Letter from Provincial Toponymist re Place Names for Geographical Features on Bowen Island

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Ministry of Tourism, Arts, 
Culture and Sport 
BC Geographical Names Office 
Heritage Branch 
Geographical.Names@gov.bc.ca 
Mailing Address: 
PO Box 9818 Stn Prov Govt 
Victoria BC V8W 9W3 
www.gov.bc.ca/bcheritage 
File: 10280-60 (92G/6) April 9, 2025 
Islands Trust
Southern Office (Victoria) 
200 – 1627 Fort Street, Victoria, BC, V8R 1H8 
Sent by email to: 
information@islandstrust.bc.ca 
Dear Islands Trust:
The BC Geographical Names Office has received a request from the Bowen Island Municipality, with
support from Squamish Nation, to officially recognize two place names for geographical features within 
their municipal boundaries. At this time, we are inviting you to comment on two proposed changes as 
detailed in Appendix A and on the attached map.  
Official names are labell ed on Provin  cial and   Federal maps and charts and included in the Province’s 
official names datasets. The history of all past and present official names is maintained in the BC 
Geographical Names Information System and accessible through the BC Geographical Names Web App: 
https://apps.gov.bc.ca/pub/bcgnws/web/.  
In accordance with the BC Geographical Naming Policy and Procedures, before any naming decisions are 
made it is important to ascertain a) if there are known traditional names for these features, and b) that 
the proposed names reflect the heritage values in the area. Requesting input from governments, 
communities and relevant organizations potentially impacted by a feature's official name is a vital step 
in the geographical naming process.  
As an identified organization, we are requesting any comments you have on behalf of your agency on 
these proposed official name changes.  
Adoption of these names would not prejudice legitimate claims to the land. 
Please redirect this request t  o the appropriate contact within your organization as needed or let me 
know if it should be sent elsewhere. Feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions. Thank 
you in advance for your comments; your response before Ju ly 13, 2025, would be appreciated. 
Kind regards, 
Trent Thomas 
Provincial Toponymist 
Trent.thomas@gov.bc.ca 
Enclosure 
cc: Distribution

Page 2 
Appendix A: Name Change Requests 
1.Make "Smí7mant Áyalhḵw" the official name of the beach north of Cape Roger Curtis, east of
Worlcombe Island, southeast side of Collingwood Channel, on the southwest end of Bowen
Island, Regional District
•Current Official Name: N/A
•"Smí7mant Áyalhḵw" is a Sḵwx̲wú7mesh name and means "place of pebbles" (information
submitted by Bowen Island Municipality, 2025).
•This beach has been known locally as "Pebble Beach" and “Roger Curtis Beach” (information
submitted by Bowen Island Municipality, 2025).
•This beach is located at: 49.3433, -123.4286.
•“Smí7mant Áyalhḵw” name record: https://apps.gov.bc.ca/pub/bcgnws/names/76599.html
2.Make "X̱él̓a7an" the official name of the beach north of King Edward Bay, east of Ragged Island,
east side of Collingwood Channel, on th

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