Musqueam cultural pavilion
Legally known as the Musquem Indian Band, the Musqueam people are the indigenous people of Vancouver. They are located just south of the UBC campus and across the river from the Vancouver International Airport.
Museum inside the pavilion
Getting access to the cultural pavilion to learn more about their history proved to be a challenge. Officially, it is open from 10:30am to 4pm every day but it’s only staffed if there are actually visitors. In order to gain access, you would have to knock on the door of the Musqueam government’s administration office to request admission. Then you’ll probably get the whole place to yourself.
“Could you turn the lights on for me? Just those four behind the shelf.” ~ Staff asking me to turn on the lights to the museum.
Ceiling of the pavilion lets in natural light
Once finished with the historic exhibits, you can hang around and talk to some of the Musqueam people. I heard quite few incredible stories that really highlight how traditional values tie in to sustainability. The museum staff was a lady who used to be a berry picker, turkey farmer, and crab fisher. She said that she took her home raised turkey for granted until he friends had a taste of the turkey and remarked on how succulent the flesh was – markedly different from frozen turkeys in the supermarket.
If you know you’re eventually going to eat the turkey, wouldn’t you want to feed it something nice?
She’d go visit her family every once in a while and she liked to pick berries up in the hill until her parents forbade her from doing so because of the mine. The mine spewed harmful dusts and chemicals all over the hills so the berries also became toxic, there are cases of cancerous boils growing on wildlife that consumed those berries. After she learned that the berries were contaminated, her parents directed her to another hill, where the berries were large and juicy.
The berries were so dirty they had a visible layer of dust on them.
Sustainability is an old concept, the only new thing here is industrialisation.
