Áx̱achu7 is a lake in the middle of the area known today as Stanley Park. It is very close to X̱wáy̓x̱way, one of the most important Squamish village sites, which was located at the place known today as Lumberman’s Arch in Stanley Park.
The name X̱wáy̓x̱way is translated as “Sx̱wáyx̱wi mask place” because it is known by local Indigenous people to be the place where the original Sx̱wáyx̱wi mask comes from. This is a very important kind of mask that can only be worn by certain people from certain families during dances that happen in private ceremonies.
There are different versions of the Sx̱wáyx̱wi mask story, but most Squamish stories say it came from near or in Áx̱achu7. In one version of the story, a man named Syetx̱ím̓el̓txw chopped down a tree near Áx̱achu7 to make a canoe and when the tree fell, it split in two and revealed the mask inside. In another version, Syetx̱ím̓el̓txw and his sister were walking near Áx̱achu7 and they heard a breathing sound echoing across the lake. They went near, and saw that two Sx̱wáyx̱wi masks had risen to the surface of the lake – one was a raven and the other was a duck.