Indigenous Education
Squamish Language Education
Indigenous Knowledge
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17 Puḵwayúsm
[pu kway usm]
Geographical location: North side of Cheakamus River mouth. It is located where Squamish River and Cheakamus river part ways.
*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.
Puḵwayúsm can translate to "having a mouldy face." Puḵwayúsm and Sḵemín are parallel to one another and are considered a village (north side and south side or River mouth). It was a good location for hunting and fishing. There was a longhouse at the north end but in 1943 there was a flood. There was a carved figure here infront of the longhouse of a man cradling a fish in his arms. It was called wáx̱ayus. It was to welcome the salmon as they swam upriver.