Oct. 2 update: The Vancouver Park Board meeting ended before commissioners reached this item. The discussion has been postponed to a later date.
A member of Vancouver's park board is pushing to rename a popular Stanley Park landmark, saying the current name for the well-known rock is rooted in racism.
Commissioner Catherine Evans filed a notice of motion to be discussed at Monday's meeting suggesting the board initiate a change.
Evans' motion refers to Siwash Rock, a landmark on the park's western shore that appears on the official park guide.
Siwash Rock, also known by its Squamish name Skalsh or Slhx̱i7lsh, is a 32-million-year-old outcropping located between Third Beach and the Lions Gate Bridge. The sea stack is about 15 metres tall, and has a distinctive tree growing from the top.
According to a Squamish First Nations legend, a man was transformed into rock "as an indestructible monument to Clean Fatherhood," the City of Vancouver says, a reward for the man's unselfishness. The rock tower is also part of teachings for the Musqueam and Tsleil Waututh nations.
The name for the rock, "Siwash," is a Chinook jargon word for a person of First Nations heritage. While the word does not necessarily have a negative connotation, it is derived from the French word "sauvage," or "savage" in English.
The rock was given the name because the person turned to stone in the legend was Aboriginal.
The name has been in place for decades, but now the park board commissioner is pushing for change.
"I was surprised to learn this myself, but I learned that Siwash is actually a very derogatory term," Evans told CTV News.
"I think a lot of people that aren't Indigenous probably don't know that it's a derogatory term because it's kind of fallen into disuse, which I'm glad of, but most Indigenous people around here do know it's a derogatory term and it's been an issue for them for a long time, and this is a chance we have now to do something about it.
When asked why it's taken this long for leaders to suggest renaming the rock, Evans said it likely has a lot to do with the public's consciousness rising.
"It was brought to my attention by a city historian," she said.
"I checked it out with First Nations and indeed it is a derogatory term, they know that, and they were on-board and very supportive of getting this changed."
Evans' motion suggests staff work with members of the Stanley Park Intergovernmental Working Group – which includes representation from the park board and the three First Nations in Vancouver – to develop a process to rename the rock.
If approved, the group would either pass on directions to the park board or start the process itself. The group could also decide not to make any chances for the time being, or turn it over to another committee.
"I'll leave that in their hands," Evans said.
Her proposal has already received public support from another park board commissioner, Green Party member Stuart Mackinnon.
Evans' motion comes months after a similar suggestion from Vancouver City Councillor Andrea Reimer, who asked council to consider renaming many assets to reflect the city's diversity.
Reimer, also a member of the municipal Vision Vancouver party, filed a motion in March suggesting the city work with the city's First Nations to re-establish Indigenous place names on sites of importance. Her motion also suggests renaming some street names and public assets, as well as a number of unnamed civic assets in Vancouver.
Reimer's motion was approved unanimously, and city staffers were asked to return to council with a report in December.
With an interview from CTV Vancouver's Scott Roberts
