Indigenous Education
Squamish Language Education
Indigenous Knowledge
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10 chíshem Ḵw’émḵw’em
[chi shem] [kw'em kw'em]
"Ḵw’émḵw’em" Geographical location: little Defence Islands. Inner Defence Island
*Please note: Before contact we did not navigate within our territory by means of an outlined/defined map. We navigated from knowledge of the land and the seasons.
chíshem Ḵw’émḵw’em can translate to the inner Defence Island. We call it Ḵw’émḵw’em but the location would have been used in the past to distinguish which island they were going to. We used it for fishing and a burial. It was a lookout for any incoming raiders. There was a fresh spring water source. We could spring salmon troll, fish all year round and hunt seals off shore. We used this village a lot.