It appears a plan to re-name Roderick Haig Brown Provincial Park to recognize the area鈥檚 First Nations鈥� heritage was lost in translation.
Earlier in the week, the B.C. Government announced a name change is in the works for three B.C. Parks to better reflect their cultural significance to First Nations communities.
Among them is Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park in the Shuswap. It was announced the park would be renamed Ts煤tswecw Park, which the government press release stated meant 鈥榤any fish鈥� in the Secwepemc language.
It seems, however, that the proper spelling for the Secwepemc word for 鈥榤any fish鈥� was somehow misinterpreted.
The correct spelling for the Secwepemc word meaning 鈥榤any fishes鈥� is actually Susw茅wll.
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As Kathryn Michel, language programs coordinator at Chief Atahm School near Chase, explains, the province chose the right word to reflect the area, but somehow ended up with incorrect spelling.
鈥淎 friend of mine had said what they had chosen and spelled it out and so I鈥檓 going, 鈥榯hey chose the name Ts煤tswecw? That鈥檚 confusing because that means many creeks,鈥欌�欌�� Michel says.
鈥淭hen on the radio I heard the CBC announcer say that it meant many fish鈥� at the very end I think she must have had a phonetic pronunciation and I heard her say Susw茅wll and then I thought that makes sense, because Susw茅wll means many fish. It鈥檚 basically just a spelling error, that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 bringing to everybody鈥檚 attention.鈥�
She adds, 鈥淪usw茅wll is a perfect name because it means many fish, but Ts煤tswecw means many creeks.鈥�
When the Observer contacted the province about the name confusion, they said the government would be looking into the situation. They have not yet commented on whether the name will be changed or whether signage for the new park has already been produced.
Michel feels this is an easily forgiven typographical error on the part of the B.C. government, considering how recently the Secwepemc language has evolved into a written form and that few places are actively studying and teaching the language.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an honest mistake to make because, besides our school, there is not a lot of people that are actively learning to read and write the language,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 all I was bringing to everyone鈥檚 attention, just for there to be a change in the spelling so that it is correct.鈥�
She does note that increased public involvement in the renaming process could have helped avoid this spelling error.
鈥淭hey probably would have to have a bit of a larger discussion and maybe even a meeting on it,鈥� she suggests. 鈥淚 can understand why you would want to protect the process in some ways, but I think if they actually made it a little bit more transparent about how the process of naming is happening we probably could have weighed in a little bit sooner on this.鈥�
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Michel also believes the correct spelling is likely more accessible to others who don鈥檛 know the Secwepemc language, as the written word for Susw茅wll is easier to understand how to pronounce.
The word Ts煤tswecw is pronounced 鈥榮oot swec,鈥� and Michel suggests the 鈥榯s鈥� pronunciation is confusing to those unfamiliar with the language, while the word Susw茅wll is pronounced more or less how it looks, 鈥榮oo shwell.鈥�
The name Susw茅wll, or 鈥榤any fish,鈥� reflects the abundance of resources in the Shuswap, which gives it great importance to the First Nations communities that call it home.
鈥淢y father always called it the bread basket of our people,鈥� Michel explains. 鈥淎dams Lake had everything for us, it had so many species of fish and wildlife, and that鈥檚 where our traditional territories are.鈥�
To her, the move on behalf of the B.C. government to better reflect the roots of a First Nations culture that still thrives here today is an honourable one. She would just appreciate a simple spelling correction.
鈥淚鈥檓 really very passionate about our language and our culture, it鈥檚 what I have devoted my life to,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 think having the prominence of actually having a name in our language is kind of just honoring our existence and also of sort of our presence in the whole area.鈥�
@Jodi_Brak117
jodi.brak@saobserver.net
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