Nicola people

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The Nicola people are a First Nations political and cultural alliance in the Nicola Country region of the Southern Interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia. They are mostly located in the Nicola River valley around the area of Merritt and are an alliance of Scw'exmx, the local branch of the Nlaka'pamux (Thompson) people, and the Spaxomin, the local branch of the Syilx or Okanagan people. The combined population of the communities composing the Nicola people is approximately 3,492, with around 1,250 of these members living on-reservation. [1]

Contents

The name Nicola is not a derivation of Nlaka'pamux or its variants, but is taken from the usual English name of the chief who forged the alliance, Nicola (Hwistesmexte'qen, "Walking Grizzy Bear"), which then included the Secwepemc communities surrounding Fort Kamloops. He had been dubbed "Nicholas" by the Métis voyageurs of the fur companies (pron. French way as Nico-LA, but in general BC usage as NICK-ola, also known in English as Nicholas or Old Nicholas). A "nativized" adaptation of Nicola in common use today is N'kwala.

Government

The Nicola have a separate tribal council from the rest of the Nlaka'pamux, the Nicola Tribal Association, which also includes the Siska Band of the Fraser Canyon. The Douglas Lake Band, which is the home of the Spaxomin group, are also members of the Okanagan Nation Alliance as well as the Nicola Tribal Association.

The Nicola Athapaskans

"Nicola" is used by linguists and ethnographers to refer to an Athapaskan people and their language who formerly lived in the area, but were extinct by the later 19th century. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

A tribal council is an association of First Nations bands in Canada, generally along regional, ethnic or linguistic lines.

The Fraser Canyon War, also known as the Canyon War or the Fraser River War, was an incident between the Nlakaʼpamux people and white miners in the newly declared Colony of British Columbia, which later became part of Canada, in 1858. It occurred during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, which brought many white settlers to the Fraser Canyon area. Largely ignored by Canadian historians, it was one of the seminal events of the founding of the colony. Although it ended relatively peacefully, it was a major test of the new administration's control over the goldfields, which were distant and difficult to access from the centre of colonial authority at Victoria in the Colony of Vancouver Island.

Nicola, also Nkwala or N'kwala, was an important First Nations political figure in the fur trade era of the British Columbia Interior as well as into the colonial period (1858–1871). He was grand chief of the Okanagan people and chief of the Nicola Valley peoples, an alliance of Nlaka'pamux and Okanagans and the surviving Nicola Athapaskans, and also of the Kamloops Band of the Shuswap people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicola River</span> River in British Columbia, Canada

The Nicola River, originally French Rivière de Nicholas or Rivière de Nicolas, adapted to Nicolas River, Nicola's River in English, is one of the major tributaries of the Thompson River in the Canadian province of British Columbia, entering the latter at the town of Spences Bridge. It is named for Nicola (Hwistesmexteqen) the most famous chief of the joint community of Nlaka'pamux and Okanagan bands, founded by his father and today known as the Nicolas,, as well is its basin, which is known as the Nicola Country. It drains most of the northern Thompson Plateau, beginning near the very eastern edge of the plateau only 30 kilometres (19 mi) northwest of Kelowna, and flows from there more or less westward to feed Douglas Lake and Nicola Lake, with about 15 kilometres (9 mi) of the river's length between those two lakes. Nicola Lake at 20 kilometres (12 mi) long is the largest in the basin; the Nicola River enters at 3/4 way of its length up from its outlet, 10 kilometres (6 mi) downstream from which is Nicola Valley centre and Coquihalla Highway city of Merritt. From there the river flows 60 kilometres (37 mi) northwest to the Thompson, and is followed on that route by British Columbia Highway 8 and a spur line of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

The Scwʼexmx ( Scw̓éxmx), meaning "people of the creek(s)" are a branch of the Nlaka'pamux (Thompson) people in the Nicola Country of the Canadian province of British Columbia (Scw'ex, meaning "creek", is the name of the Nicola River in the Thompson language}. Together with the neighbouring branch of the Okanagan people the Spaxomin, who live in the upper, eastern reaches of the Nicola Valley, they are generally known in English as the Nicolas. They also share governmental institutions, and their alliance dates to before the time of Chief Nicola, for whom the river was named and whose father had led the Okanagan migration into the valley in the late 18th century. The Scw'exmx intermarried with the Okanagans, and also with the Nicola Athapaskans, a now-extinct Athapaskan-speaking people who migrated into the valley in the 17th Century.

Spuzzum First Nation is a Nlaka'pamux First Nations government located near Spuzzum, British Columbia. It is a member of the Fraser Canyon Indian Administration, one of three tribal councils of the Nlaka'pamux people. Other members of the Fraser Canyon Indian Administration are the Kanaka Bar, Skuppah and Nicomen First Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syilx</span>

The Syilx people, also known as the Okanagan, Okanogan or Okinagan people, are a First Nations and Native American people whose traditional territory spans the Canada–US boundary in Washington state and British Columbia in the Okanagan Country region. They are part of the Interior Salish ethnological and linguistic grouping. The Syilx are closely related to the Spokan, Sinixt, Nez Perce, Pend Oreille, Secwepemc and Nlaka'pamux peoples of the same Northwest Plateau region.

