Stanley Park Indigenous Walking Tour: Spoken Treasures

Immerse yourself in the rich stories and true history of Stanley Park and Vancouver on the Spoken Treasures Indigenous Walking Tour. Hear firsthand accounts from the people who have lived here for millennia and learn about Indigenous culture and the significance of totems.

Duration: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Stanley Park - Tour Description:
    Explore iconic Stanley Park and walk the seawall with Indigenous Cultural Ambassadors. Our trained Ambassador-Guides will walk with you along the seawall, a 1.1 km walk, while sharing the stories, history and lore of our great city of Vancouver
    through Indigenous Eyes. This tour includes the Aboriginal Indigenous…
What's Included
  • Professional local guide
  • Admission to all sites
  • Comfortable transportation
  • Scenic photo stops
  • Small group size for a personalized experience
  • Learn about local culture and history
  • Lunch at a traditional restaurant
  • Free time to explore on your own
  • Souvenirs available for purchase
  • Pick-up and drop-off at your accommodation
What's Not Included
  • Private transportation
Additional Information

Spoken Treasures - Indigenous Walking Tour delivers the profound narratives and authentic history of Stanley Park and Vancouver city. You will encounter tales and narratives straight from the folks who have inhabited this area for thousands of years. Talaysay Tours Indigenous guides - ambassadors disseminate both Indigenous culture, our mutual past of…

Location
1100 Stanley Park Dr
Stanley Park Drive
Your guide will meet you in front of the Stanley Park Information Booth. When you arrive you will noticeable see the Horsedrawn Tours right beside the meeting location. Your guide will be standing in front of the grey building. There will be green tables on the south side.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(20 Ratings)
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Kathleeng607
Jul 27, 2024
An entertaining and thought provoking tour. - We enjoyed a fascinating tour in Stanley park as Shay gave a wonderful introduction to the lives, cultures and histories of the communities who once lived on that land. She has so much knowledge and her personal passion is infectious. We all learned so much, and she kept two teens hooked for an hour. Thanks so much to both Shay and Victor for their time and for sharing their own stories. An experience we won’t forget!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Susan
Jul 8, 2024
Fascinating, yet sad oral history. - It’s always important to acknowledge the First Nations people wherever we go and we did an amazing tour with Sera Lewis Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) Guide. She showed us another perspective on Stanley Park and outlined the horrific treatment of her ancestors who had lived there long before the colonisers arrived. She painted a picture of a nomadic people who spent summers in the mountains and winters in the park before the damaging sea wall was built. Vancouver would still be a thriving city today but a more stable and less expensive and privileged place if it had grown alongside Squamish and other tribes instead of attempting to destroy their heritage.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Saibei_z
Sep 4, 2023
I had questions of why... - I had questions of why people put masks when they were doing ceremonies, and who were the people's face figures on the Totem poles. Are these faces Gods of Sun, moon, river, or faces of ancestors? We went to the tour with tour guide Patrick. He gave the explanation for these questions. The faces on the Totem Poles were the ancestors. The lowest on the pole was the eldest. Next generations were on the elder's shoulders. We are Manchu, from northern China. We had Totem poles in our culture too. The faces on the poles were ancestors' faces. If Indigenous were migrated from Easten Asia, three times large migrations around 20 thousand years ago, since we share the same culture, this might be a prove of origin of Indigenous. Nice guide, nice tour.
Review provided by Viator
Jacob_z
Aug 28, 2023
Great walk, great broad exposure to Stanley park - Beautiful scenery! We had a walk with Patrick, he was very nice and knowledgeable of the surrounding area. He is also very knowledgeable of the various tribes of Vancouver and their history/culture. Loved the vibe and energy of the walk, would easily do it again. Also our guide Patrick was very eager to answer any questions and was just one of the nicest people I’ve met so far!
Review provided by Viator
Emilycl7530an
Jul 5, 2023
Fantastic overview of the undocumented stories - Amazing experience! Patrick gave us a rich history and ensured we understood what each community went through and what the art means to each community.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Elizabethfirst
Jul 3, 2023
We all need to learn this - Our guide was highly informative and clearly passionate about this topic. It was so nice of him to bring a thermos of tea, which we sipped as we all sat around after the tour to discuss various issues. I encourage all non-indigenous visitors to consider this tour, in which you learn things you definitely do not hear about elsewhere, and which we all need to know. Suggestions for the guide: speak more loudly or perhaps carry a small voice amplifier, and always face your audience when you are speaking.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Maccarnan
Jun 25, 2023
Highly recommend Patrick and Spoken Treasures! - We booked the Spoken Treasures - Stanley Park and Patrick was phenomenal! His presentation about the indigenous wisdom regarding the importance of the intersection between the ocean and the forest which is now blocked by the sea wall was incredibly thoughtful and an excellent explanation. He patiently responded to our questions. Sharing tea with us at the end of the tour made this time all the more special. I learned a lot and would highly recommend this!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hjrei
May 29, 2023
Fantastic - engaging and educational - The tour was great! Our guide Candace was so knowledgeable and engaging. The entire group enjoyed the tour and appreciated learning more about the importance of the land, particularly in Indigenous cultures.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
L9345ghjasonc
Apr 4, 2023
Talaysay Tours Were Awesome! - 65 of our G6s joined for two Talaysay Tours (Spoken Treasures & Talking Trees) on March 29th, 2023. Candace and Jane were exceptional with communication and organization in booking the tours and putting together an itinerary for us. On the day of, Candace took the time to meet our group, welcome us and sang a song for the group. Sera, Shae, and Richard were our tour guides. They were engaging and shared a wealth of knowledge with our students. They did an excellent job and it was a great experience for the students - they learned a lot! I would highly recommend Talaysay tours and we are looking forward to booking more tours for our students in the future.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Erin
Aug 28, 2021
Beautiful tour - Amazing experience! Loved hearing Wes' songs & tales which he shared generously. Highly recommend this tour to anyone curious about the Indigenous history of the city and surrounding area.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $50
up to 10 guests
1 Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).