Columbia Cove in Brooks Peninsula Park from above. Photo courtesy of BC Parks
The B.C. Government is planning to rename three provincial parks as a part of Indigenous reconciliation efforts.
If proposed legislative amendments introduced are passed Brooks Peninsula Park on Vancouver Island, Boya Lake Park near the northwestern B.C. and Roderick Haig-Brown Park in the Shuswap will be renamed.
“These amendments allow our government to take an important step forward towards our ongoing reconciliation efforts with Indigenous peoples throughout British Columbia, which includes honouring the commitments we made under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” said George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy in a release.
The new names are as follows:
- Brooks Peninsula Park (also known as Mquqwin Park) on the Island will be renamed to Mquqwin/Brooks Peninsula Park. The word Mquqwin means “The Queen” in the Nuu-Chah-Nulth language.
- Boya Lake Park near the northwestern B.C. border will be renamed Tā Ch’ilā Park, meaning “holes in a blanket,” at the request of the Kaska Dena First Nation.
- Roderick Haig-Brown Park in the Shuswap will be renamed to the traditional Secwepemc name Tsútswecw Park, which translates to “many fish,” at the request of the Little Shuswap Indian Band.
The bill will amend the Protected Areas of British Columbia Act and the Parks and Protected Areas Statutes Amendment Act of 2003.
The amendments also include several additions to existing parks and a conservancy, the largest being on Haida Gwaii, where more than 1,200 hectares are proposed to be added to Duu Guusd Conservancy.
The province says the K’aas Gandlaay area contributes to an almost contiguous band of protected areas along the west coast of Haida Gwaii, and protects archeological sites, old growth cedar stands and important Haida cultural and spiritual values.
Julian Kolsut
