Mi ce:p kʷətxʷiləm ƛ̓ scəw̓aθən – Welcome to Tsawwassen!

In Fred Gingell Park

An Interpretive Sign located in Fred Gingell Park at the top of the cliff was erected in partnership by TFN and the City of Delta in the summer of 2021.

The beach below is the site of an ancient village, represented by a post that is located on the beach by Tsatsu Shores near the Great Blue Heron Rookery. You can walk along the beach between both sites, best done at low tide.  The bright blue TFN marker post, by TFN Artist Brice Williams, marks the site of an ancient village.

The breathtaking view before you has been appreciated by the scəw̓aθən məsteyəxʷ (Tsawwassen Peoples) and other xʷəxʷilməxʷ (Indigenous Peoples) since time immemorial.

The original scəw̓aθən (Land Facing the Sea) village site is known as sƛ̓eləp, was located on the beach at the bottom of this bluff. The village was named by stəcen, the first man to have lived there. Archaeology confirms the occupation of sƛ̓eləp dating back to 2,260 BC.

The xʷəxʷilməxʷ (Indigenous Peoples) recognized how the meeting of the təməxʷ (land), stal̓əw̓ (river), and k̓ʷaƛ̓k̓ʷa (sea) could provide an abundance of access to seasonal resources, as well as provide a more permanent residence for the scəw̓aθən məsteyəxʷ (Tsawwassen Peoples).

The City of Delta acknowledges that this is the shared, traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of scəw̓aθən (Tsawwassen), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), and other Coast Salish Peoples.

The location is at the bottom of this long set of stairs and is also the site of another dedication that includes indigenous carving that seems to be dedicated In memory of Jeremy Sunderland – 07-07-81 to 07-09-09.