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111-559: The name "Nahwitti" comes from the historic Kwakwakaʼwakw First Nation village of Nahwitti , which was an important trading site during the maritime fur trade era of approximately 1786–1850. The village was located near the mouth of the Nahwitti River. In 1850–1851 the village of Nahwitti was shelled and burned to the ground twice by the British Navy . Most of the inhabitants fled to Bull Harbour on Hope Island. Today they are part of

222-499: A cedar or wool blanket on top during the winter. Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw transportation was similar to that of other coastal people. Being an ocean and coastal people, they travelled mainly by canoe. Cedar dugout canoes , each made from one log, would be carved for use by individuals, families and communities. Sizes varied from ocean-going canoes, for long sea-worthy travel in trade missions, to smaller local canoes for inter-village travel. Some boats had buffalo fur inside to keep protection from

333-503: A change of 4.9% from its 2016 population of 631,486, making it the eighth-largest among Canadian cities . More specifically, Vancouver is the fourth-largest in Western Canada after Calgary , Edmonton and Winnipeg . With a land area of 115.18 km (44.47 sq mi), it had a population density of 5,749.7/km (14,891.6/sq mi) in 2021, the most densely populated Canadian municipality with more than 5,000 residents. At

444-442: A demand for stored surpluses, as such a display of wealth had social implications. By the time of European colonialism, it was noted that wool blankets had become a form of common currency . In the potlatch tradition, hosts of the potlatch were expected to provide enough gifts for all the guests invited. This practice created a system of loan and interest , using wool blankets as currency. As with other Pacific Northwest nations,

555-447: A festival or dance, or to celebrate the same, or who shall assist in the celebration of same is guilty of a like offence, and shall be liable to the same punishment. Oʼwax̱a̱laga̱lis, Chief of the Kwaguʼł "Fort Rupert Tribes", said to anthropologist Franz Boas on October 7, 1886, when he arrived to study their culture: We want to know whether you have come to stop our dances and feasts, as

666-525: A given spot, it discarded its animal appearance and became human. Animals that figure in these origin myths include the Thunderbird , his brother Kolas , the seagull , orca , grizzly bear , or chief ghost. Some ancestors have human origins and are said to come from distant places. Historically, the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw economy was based primarily on fishing, with the men also engaging in some hunting, and

777-432: A head chief, who acted as the leader of the nation, with numerous hereditary clan or family chiefs below him. In some of the nations, there also existed Eagle Chiefs , but this was a separate society within the main society and applied to the potlatching only. The Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw are one of the few bilineal cultures. Traditionally the rights of the family would be passed down through the paternal side, but in rare occasions,

888-588: A leading force in the city's society and economy until the rise of anti-German sentiment with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Today the Chinese are the largest visible ethnic group in Vancouver; the city has a diverse Chinese-speaking community with speakers of several dialects, notably Cantonese and Mandarin . Neighbourhoods with distinct ethnic commercial areas include Chinatown , Punjabi Market , Little Italy , Greektown , and (formerly) Japantown . Since

999-423: A long monologue, in which the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw had nothing to say." As a result of these pressures, there are relatively few Kwakʼwala speakers today. Most remaining speakers are past the age of child-rearing, which is considered a crucial stage for language transmission. As with many other Indigenous languages, there are significant barriers to language revitalization . Another barrier separating new learners from

1110-614: A misnomer. They prefer the name Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw , which means " Kwakʼwala -speaking-peoples". One exception is the Laich-kwil-tach at Campbell River —they are known as the Southern Kwakiutl, and their council is the Kwakiutl District Council . Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw oral history says their ancestors ( ʼnaʼmima ) came in the forms of animals by way of land, sea, or underground. When one of these ancestral animals arrived at

1221-478: A part of the Wakashan language group. Word lists and some documentation of Kwakʼwala were created from the early period of contact with Europeans in the 18th century, but a systematic attempt to record the language did not occur before the work of Franz Boas in the late 19th and early 20th century. The use of Kwakʼwala declined significantly in the 19th and 20th centuries, mainly due to the assimilationist policies of

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1332-598: A population density of 918.0/km (2,377.6/sq mi) in 2021. Approximately 75 percent of the people living in Metro Vancouver live outside Vancouver itself. The larger Lower Mainland-Southwest economic region (which includes also the Squamish-Lillooet , Fraser Valley , and Sunshine Coast Regional District ) has a population of over 3.04   million. The 2021 census reported that immigrants (individuals born outside Canada) comprise 274,365 persons or 42.2% of

1443-589: A typical coastal British Columbia mix of Douglas fir , western red cedar and western hemlock . The area is thought to have had the largest trees of these species on the British Columbia Coast . Only in Elliott Bay , Seattle , did the size of trees rival those of Burrard Inlet and English Bay . The largest trees in Vancouver's old-growth forest were in the Gastown area, where the first logging occurred and on

1554-682: A warm-summer Mediterranean ( Köppen: Csb ). While the city has the coolest summer average high of all major Canadian metropolitan areas, winters in Greater Vancouver are the fourth-mildest of Canadian cities, after nearby Victoria , Nanaimo and Duncan , all on Vancouver Island. Vancouver is one of the wettest Canadian cities. However, precipitation varies throughout the metropolitan area. Annual precipitation as measured at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond averages 1,189 mm (46.8 in), compared with 1,588 mm (62.5 in) in

