Paper short abstract:

Tsleil-Waut, also known as Burrard Inlet, is an inlet on the West Coast of what is now known as British Columbia, Canada. It has been home to Tsleil-Waututh Nation since time immemorial. The archaeological record along with Tsleil-Waututh science and community knowledge tell Tsleil-Waut's story.

Paper long abstract:

Tsleil-Waut, also known as Burrard Inlet, is an inlet on the West Coast of what is now known as British Columbia, Canada. It has been home to Tsleil-Waututh Nation since time immemorial. Now also home to the Port of Vancouver, the largest port in Canada, Tsleil-Waut is also home to dozens of commercial, industrial, and recreational interests. This project focuses on two village sites in the Inlet: Tum-tumay-whueton and Say-mah-mit. The archaeological record along with Tsleil-Waututh science and community knowledge tell Tsleil-Waut's story: over 90% of plant and animal resources have been lost to or damaged by the rising urbanization and landscape change brought by colonization and settling of what is now known as the City of Vancouver. Vulnerable ecosystems, such as the abundant clam gardens throughout the Inlet, have been contaminated and are now unsafe to harvest from. Through Tsleil-Waututh Nation's Cumulative Effects Monitoring Initiative, this work seeks to quantify what has been lost, damaged, and changed since initial contact by European colonizers over 200 years ago, using a combined effort of zooarchaeology, Tsleil-Waututh science and traditional knowledge, ecosystem modelling, and fisheries science.