Siwash Rock. Photo Dan Toulgoet
In the days when Chinook was commonly spoken along the Pacific Northwest, the Chinook word 鈥淪iwash鈥� was not a derogatory term, says a 麻豆传媒映画historian.
鈥淚n Chinook, Siwash just means an Indigenous person,鈥� says Jean Barman, an award-winning author of books such as French Canadians, Furs, and Indigenous Women in the Making of the Pacific Northwest.
鈥淪iwash is emblematic of a time period when almost everyone knew Chinook and you could communicate across cultures,鈥� she said in a telephone interview. 鈥淭he name Siwash is a living recollection of a fact that Chinook brought people together for a long time. You may not have learned Musqueam or Squamish but you could communicate easily in Chinook. It鈥檚 a historical reality.鈥�
There is a notice of motion in front of the 麻豆传媒映画Park Board to change the name of Stanley Park鈥檚 Siwash Rock because, over time, Siwash became a pejorative term.
鈥淭he history of Stanley Park includes acts of dispossession and disrespect directed toward the Indigenous people who inhabited it,鈥� says the notice of motion from commissioner Catherine Evans. 鈥淎n ongoing symbol of disrespect is the name Siwash Rock.鈥�
One of Barman鈥檚 Chinook dictionaries, written in 1935, translates Siwash 鈥� pronounced Sigh-wash 鈥� as 鈥淚ndian or aboriginal, a savage.鈥�
She says Siwash never referred to an Indigenous woman. Siwash meant Indian. The Chinook word for an Indigenous woman was Kloochman. People would sometimes refer to Siwash Kloochman, which meant Indian woman.
The use of the word savage reflects it was a commonplace term when the dictionary was written, not the word鈥檚 original meaning, Barman says. As well, the terms we use to name North America鈥檚 first peoples are constantly evolving. At one time it was acceptable to use the word Indian. It then changed to First Nations but today Indigenous is often the preferred term.
Chinook was one of the easiest languages to learn when French and English traders and settlers arrived on the West Coast. It has no verb tenses and is often spoken using hand language; it integrated Indigenous, French and English words. It became the primary means to communicate because it was widely known by so many groups.
Barman hopes that the name Siwash Rock endures as a way to recognize and honour the role that the Chinook language played in our history.
鈥淚鈥檓 not in favour of giving into a petty time period when anyone calling someone an Indian was derogatory. It isn鈥檛 of itself a derogatory term.鈥�
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