1665-564: Is 38.1 cm (15.0 in) but typically does not remain on the ground for long. Vancouver's growing season averages 237 days, from March 18 until November 10. Vancouver's 1981–2010 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone ranges from 8a to 9a depending on elevation and proximity to water. As of 2021, Vancouver is the most densely populated city in Canada. Urban planning in Vancouver is characterized by high-rise residential and mixed-use development in urban centres, as an alternative to sprawl . As part of

1776-574: Is a modernist high-rise, now converted into the Electra condominium. Also notable is the "concrete waffle" of the MacMillan Bloedel building on the north-east corner of the Georgia and Thurlow intersection. A prominent addition to the city's landscape is the giant tent-frame Canada Place (designed by Zeidler Roberts Partnership Partnership, MCMP & DA Architects ), the former Canada Pavilion from

1887-678: Is based on a bilinear structure, with loose characteristics of a patrilineal culture. It has large extended families and interconnected community life. The Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw are made up of numerous communities or bands. Within those communities they are organized into extended family units or naʼmima, which means 'of one kind'. Each naʼmima had positions that carried particular responsibilities and privileges. Each community had around four naʼmima , although some had more, some had less. Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw follow their genealogy back to their ancestral roots. A head chief who, through primogeniture , could trace his origins to that naʼmima' s ancestors delineated

1998-709: Is currently located was referred to by the Stó꞉lō in the Upriver Halkomelem dialect as Lhq’á:lets , meaning "wide at the bottom/end". Speakers of the Island dialect of Halkomelem referred to the region of Vancouver as sqwx̌wam̓ush or skwóm̓esh , referring to the Squamish, or as Pankúpe7 , a transliteration of the English word "Vancouver". Archaeological records indicate that Aboriginal people were already living in

2109-519: Is located about 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) west of the river's mouth, on Cape Sutil, the northernmost point of Vancouver Island. Hope Island lies north of Goletas Channel. Within Goletas Channel is Nahwitti Bar. The Nahwitti River watershed is within the traditional territory of the Tlatlasikwala and Quatsino Kwakwakaʼwakw First Nations , which are part of the Kwakiutl District Council and

2220-755: Is shamed. The ceremony, which had not been performed since the 1950s, was revived by chief Beau Dick in 2013, as part of the Idle No More movement. He performed a copper cutting ritual on the lawn of the British Columbia Legislature on February 10, 2013, to ritually shame the Stephen Harper government. The Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw are a highly stratified bilineal culture of the Pacific Northwest. They are many separate nations, each with its own history, culture and governance. The Nations commonly each had

2331-641: Is the Paradox Hotel Vancouver at 188 m (617 ft), followed by the Private Residences at Hotel Georgia , at 156 m (512 ft). The fourth-tallest is One Wall Centre at 150 m (490 ft) and 48 storeys, followed closely by the Shaw Tower at 149 m (489 ft). In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada , Vancouver had a population of 662,248 living in 305,336 of its 328,347 total private dwellings,

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2442-413: Is the origin of the name that eventually became "Vancouver". The indigenous Squamish people who reside in a region that encompasses southwestern British Columbia including this city gave the name K'emk'emeláy̓ which means "place of many maple trees"; this was originally the name of a village inhabited by said people where a sawmill was established by Edward Stamp as part of the foundations to

2553-469: Is used primarily for ceremony and ritual, and is based on percussive instrumentation, especially log, box, and hide drums, as well as rattles and whistles. The four-day Klasila festival is an important cultural display of song and dance and masks; it occurs just before the advent of the tsetseka , or winter. The potlatch culture of the Northwest is well known and widely studied. It is still practised among

2664-500: The Chilkat blanket , dance aprons and button cloaks, each patterned with Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw designs. The Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw used a variety of objects for jewellery, including ivory, bone, abalone shell, copper, silver and more. Adornments were frequently found on the clothes of important persons. Kwakwakaʼwakw music is the ancient art of the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw peoples. The music is an ancient art form, stretching back thousands of years. The music

2775-586: The 1986 World Exposition , which includes part of the Convention Centre , the Pan-Pacific Hotel , and a cruise ship terminal. Two modern buildings that define the southern skyline away from the downtown area are City Hall and the Centennial Pavilion of Vancouver General Hospital , both designed by Townley and Matheson in 1936 and 1958, respectively. A collection of Edwardian buildings in

2886-454: The 2021 census Vancouver has been called a "city of neighbourhoods." Each neighbourhood in Vancouver has a distinct character and ethnic mix. People of English, Scottish, and Irish origins were historically the largest ethnic groups in the city, and elements of British society and culture are still visible in some areas, particularly South Granville and Kerrisdale . Germans are the next-largest European ethnic group in Vancouver and were

2997-605: The British Columbia Parliament Buildings and the Empress Hotel in Victoria, and the lavishly decorated second Hotel Vancouver. The 556-room Hotel Vancouver , opened in 1939 and the third by that name, is across the street with its copper roof. The Gothic-style Christ Church Cathedral , across from the hotel, opened in 1894 and was declared a heritage building in 1976. There are several modern buildings in

