This word was put on a bench at UBC, meaning “Believe.” However, due to the lack of knowledge, the word was spelled wrong. All the e’s should have been schwa’s (ə). The bench has now been replaced with the correct spelling.

Sarah took Dani and me on a tour around UBC looking at knowledge of Musqueam presence on campus. This was an eye-opener for me in many ways. I did my undergraduate degree here at UBC (a total of 4 years), and not once did I ever notice any of the things Sarah showed us. This made me ask the question “why.”

When I was an undergraduate, I identified as a “student.” I needed to rush to get to classes, grab super quick lunches, and study study study! My mind was set on being focused – focused on tests, being on time, etc. My life was a back-and-forth relationship of going to school, then going home to sleep. There was no time to do anything else.

After taking the tour, I was amazed at how many “mistakes” there were on buildings, signs, etc. I do think it is great that UBC is starting to acknowledge that the land belongs to the Musqueam, but this acknowledgement becomes an insult when there are so many mistakes, especially when words are spelled wrong. I believe that this shows how so many people today have very little knowledge on Aboriginal culture and language. As a future educator, I hope I can help with changing this soon.