The Musqueam Indian Band ( ; ) is a First Nations band government in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the only First Nations band whose reserve community lies within the boundaries of the City of Vancouver. Name The name Musqueam comes from the flowering plant məθkʷəy̓, which grows in the Fraser River estuary. There is a sχʷəy̓em̓ that has been passed on from generation to generation that explains how they became known as the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm – People of the məθkʷəy̓ plant. Their name is one of the ways that their historical connection to the land is highlighted. The old people spoke of a small lake called xʷməm̓qʷe:m (Camosun Bog) where the sʔi:ɬqəy̓ (double-headed serpent) originated. They were warned as youth to be cautious and not go near or they would surely die. This sʔi:ɬqəy̓ was so massive that its winding path from the lake to the stal̕əw̓ (river) became the creek flowing through Musqueam to this day. Everything the serpent passed over died and from its droppings bloomed a new plant, the məθkʷəy̓. For this reason, the people of long ago named that place xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam – place of the məθkʷəy̓). History The Musqueam people are the oldest known residents of Vancouver. The Great Marpole Midden (also known as the Eburne Site, or Great Fraser Midden), is an ancient Musqueam village and burial site located in what has been developed as the Marpole neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia. This area was also known as the Great Fraser Midden. The midden is a thousands-year old site from which as many as seventy-five human skeletal remains of Musqueam ancestors were excavated. Additionally, Musqueam ancestral belongings (commonly referred to as "artifacts") were also found in the area such as: stone and wooden tools, artwork, and biofacts such as shells and other animal remains. The village was known as . Formerly there was a second residential area near the current one, , known in English as Mahlie. The Musqueam's ancestors, the Coast Salish, have lived in the Fraser River estuary for thousands of years. Musqueam describes their traditional territory in their Musqueam Declaration, which was ratified by Musqueam community leaders June 10, 1976. The Musqueam Declaration describes their traditional territory as follows: The area of the Musqueam Reserve is the closest that Hudson's Bay Company explorer Simon Fraser reached to the Strait of Georgia; he was driven back by hostile Musqueam