3108-546: The Canadian Pacific Railway . The Canadian Pacific transcontinental railway was extended to the city by 1887. The city's large natural seaport on the Pacific Ocean became a vital link in the trade between Asia-Pacific , East Asia , Europe , and Eastern Canada . Vancouver has hosted many international conferences and events, including the 1954 Commonwealth Games , UN Habitat I , Expo 86 , APEC Canada 1997 ,

3219-469: The Cumberland coal mines on Vancouver Island . Following a lull in the 1920s, the strike wave peaked in 1935 when unemployed men flooded the city to protest conditions in the relief camps run by the military in remote areas throughout the province. After two tense months of daily and disruptive protesting, the relief camp strikers decided to take their grievances to the federal government and embarked on

3330-873: The Fraser Valley , comprises the Lower Mainland with a regional population of over 3   million. Vancouver has the highest population density in Canada, with over 5,700 inhabitants per square kilometre (15,000/sq mi), and the fourth highest in North America (after New York City , San Francisco , and Mexico City ). Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada: 49.3 percent of its residents are not native English speakers, 47.8 percent are native speakers of neither English nor French, and 54.5 percent of residents belong to visible minority groups. It has been consistently ranked one of

3441-769: The Kwakiutl ( / ˈ k w ɑː k j ʊ t əl / ; " Kwakʼwala -speaking peoples"), are one of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast . Their current population, according to a 2016 census, is 3,665. Most live in their traditional territory on northern Vancouver Island , nearby smaller islands including the Discovery Islands , and the adjacent British Columbia mainland. Some also live outside their homelands in urban areas such as Victoria and Vancouver . They are politically organized into 13 band governments . Their language, now spoken by only 3.1% of

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3552-511: The On-to-Ottawa Trek , but their protest was put down by force. The workers were arrested near Mission and interned in work camps for the duration of the Depression. Other social movements, such as the first-wave feminist , moral reform, and temperance movements , were also instrumental in Vancouver's development. Mary Ellen Smith , a Vancouver suffragist and prohibitionist , became

3663-680: The Pacific Maritime Ecozone . Until the city's naming in 1885, "Vancouver" referred to Vancouver Island, and it remains a common misconception that the city is located on the island. The island and the city are both named after Royal Navy Captain George Vancouver (as is the city of Vancouver, Washington , in the United States). Vancouver has one of the largest urban parks in North America, Stanley Park , which covers 404.9 ha (1,001 acres). The North Shore Mountains dominate

3774-541: The Port of Vancouver is the fourth-largest port by tonnage in the Americas, the busiest and largest in Canada, and the most diversified port in North America. While forestry remains its largest industry, Vancouver is well known as an urban centre surrounded by nature, making tourism its second-largest industry. Major film production studios in Vancouver and nearby Burnaby have turned Greater Vancouver and nearby areas into one of

3885-565: The Tlatlasikwala Nation . Today the village is gone, but there remains on Cape Sutil an Indian reserve called "Nahwitti 4", under the administration of the Tlatlasikwala Nation. The Nahwitti River originates about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) west of Port Hardy, not far from Kains Lake and Nahwitti Mountain. It flows generally west to Nahwitti Lake. Joined on the way by numerous creeks, including Kains Creek, and Mead Creek. Then

3996-591: The Winalagalis Treaty Group . A relatively large, if short river, the Nahwitti supports many fish species, including sockeye , kokanee , coho , pink , and chum salmon ; cutthroat , steelhead , and rainbow trout ; Dolly Varden char , brook trout , and others. Much of the river's watershed is used for timber harvesting and lies within the Kingcome Timber Supply Area, which is part of

4107-561: The World Police and Fire Games in 1989 and 2009; several matches of 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup including the finals at BC Place in Downtown Vancouver , and the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics which were held in Vancouver and Whistler , a resort community 125 km (78 mi) north of the city. In 1969, Greenpeace was founded in Vancouver. The city became the permanent home to TED conferences in 2014. As of 2016 ,

4218-445: The census metropolitan area (CMA) level in the 2021 census, the metropolitan area referred to as Greater Vancouver had a population of 2,642,825 living in 1,043,319 of its 1,104,532 total private dwellings, a change of 7.3% from its 2016 population of 2,463,431, the third-most populous metropolitan area in the country and the most populous in Western Canada . With a land area of 2,878.93 km (1,111.56 sq mi), it had

4329-535: The colonial government surveyed the settlement and laid out a townsite , renamed " Granville " in honour of the then–British Secretary of State for the Colonies , Lord Granville . This site, with its natural harbour, was selected in 1884 as the terminus for the Canadian Pacific Railway, to the disappointment of Port Moody , New Westminster and Victoria , all of which had vied to be the railhead. A railway

4440-461: The most livable cities in Canada and in the world. In terms of housing affordability , Vancouver is also one of the most expensive cities in Canada and in the world . Vancouverism is the city's urban planning design philosophy. Indigenous settlement of Vancouver began more than 10,000 years ago and included the Squamish , Musqueam , and Tsleil-Waututh (Burrard) peoples. The beginnings of

4551-484: The 1930s onward by the government of Japan. These flower for several weeks in early spring each year, an occasion celebrated by the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival . Other streets are lined with flowering chestnut, horse chestnut and other decorative shade trees. Vancouver's climate, one of the mildest and most temperate climates in Canada, is classified as oceanic ( Köppen: Cfb ) bordering on

