The Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) and the K’ómoks First Nation (KFN) are pleased to announce that new directional signage will be coming to Seal Bay Nature Park this spring. During completion of the 2019 Seal Bay Nature Park and Forest Management Plan park users indicated improving directional signage as a top priority.
Xwee Xwhya Luq (prounounced zway-why-luck) is the traditional name for Seal Bay Park and this area is very culturally significant to the K’ómoks First Nation. Generations of indigenous peoples visited the Seal Bay area for resource harvesting and to camp when traveling through the area by canoe.
"The United Nations recently declared a decade of Indigenous languages. At a time when revitalization of our traditional K'omoks language is a focus for KFN, we are proud of the relationship with CVRD and their recognition of the importance of Indigenous languages and bringing cultural awareness within the K'omoks First Nations' unceeded traditional territory," states K’ómoks First Nation Chief Rempel.
“Promoting understanding of the cultural heritage, language and values within Seal Bay Park is an important part of building cultural awareness in our community. We are so pleased for the opportunity to work together with KFN on these signage improvements, which will really help to enhance the overall park visitor experience through the learning and discovery of language,” explains CVRD Electoral Area B Director Arzeena Hamir.
The new signage includes new trail names which reflect a variety of natural park elements, animals and cultural references with emphasis on the traditional Ayajuthem language. Ayajuthem is a Coast Salish language shared between the peoples of K’ómoks, Tla'Amin, Homalco and Klahoose First Nations. To help visitors learn and pronounce the Coast Salish names, signs also feature phonetic pronunciations.
For more information please visit www.comoxvalleyrd.ca/sealbaysignage
The Comox Valley Regional District is a federation of three electoral areas and three municipalities providing sustainable services for residents and visitors to the area. The members of the regional district work collaboratively on services for the benefit of the diverse urban and rural areas of the Comox Valley.
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CVRD Media Contact:
Jennifer Steel, Manager of Corporate Communications
250-334-6063