6200 University Blvd, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4
The land upon which UBC is situated has always been a place of learning for the Musqueam people, where culture, history, and traditions have been passed along through generations.
Carved by Musqueam artist Brent Sparrow Jr., this qeqən (post) tells the origin story of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam). From of a small lake called xʷməm̓qʷe:m (Camosun Bog), the sʔi:ɬqəy̓ (double-headed serpent) originated. This sʔi:ɬqəy̓ was so massive its winding path from the lake to the stal̕əw̓ (Fraser River) became the creek flowing through Musqueam today. Everything the serpent passed over died and from its droppings bloomed a new plant, the məθkʷəy̓. The people of long ago named that place xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam – place of the məθkʷəy̓).
This qeqən represents xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) ancestors and our ongoing connection to this land through their teachings. The figure is holding the sʔi:ɬqəy̓’s tail to showcase this sχʷəy̓em̓’s (ancient history) passage through generations, relating how the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people became known as the people of the məθkʷəy̓ plant. The qeqən reaffirms this part of the Musqueam’s traditional, ancestral and unceded territory.
We invite you to explore this site of rupture and consider UBC’s ongoing relationship with the Musqueam people, and how we might more deeply and fully entangle ourselves in such relations to envision a future otherwise.