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4662-512: The 1980s and 1990s, recent immigration has been comparatively low. However, growth in the Latino population – which largely consists of Mexicans and Salvadorans  – rose in the late 2010s and early 2020s. African immigration has been similarly stagnant (3.6% and 3.3% of total immigrant population, respectively). The black population of Vancouver is small in comparison to other Canadian major cities, making up 1.3 percent of

4773-592: The 1980s, immigration increased substantially, making the city more ethnically and linguistically diverse; 49 percent of Vancouver's residents do not speak English as their first language. Over 25 percent of the city's inhabitants are of Chinese heritage. In the 1980s, an influx of immigrants from Hong Kong in anticipation of the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to China, combined with an increase in immigrants from mainland China and previous immigrants from Taiwan , established in Vancouver one of

4884-466: The 1990s showed that the potential to fully revitalize Kwakʼwala still remained, but serious hurdles also existed. In the old times, the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw believed that art symbolized a common underlying element shared by all species. Kwakwakaʼwakw arts consist of a diverse range of crafts, including totems, masks, textiles, jewellery and carved objects, ranging in size from transformation masks to 40 ft (12 m) tall totem poles . Cedar wood

4995-552: The British settlement later becoming part of Vancouver. In hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (the Downriver dialect of Halkomelem) spoken by the Musqueam , there is no specific term for Vancouver. Rather there existed names for specific villages and landscape features that the people knew intimately in the area Vancouver exists in currently, as opposed to larger geographic features. The region where Vancouver

5106-460: The Canadian government. Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw children were forced to attend residential schools , which enforced English use and discouraged other languages. Although Kwakʼwala and Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw culture have been well-studied by linguists and anthropologists, these efforts did not reverse the trends leading to language loss . According to Guy Buchholtzer, "The anthropological discourse had too often become

5217-549: The Empire's tallest commercial building by the elaborate Art Deco Marine Building in the 1920s. The Marine Building is known for its elaborate ceramic tile facings and brass-gilt doors and elevators, which make it a favourite location for movie shoots. Topping the list of tallest buildings in Vancouver is Living Shangri-La , the tallest building in BC at 201 m (659 ft) and 62 storeys. The second-tallest building in Vancouver

5328-590: The Fraser River, on their way to the Fraser Canyon , bypassing what would become Vancouver. Vancouver is among British Columbia's youngest cities; the first European settlement in what is now Vancouver was not until 1862 at McCleery's Farm on the Fraser River, just east of the ancient village of Musqueam in what is now Marpole . A sawmill was established at Moodyville (now the City of North Vancouver ) in 1863, beginning

5439-520: The Haisla people. A review article entitled Mothers of a Native Hell , about these two books, was published in the British Columbia online news magazine The Tyee in 2007. Restoring their ties to their land, culture and rights, the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw have undertaken much in bringing back their customs, beliefs and language. Potlatches occur more frequently as families reconnect to their birthright, and

5550-457: The Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw chiefs. When the Canadian government was focused on assimilation of First Nations, it made the potlatch a target of activities to be suppressed. Missionary William Duncan wrote in 1875 that the potlatch was "by far the most formidable of all obstacles in the way of Indians becoming Christians, or even civilized". In 1885, the Indian Act was revised to include clauses banning

5661-614: The Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw highly valued copper in their economy and used it for ornament and precious goods. Scholars have proposed that prior to trade with Europeans, the people acquired copper from natural copper veins along riverbeds, but this has not been proven. Contact with European settlers, particularly through the Hudson's Bay Company , brought an influx of copper to their territories. The Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw nations also were aware of silver and gold , and crafted intricate bracelets and jewellery from hammered coins traded from European settlers. Copper

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5772-524: The Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw, as is the lavish artwork for which they and their neighbours are so renowned. The phenomenon of the potlatch, and the vibrant societies and cultures associated with it, can be found in Chiefly Feasts: The Enduring Kwakiutl Potlatch , which details the incredible artwork and legendary material that go with the other aspects of the potlatch, and gives a glimpse into the high politics and great wealth and power of

5883-640: The Nahwitti passes through the Nahwitti River Recreation Site and enters Nahwitti Lake, after which it flows north and northwest. Just below Nahwitti Lake the river is joined by Hepler Creek, then, among various unnamed tributaries, Pugh Creek, Nahshutti Creek, Rannell Creek. Godkin Creek, and Tyllia Creek with its tributary Bragg Creek. Then the Nahwitti River enters Cape Scott Provincial Park and empties into Goletas Channel, part of Queen Charlotte Sound. The First Nation Indian reserve called "Nahwitti 4"

5994-581: The Pacific. Examples include the monkey puzzle tree , the Japanese maple and various flowering exotics, such as magnolias , azaleas and rhododendrons . Some species imported from harsher climates in Eastern Canada or Europe have grown to immense sizes. The native Douglas maple can also attain a tremendous size. Many of the city's streets are lined with flowering varieties of Japanese cherry trees donated from

