime around 1890, British Columbia Supreme Court Justice John Hamilton Gray proposed that Canada rename the mountain peaks to lions couchant from heraldry, or in reference to the lion statues in Trafalgar Square sculpted by Sir Edwin Landseer.
Sources – Wikipedia and Vancouver is Awesome