The Upper Nicola Band is a First Nations band government in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located near the town of Merritt in the Nicola Country at Douglas Lake. They are a member of both the Okanagan Nation Alliance and the Scw’exmx Tribal Council, which is a joint government of Okanagan and Nlaka'pamux bands.

The Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council, formerly the Fraser Thompson Indian Services Society, is a First Nations government Tribal Council comprising bands in the Fraser Canyon and Thompson Canyon areas of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of three tribal councils of the Nlaka'pamux people, the others being the Nicola Tribal Association and the Fraser Canyon Indian Administration. The Lytton First Nation, which is the government of the largest Nlaka'pamux community, does not belong to any of the three.

The Fraser Canyon Indian Administration is a First Nations tribal council government composed of five bands in the Fraser Canyon and Thompson Canyon areas of the Canadian province of British Columbia.

Kanaka Bar First Nation is a First Nations government located at Kanaka Bar, British Columbia, Canada, between the towns of Boston Bar and Lytton in the Fraser Canyon region. It is a member of the Fraser Canyon Indian Administration, one of three tribal councils of the Nlaka'pamux people. Other members of the Fraser Canyon Indian Administration are the Spuzzum, Skuppah and Nicomen First Nations. Other Nlaka'pamux governments belong either to the Nicola Tribal Association or the Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council.

The Skuppah Indian Band is a First Nations band government located near Spuzzum, British Columbia. It is a member of the Fraser Canyon Indian Administration, one of three tribal councils of the Nlaka'pamux people. Other members of the Fraser Canyon Indian Administration are the Spuzzum, Kanaka Bar and Nicomen First Nations . . Other Nlaka'pamux governments belong either to the Nicola Tribal Association or the Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council.

Coldwater First Nation is a Nlaka'pamux First Nations government located in the Central Interior region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is a member of the Scw’exmx Tribal Council, which are two of three tribal councils of the Nlaka'pamux people. Other Nlaka'pamux governments belong either to the Fraser Canyon Indian Administration or the Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council.

The Shackan Indian Band is a Nlaka'pamux First Nations government located in the Nicola Country of the Southern Interior region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is a member of the Scw’exmx Tribal Council, which is one of three tribal councils of the Nlaka'pamux people. Other Nlaka'pamux governments belong either to the Fraser Canyon Indian Administration or the Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council.

The Cook's Ferry First Nation is a Nlaka'pamux First Nations government, located in the Central Interior region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is no longer a member of the Scw'exmx Tribal Council, because they were voted out. Other Nlaka'pamux governments belong either to the Fraser Canyon Indian Administration or the Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council.

The Siska Indian Band is located in the Fraser Canyon region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was previously a member of the Scw’exmx Tribal Council, which is a tribal council of the Nlaka'pamux people. Other Nlaka'pamux governments belong either to the Fraser Canyon Indian Administration or the Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council, although the large Lytton First Nation, north of Siska, does not belong to any of the three.

The Sxeʼxnʼx are a First Nations people of the Lower Nicola Valley in the southern Southern Interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia. They are part of the larger Nlaka'pamux (Thompson) people and closely connected to the Scw'exmx, a major subgroup of the Nlakapamuxtsin-speaking peoples. Their primary community is Shackan or Lower Nicola, just west of Merritt.

The Nicola Athapaskans, also known as the Nicola people or Stuwix, were an Athabascan people who migrated into the Nicola Country of what is now the Southern Interior of British Columbia from the north a few centuries ago but were slowly reduced in number by constant raiding from peoples from outside the valley, with the survivors, the last of whom lived near Nicola Lake, assimilated to the Scw'exmx-Syilx Nicola people by the end of the 19th century. The term Nicola for them is a misnomer, though a common one used by ethnologists and linguists - it commemorates a famous Okanagan chief who once held sway over the valley and its peoples as well as over the Kamloops Shuswap).

The Nicola Country, also known as the Nicola Valley and often referred to simply as The Nicola, and originally Nicolas' Country or Nicholas' Country, adapted to Nicola's Country and simplified since, is a region in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is the main subregion of the larger Thompson Country and is often referred to separately, or in combination forms, notably the Thompson-Nicola Regional District. The combination Nicola-Similkameen is also common.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nlakaʼpamux</span> Ethnic group of British Columbia

The Nlakaʼpamux or Nlakapamuk, also previously known as the Thompson, Thompson River Salish, Thompson Salish, Thompson River Indians or Thompson River people, and historically as the Klackarpun, Haukamaugh, Knife Indians, and Couteau Indians, are an Indigenous First Nations people of the Interior Salish language group in southern British Columbia. Their traditional territory includes parts of the North Cascades region of Washington.

References

  1. Farthing-Nichol, Richard (2019-12-17). "Investing in co-governance: Exploring sustainable funding for co-governance in the Nicola watershed". summit.sfu.ca. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
  2. Nagy, Judit; Sepsi, Enikő; Vassányi, Miklós (2014-08-20). Indigenous Perspectives of North America: A Collection of Studies. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 90. ISBN   978-1-4438-6613-2.