The Village of Stiil’nep

Dave welcomes you to the Village of Stiil’nep, and explains the origins of the modern name of Nanaimo.

You're standing before the Kin Hut. When it was built an archaeological excavation was conducted of the site, which led to the discovery of a cedar basket from the village of Stiil'nep that was over 1,000 years old.

The Spirit Portal you see here features two yuxwule' (eagles) on the pillars, and is mounted by a œullhánumucun (orca).

Dave tells you the story of his great-grandfather's marriage potlatch, which was held in the great longhouse of Stiil'nep. The remarkable potlatch in the summer of 1900 lasted a whole month, and the marriage brought peace between the Kwakwaka'wakw people to the north, and the Coast Salish peoples of the Salish Sea.

Dave explains the medical properties and cultural significance of some of the grasses growing right in this field.

Dave shares the transformer story of how the crow, or œulé:œe’ (pronounced Kel-a-Ka), or crow, got their black feathers.

This beach was once filled with canoes of all shapes and sizes. The Salish Sea was the highway of the Coast Salish, and they built a dizzying variety of specialized cedar dugout canoes. Each band had its own distinctive style. One surviving example is 22 metres (75 feet) long.

The Snuneymuxw lifestyle was deeply attuned to their environment and the great natural abundance it contained. Many of them would move between village sites seasonally, partially dismantling their longhouses and moving them by canoe in order to reuse the wood.

The Snuneymuxw are a Coast Salish people, one of three major First Nations cultures on Vancouver Island. The Snuneymuxw had and continue to have close ties to other Coast Salish peoples across the region. Many Snuneymuxw today live all around the Salish Sea, including on the mainland as far south as Seattle.

The language of the Coast Salish is Hul'q'umi'num', and over the millennia many dialects and sub-dialects have formed, creating wonderful linguistic diversity. Dave explains just how minute these regional variations can be.

Dave explains how Hul'q'umi'num' came to be taught in some schools, helping reintroduce Snuneymuxw children to this fundamental aspect of their culture and identity. The revival of Hul'q'umi'num' is a remarkable achievement after a century where it was brought to the brink of extinction by residential schools and hostile government policies.

Dave talks about the Snuneymuxw baby boom in the 1980s and 90s, helping their population rebound and creating new millennial and zoomer generations of confident young Snuneymuxw who are reengaging with their culture.