Úxwumixw 2050: Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Generational Plan
The Nation is developing Úxwumixw 2050: Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Generational Plan, to enable our community to build a roadmap to sustainability, self-sufficiency, and improved governance.
Úxwumixw 2050 WebsiteOur community in 2025
All Sḵwx̱wú7mesh People will be connected to each other, our history, traditions, culture, and land. We will bring our people home. Everyone will be safely and securely housed and will have proper and appropriate access to healthcare and community services. Our communities will have many places for our people to gather — in the forests, on the shore, in the longhouse, and in recreational spaces. We will have a strong visible presence throughout our territory. Those living on our lands will know about our history, culture, and language. We will be the recognized stewards of our lands and waters.
Our language will be used by all of our people, from our young ones to our elders. Knowledge of our plant and animal relatives will be shared among us. People will have a deep connection to who we are as Sḵwx̱wú7mesh People and to their individual roles within our communities. We will have a strong financial foundation as a Nation. We will be independent from external funding.
Everyone will have the tools they need to support their healing journey. Through intentional connection and an understanding of what our people have been through, we will come together as a community to address our intergenerational trauma and restore our ability to trust one another.
To learn more about the project visit squamish2050.net.
What is a Generational Plan?
We have been planning for our families, collective communities, and lands for thousands of years. Our Generational Plan is one way we as Sḵwx̱wú7mesh People can help plan for our future in a good way. This plan is by and for the people. It recognizes that we all have responsibilities and play a role in bringing this vision of the future together — as individuals, as families, as communities and as a government.
Introduction To Our Feelings
Tsásnexw (A Feeling of…)
The four feelings describe what is important to us as Sḵwx̱wú7mesh People and the actions we can take to support what we care about.
Working together we asked our community “What is important?” and “What can we do about it?”. Four feelings emerged from our extensive engagement. Ideas shared during engagement have been made into actions that can be taken by staff, community members, and families to make meaningful changes for our people. The path towards the future of Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw is paved with these actions and guided by our values and principles.
In each feeling, there is “What our people want to see”, along with “Ways we can make it happen”, and ideas shared in your own words. At the end of the plan, you can find a list of current nation and community led initiatives to show all the things we are doing together to support what we care about.
These four feelings emerged based on our overall desire as Sḵwx̱wú7mesh people to feel Trust, Security, Purpose, and Belonging in our lives and communities.
About The Four Feelings
A Feeling of Trust refers to openness and understanding between ourselves, our government, and our leaders. The themes for improving our feeling of trust are strengthening communication, restoring our ability to rely on one another, and holding each other accountable. Within a generation, all Sḵwx̱wú7mesh People will experience a Feeling of Trust. We will be able to count on ourselves, our families, our neighbours and our leadership, whether we live in the Squamish Valley, North Shore, or away.
The feeling of trust relates to our values of Siyám̓in and Wenáxws through acting with and showing respect to all of our relations. When we practice Siyám̓in and Wenáxws out of love, respect, and good intentions we can feel trust with each other.
A Feeling of Security refers to feeling safe, healthy, and stable both mentally and physically. The themes for improving our feeling of security are housing for all of us, protecting our lands and waters now and into the future, creating safer communities, ensuring food security for our people, ensuring financial stability for our Nation, and supporting the wellbeing of our people. Within a generation, all Sḵwx̱wú7mesh People will experience a Feeling of Security through having access to safe and secure housing and services that support our physical, social, mental and emotional wellbeing.
The feeling of security relates to our values of Wenáxws and Úxwumixw through respect and good relations with our lands and each other. Wenáxws and Úxwumixw guide us to work together to keep our communities strong and that in turn helps us foster a feeling of security for our people.
A Feeling of Purpose refers to our overarching life direction, our understanding and conviction about our role in our communities. The themes for improving our feeling of purpose are creating opportunities for meaningful livelihoods, promoting and upholding our people’s initiatives and passions, connecting our people to Sḵwx̱wú7mesh history, and offering learning opportunities throughout life. Within a generation all Sḵwx̱wú7mesh People will experience a Feeling of Purpose through having a deep understanding of who we are as Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Stélmexw. This understanding will guide our roles, professions and overarching life direction.
The feeling of purpose relates to our values of Nexwniw̓ and Snew̓íyelh through learning from our family and ancestors and why we do what we do. Nexwniw̓ and Snew̓íyelh can support a strong understanding of our purpose in our community and abroad.
A Feeling of Belonging is a fundamental need expressed by our people, deeply rooted in our history, that affects our physical and mental wellbeing. It is relational — to people, to place, to culture. The themes for improving our feeling of belonging are restoring our connection to our culture and language, strengthening our community bonds, and affirming our connection to the land and water. Within a generation all Sḵwx̱wú7mesh People will feel a Feeling of Belonging by having a strong and healthy connection to each other, our culture, our language and our traditions.
The feeling of belonging relates to our values of Stélmexw and Snew̓íyelh. When we have a deep understanding of who are as Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh people through our protocols and practices of our ways of being and doing we can hold a strong feeling of belonging within our families and communities.
Project Updates
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