A hand-drawn linen map from 1893 forms the backdrop of the story. Tax receipts and newspaper clippings round out a story of development which led to the loss of fish and wildlife habitat throughout this area of what is now Vancouver. All of these materials were stored in the City of Vancouver Archives.

Our historical researcher and content developer, artist Faith Moosang, collected photos which take the viewer back in time, directly illustrating the watery world that was once where myriad buildings, roads, and rail lines are now located. The image below is captioned “Men in canoe in False Creek,” Aug. 15, 1891. Although the identity of the men in the canoe is unknown, the photo is displayed on the interpretive panel with the accompanying quote, credited to Skwxwú7mesh elder Que-yah-chulk who speaks to the loss of the sturgeon habitat: “No more skwa-chice now; they fill him up, make CNR yards where we used to catch sturgeon all the time.”