Welcome (440 kb - Opens in a new window)

Snuneymuxw means "The Great People." The Snuneymuxw First Nation is Coast Salish. Their traditional territory is on eastern Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. They live beside the Nanaimo River and the Pacific Ocean and walk amongst the places their Elders and ancestors fished, dug for clams, hunted deer, elk and ducks, and harvested coastal plants and trees. They can look from the windows of their schools, homes and offices and see where their original village sites once stood in the Nanaimo Harbour, on the Nanaimo River, beside Departure Bay and at False Narrows on Gabriola Island. These places have sustained their community since the beginning.

This land - the river, the estuary, the harbour, the islands and the ocean - is the basis of their traditions and the source of the inspiration and the materials for the arts of the Snuneymuxw community. The Snuneymuxw and their ancient ancestors created the tools needed to gather and hunt for food; the blankets needed for warmth, wealth and ceremony; and the masks they awaken to share their stories. They once made all the tools needed to build their houses and canoes.

The Snuneymuxw are proud to be unique. They can look to the accomplishments of the teachers, writers, scholars, parents, athletes and artists in their Community Stories. Those who hold the traditional knowledge can explain the complex meaning and the skill required to weave the baskets, carve the house posts and to craft the tools used by their ancestors.

The traditional language of the Snuneymuxw is Island Hul'q'umin'um'. Their language is a link to the knowledge of their ancestors and Elders. They are teaching their children to speak their own language so that they will understand the strength that is within their community.

The strength of the Snuneymuxw was once challenged by people who tried to convince them to turn their backs on their culture. Many of their masks, spindle whorls and the very posts of their houses were moved to museums in Europe, the United States and Canada. The Snuneymuxw community is again learning the teachings of the Elders as they share their culture and discuss bringing home the objects of their ancestors.

This site brings together a small number of Snuneymuxw cultural objects that are in museums around the world and in the Snuneymuxw Community Stories. These objects range from fish knives uncovered through archaeological digs, to a lacrosse stick from a local championship team. We have linked them to vocabulary from the Hul'q'umin'um' language. Each object is the centre of a discussion that includes the environment, history and stories of the Elders, the Community Stories, and the language. Video clips, downloadable podcast interviews, three dimensional views, illustrations and descriptions explain how the objects were made, how they are used, and how the Snuneymuxw are discussing the return of museum collections.