6105-675: The Port McNeill Forest District. About 23% of the watershed has been harvested, and about 32% of the remaining land is considered to not be harvestable. The main trees are western hemlock and western red cedar , with lesser amounts of yellow cedar and coastal lodgepole pine . The lower Nahwitti River lies within the protected Cape Scott Provincial Park , through which runs the North Coast Trail wilderness hiking trail. Kwakwaka%CA%BCwakw The Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw ( IPA: [ˈkʷakʷəkʲəʔwakʷ] ), also known as

6216-538: The Vancouver area from 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. The Squamish , Musqueam , and Tsleil-Waututh (Burrard) peoples of the Coast Salish group had villages in various parts of present-day Vancouver, such as Stanley Park , False Creek , Kitsilano , Point Grey and near the mouth of the Fraser River . Europeans became acquainted with the area of the future Vancouver when José María Narváez of Spain explored

6327-521: The airport was 34.4 °C (93.9 °F) set on July 30, 2009, and the highest temperature ever recorded within the city of Vancouver was 35.0 °C (95.0 °F) occurring first on July 31, 1965, again on August 8, 1981, and also on May 29, 1983. The coldest temperature ever recorded in the city was −17.8 °C (0.0 °F) on January 14, 1950 and again on December 29, 1968. On average, snow falls nine days per year, with three days receiving 5 cm (2.0 in) or more. Average yearly snowfall

6438-495: The building of high-rise residential towers in Vancouver's West End , subject to strict requirements for setbacks and open space to protect sight lines and preserve green space. The success of these dense but livable neighbourhoods led to the redevelopment of urban industrial sites, such as North False Creek and Coal Harbour, beginning in the mid-1980s. The result is a compact urban core that has gained international recognition for its "high amenity and 'livable' development". In 2006,

6549-544: The city its name in honour of George Vancouver . The Great Vancouver Fire on June 13, 1886, razed the entire city. The Vancouver Fire Department was established that year and the city quickly rebuilt. Vancouver's population grew from a settlement of 1,000 people in 1881 to over 20,000 by the turn of the century and 100,000 by 1911. Vancouver merchants outfitted prospectors bound for the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898. One of those merchants, Charles Woodward, had opened

6660-409: The city launched a planning initiative entitled EcoDensity , with the stated goal of exploring ways in which "density, design, and land use can contribute to environmental sustainability, affordability, and livability". The Vancouver Art Gallery is housed downtown in the neoclassical former courthouse built in 1906. The courthouse building was designed by Francis Rattenbury , who also designed

6771-476: The city population belonged to a visible minority group; at the same time, this proportion was roughly 14 percent for the entire metropolitan area . By 2016, the proportion in the city had grown to 52 percent. Prior to the Hong Kong diaspora of the 1990s, the largest non-British ethnic groups in the city were Irish and German , followed by Scandinavian , Italian , Ukrainian , Chinese, and Punjabi . From

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6882-418: The city's long relationship with logging. It was quickly followed by mills owned by Captain Edward Stamp on the south shore of the inlet. Stamp, who had begun logging in the Port Alberni area, first attempted to run a mill at Brockton Point , but difficult currents and reefs forced the relocation of the operation in 1867 to a point near the foot of Dunlevy Street. This mill, known as the Hastings Mill , became

6993-409: The city's old downtown core were, in their day, the tallest commercial buildings in the British Empire . These were, in succession, the Carter-Cotton Building (former home of The Province newspaper), the Dominion Building (1907) and the Sun Tower (1911), the former two at Cambie and Hastings Streets and the latter at Beatty and Pender Streets. The Sun Tower's cupola was finally exceeded as

7104-399: The city. Hogan's Alley , a small area adjacent to Chinatown, just off Main Street at Prior, was once home to a significant black community. The Black population consists of Somalis , Jamaicans/Caribbeans, and other groups, including those who descended from African Americans. The neighbourhood of Strathcona was the core of the city's Jewish community. In 1981, approximately 24 percent of

7215-425: The city. While some manufacturing did develop, including the establishment of the British Columbia Sugar Refinery by Benjamin Tingley Rogers in 1890, natural resources became the basis for Vancouver's economy. The resource sector was initially based on logging and later on exports moving through the seaport, where commercial traffic constituted the largest economic sector in Vancouver by the 1930s. The dominance of

7326-489: The cityscape, and on a clear day, scenic vistas include the snow-capped volcano Mount Baker in the state of Washington to the southeast, Vancouver Island across the Strait of Georgia to the west and southwest, and Bowen Island to the northwest. The vegetation in the Vancouver area was originally temperate rainforest , consisting of conifers with scattered pockets of maple and alder and large areas of swampland (even in upland areas, due to poor drainage). The conifers were

7437-554: The coast of present-day Point Grey and parts of Burrard Inlet in 1791—although one author contends that Francis Drake may have visited the area in 1579 . The explorer and North West Company trader Simon Fraser and his crew became the first-known Europeans to set foot on the site of the present-day city. In 1808, they travelled from the east down the Fraser River, perhaps as far as Point Grey. The Fraser Gold Rush of 1858 brought over 25,000 men, mainly from California , to nearby New Westminster (founded February 14, 1859) on

7548-451: The cold winters. Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada , located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia . As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The Metro Vancouver area had a population of 2.6   million in 2021, making it the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada . Greater Vancouver, along with

