The Beecher Bay First Nation (in SaanichSCʼIȺNEW, anglicized as Sciaʼnew or Scʼianew) is a band government of First Nations people in British Columbia. Beecher Bay lands are located on southern Vancouver Island in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and include Beecher Bay (also known as Becher Bay), Fraser Island, Lamb Island, Long-neck Island, Twin Island, Village Island, and Whale Island.[2]
The group recognizes four ancestral languages though not all are currently spoken.[2] The name "SCʼIȺNEW" comes from the Klallam word for Beecher Bay, "xʷčiyánəxʷ."[5] It is translated as "the place of the big fish,"[2] literally "salmon place" from xʷ- 'location' and √č⟨iy⟩ánnəxʷ 'salmon'.[5] The name is W̱ĆIYÁNEW̱ (also variously ĆIYÁNEW̱) in the Saanich dialect of Northern Straits, and is derived from the Klallam name.[6]
References
^"First Nation Detail". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
^ abc"About Us". SCʼIȺNEW First Nation. Retrieved 2025-04-14.
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