7659-405: The collective as a whole. The term became misapplied to mean all the nations who spoke Kwakʼwala, as well as three other Indigenous peoples whose language is a part of the Wakashan linguistic group, but whose language is not Kwakʼwala. These peoples, incorrectly known as the Northern Kwakiutl, were the Haisla , Wuikinuxv , and Heiltsuk . Many people who others call "Kwakiutl" consider that name

7770-445: The community uses language programs, classes and social events to restore the language . Artists in the 19th and 20th centuries, such as Mungo Martin , Ellen Neel and Willie Seaweed , have taken efforts to revive Kwakwakaʼwakw art and culture. Each Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw nation has its own clans , chiefs, history, culture and peoples, but remain collectively similar to the rest of the Kwak̓wala-Speaking nations. Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw kinship

7881-430: The downtown area and 2,044 mm (80.5 in) in North Vancouver. The daily maximum averages 22 °C (72 °F) in July and August, with highs rarely reaching 30 °C (86 °F). The summer months are typically dry, with only one in five days receiving precipitation during July and August. In contrast, most days from November through March record some precipitation. The highest temperature ever recorded at

7992-790: The downtown area, including the Harbour Centre , the Vancouver Law Courts and surrounding plaza known as Robson Square (designed by Arthur Erickson ) and the Vancouver Library Square (designed by Moshe Safdie and DA Architects ), reminiscent of the Colosseum in Rome, and the recently completed Woodward's building Redevelopment (designed by Henriquez Partners Architects ). The original BC Hydro headquarters building (designed by Ron Thom and Ned Pratt) at Nelson and Burrard Streets

8103-490: The economy by big business was accompanied by an often militant labour movement . The first major sympathy strike was in 1903 when railway employees struck against the CPR for union recognition. Labour leader Frank Rogers was killed by CPR police while picketing at the docks, becoming the movement's first martyr in British Columbia. The rise of industrial tensions throughout the province led to Canada's first general strike in 1918, at

8214-433: The first Woodward's store at Abbott and Cordova Streets in 1892 and, along with Spencer's and the Hudson's Bay department stores, formed the core of the city's retail sector for decades. The economy of early Vancouver was dominated by large companies such as the CPR, which fuelled economic activity and led to the rapid development of the new city; in fact, the CPR was the main real estate owner and housing developer in

8325-476: The first woman elected to a provincial legislature in Canada in 1918. Alcohol prohibition began in the First World War and lasted until 1921 when the provincial government established control over alcohol sales, a practice still in place today. Canada's first drug law came about following an inquiry conducted by the federal minister of Labour and future prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King . King

8436-494: The fourth-most expensive real estate market in the world in 2019. Vancouver has also been ranked among Canada's most expensive cities to live in. Sales in February 2016 were 56.3 percent higher than the 10-year average for the month. Forbes also ranked Vancouver as the tenth-cleanest city in the world in 2007. Vancouver's characteristic approach to urban planning originated in the late 1950s, when city planners began to encourage

8547-450: The highest concentrations of ethnic Chinese residents in North America. Another significant Asian ethnic group in Vancouver includes South Asians , forming approximately 7 percent of the city's inhabitants; while a small community had existed in the city since 1897, larger waves of migration began in the 1950s and 1960s, prompting new Punjabi immigrants to establish a Little India (known as Punjabi Market ) and preside over much of

8658-551: The larger Metro Vancouver region, it is influenced by the policy direction of livability as illustrated in Metro Vancouver's Regional Growth Strategy. Vancouver ranked high on the Global Liveability Ranking and stood at number 1 on the list for several years until 2011. In recent years, it has dropped, ranking as low as 16 in 2021. As of 2022 , Vancouver was ranked as having the fifth-highest quality of living of any city on Earth. According to Forbes , Vancouver had

8769-506: The largest film production centres in North America, earning it the nickname " Hollywood North ". The city takes its name from George Vancouver , who explored the inner harbour of Burrard Inlet in 1792 and gave various places British names. The family name "Vancouver" itself originates from the Dutch "van Coevorden", denoting somebody from the city of Coevorden , Netherlands. The explorer's ancestors came to England "from Coevorden", which

8880-712: The letters and account of the life of the wife of Thomas Crosby , the first missionary in Lax Kwʼalaams (Port Simpson). This covers the period from 1870 to the turn of the 20th century. A second book was published in 2005 by the University of Calgary Press , The Letters of Margaret Butcher – Missionary Imperialism on the North Pacific Coast , edited by Mary-Ellen Kelm. It picks up the story from 1916 to 1919 in Kitamaat Village and details of Butcher's experiences among

8991-682: The mass construction of the Vancouver Special across the southeastern quadrant of the city, notably within the Sunset neighbourhood prior to the suburbanization of the community to outer suburbs such as Surrey or Delta. Other Asian-origin groups that reside in Vancouver include Filipinos (5.9%), Japanese (1.7%), Korean (1.7%), West Asians (1.9%), as well as sizable communities of Vietnamese , Indonesians , and Cambodians . Despite increases in Latin American immigration to Vancouver in

9102-464: The mid-1950s until the 1980s, many Portuguese immigrants came to Vancouver, and the city had the third-largest Portuguese population in Canada in 2001. Eastern Europeans, including Russians , Czechs , Poles , Romanians and Hungarians began immigrating after the Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe after World War II . Greek immigration increased in the late 1960s and early '70s, with most settling in

9213-459: The missionaries and agents who live among our neighbors [ sic ] try to do. We do not want to have anyone here who will interfere with our customs. We were told that a man-of-war would come if we should continue to do as our grandfathers and great-grandfathers have done. But we do not mind such words. Is this the white man's land? We are told it is the Queen's land, but no! It is mine. Where

9324-403: The modern city, which was originally named Gastown , grew around the site of a makeshift tavern on the western edges of Hastings Mill that was built on July 1, 1867, and owned by proprietor Gassy Jack . The Gastown steam clock marks the original site. Gastown then formally registered as a townsite dubbed Granville , Burrard Inlet . The city was renamed "Vancouver" in 1886 through a deal with

9435-454: The native speaker is the presence of four separate orthographies; the young are taught Uʼmista or NAPA, while the older generations generally use Boaz, developed by the American anthropologist Franz Boas. A number of revitalization efforts are underway. A 2005 proposal to build a Kwakwakaʼwakw First Nations Centre for Language Culture has gained wide support. A review of revitalization efforts in

9546-492: The nucleus around which Vancouver formed. The mill's central role in the city waned after the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in the 1880s. It nevertheless remained important to the local economy until it closed in the 1920s. The settlement, which came to be called Gastown , proliferated around the original makeshift tavern established by Gassy Jack in 1867 on the edge of the Hastings Mill property. In 1870,

9657-595: The people. Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw dancers from Vancouver Island performed at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. An account of experiences of two founders of early residential schools for Aboriginal children was published in 2006 by the University of British Columbia Press . Good Intentions Gone Awry – Emma Crosby and the Methodist Mission On the Northwest Coast by Jan Hare and Jean Barman contains

9768-599: The population of the enlarged Vancouver was 228,193. Located on the Burrard Peninsula , Vancouver lies between Burrard Inlet to the north and the Fraser River to the south. The Strait of Georgia , to the west, is shielded from the Pacific Ocean by Vancouver Island . The city has an area of 115.18 km (44.47 sq mi), including both flat and hilly ground and is in the Pacific Time Zone (UTC−8) and

9879-422: The population, consists of four dialects of what is commonly referred to as Kwakʼwala . These dialects are Kwak̓wala, ʼNak̓wala, G̱uc̓ala and T̓łat̓łasik̓wala. The name Kwakiutl derives from Kwaguʼł —the name of a single community of Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw located at Fort Rupert . The anthropologist Franz Boas had done most of his anthropological work in this area and popularized the term for both this nation and

9990-563: The potlatch and making it illegal to practise. The official legislation read, Every Indian or other person who engages in or assists in celebrating the Indian festival known as the "Potlatch" or the Indian dance known as the "Tamanawas" is guilty of a misdemeanour, and shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not more than six nor less than two months in a jail or other place of confinement; and, any Indian or other person who encourages, either directly or indirectly an Indian or Indians to get up such

10101-436: The potlatch ceremony. The Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw were too numerous to police, and the government could not enforce the law. Duncan Campbell Scott convinced Parliament to change the offence from criminal to summary, which meant "the agents, as justice of the peace, could try a case, convict, and sentence". Sustaining the customs and culture of their ancestors, in the 21st century the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw openly hold potlatches to commit to

10212-488: The potlatch, commoners, and slaves. On the nobility class, "the noble was recognized as the literal conduit between the social and spiritual domains, birthright alone was not enough to secure rank: only individuals displaying the correct moral behavior [sic] throughout their life course could maintain ranking status." As in other Northwest Coast peoples, the concept of property was well developed and important to daily life. Territorial property such as hunting or fishing grounds

10323-407: The revival of their ancestors' ways. The frequency of potlatches has increased as occur frequently and increasingly more over the years as families reclaim their birthright. The Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw built their houses from cedar planks, which are highly water resistant. They were very large, anywhere from 50 to 100 ft (15 to 30 m) long. The houses could hold about 50 people, usually families from

10434-455: The rights could pass on the maternal side of their family also. Within the pre-colonization times, the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw were organized into three classes: nobles, commoners, and slaves. The Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw shared many cultural and political alliances with numerous neighbours in the area, including the Nuu-chah-nulth , Heiltsuk , Wuikinuxv and some Coast Salish . The Kwakʼwala language is

10545-522: The roles throughout the rest of his family. Every clan had several sub-chiefs, who gained their titles and position through their own family's primogeniture. These chiefs organized their people to harvest the communal lands that belonged to their family. Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw society was organized into four classes: the nobility, attained through birthright and connection in lineage to ancestors, the aristocracy who attained status through connection to wealth, resources or spiritual powers displayed or distributed in

10656-482: The same clan. At the entrance, there was usually a totem pole carved with different animals, mythological figures and family crests. In summer, men wore no clothing except jewelry. In the winter, they usually rubbed fat on themselves to keep warm. In battle the men wore red cedar armor and helmets, and breech clouts made from cedar. During ceremonies they wore circles of cedar bark on their ankles as well as cedar breech clouts . The women wore skirts of softened cedar, and

10767-515: The southern slopes of False Creek and English Bay, especially around Jericho Beach . The forest in Stanley Park was logged between the 1860s and 1880s, and evidence of old-fashioned logging techniques such as springboard notches can still be seen there. Many plants and trees growing throughout Vancouver and the Lower Mainland were imported from other parts of the continent and points across

10878-523: The total population of Vancouver. Of the total immigrant population, the top countries of origin were mainland China (63,275 persons or 23.1%), Philippines (29,930 persons or 10.9%), Hong Kong (25,480 persons or 9.3%), India (14,640 persons or 5.3%), United Kingdom (12,895 persons or 4.7%), Vietnam (12,120 persons or 4.4%), Taiwan (9,870 persons or 3.6%), United States of America (9,790 persons or 3.6%), Iran (8,775 persons or 3.2%), and South Korea (6,495 persons or 2.4%). Pan-ethnic breakdown of Vancouver from

10989-408: The war, these Japanese-Canadian men and women were not allowed to return to cities like Vancouver causing areas, like the aforementioned Japantown , to cease to be ethnically Japanese areas as the communities never revived. Amalgamation with Point Grey and South Vancouver gave the city its final boundaries not long before it became the third-largest metropolis in the country. As of January 1, 1929,

11100-457: The white man, "Do as the Indian does"? It is a strict law that bids us dance. It is a strict law that bids us distribute our property among our friends and neighbors. It is a good law. Let the white man observe his law; we shall observe ours. And now, if you come to forbid us dance, be gone. If not, you will be welcome to us. Eventually the Act was amended, expanded to prohibit guests from participating in

11211-473: The women gathering wild fruits and berries. Ornate weaving and woodwork were important crafts, and wealth, defined by slaves and material goods, was prominently displayed and traded at potlatch ceremonies. These customs were the subject of extensive study by the anthropologist Franz Boas . In contrast to most non-native societies, wealth and status were not determined by how much you had, but by how much you had to give away. This act of giving away your wealth

11322-608: Was among the inducements for British Columbia to join the Confederation in 1871, but the Pacific Scandal and arguments over the use of Chinese labour delayed construction until the 1880s. The City of Vancouver was incorporated on April 6, 1886, the same year that the first transcontinental train arrived. CPR president William Van Horne arrived in Port Moody to establish the CPR terminus recommended by Henry John Cambie and gave

11433-479: Was considered a wealthy and important man. Highly ranked members of the communities often have the Kwakʼwala word for "copper" as part of their names. Copper's importance as an indicator of status also led to its use in a Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw shaming ritual . The copper cutting ceremony involved breaking copper plaques. The act represents a challenge; if the target cannot break a plaque of equal or greater value, he or she

11544-410: Was considered prestigious for a buyer to purchase the same piece of copper at a higher price than it was previously sold, in their version of an art market. During potlatch, copper pieces would be brought out, and bids were placed on them by rival chiefs. The highest bidder would have the honour of buying said copper piece. If a host still held a surplus of copper after throwing an expensive potlatch, he

11655-465: Was given a special value amongst the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw, most likely for its ceremonial purposes. This copper was beaten into sheets or plates, and then painted with mythological figures. The sheets were used for decorating wooden carvings or kept for the sake of prestige. Individual pieces of copper were sometimes given names based on their value. The value of any given piece was defined by the number of wool blankets last traded for them. In this system, it

11766-468: Was inherited, and from these properties material wealth was collected and stored. A trade and barter subsistence economy formed the early stages of the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw economy. Trade was carried out between internal Kwakwakaʼwakw nations, as well as surrounding Indigenous nations such as the Tsimshian , Tlingit , the Nuu-chah-nulth and Coast Salish peoples. Over time, the potlatch tradition created

11877-604: Was one of the main acts in a potlatch. The first documented contact with Europeans was with Captain George Vancouver in 1792. Disease, which developed as a result of direct contact with European settlers along the West Coast of Canada, drastically reduced the Indigenous Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw population during the late 19th-early 20th century. Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw population dropped by 75% between 1830 and 1880. The 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic alone killed over half of

11988-487: Was sent to investigate damages claims resulting from a riot when the Asiatic Exclusion League led a rampage through Chinatown and Japantown . Two of the claimants were opium manufacturers, and after further investigation, King found that white women were reportedly frequenting opium dens as well as Chinese men. A federal law banning the manufacture, sale, and importation of opium for non-medicinal purposes

12099-518: Was soon passed based on these revelations. These riots, and the formation of the Asiatic Exclusion League, also act as signs of a growing fear and mistrust towards the Japanese living in Vancouver and throughout BC. These fears were exacerbated by the attack on Pearl Harbor leading to the eventual internment or deportation of all Japanese-Canadians living in the city and the province. After

12210-450: Was the Queen when our God gave this land to my grandfather and told him, "This will be thine"? My father owned the land and was a mighty Chief; now it is mine. And when your man-of-war comes, let him destroy our houses. Do you see yon trees? Do you see yon woods? We shall cut them down and build new houses and live as our fathers did. We will dance when our laws command us to dance, and we will feast when our hearts desire to feast. Do we ask

12321-403: Was the preferred medium for sculpting and carving projects as it was readily available in the native Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw regions. Totems were carved with bold cuts, a relative degree of realism, and an emphatic use of paints. Masks make up a large portion of Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw art, as masks are important in the portrayal of the characters central to Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw dance ceremonies. Woven textiles included

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