Sts'ailes people

Last updated

The Sts'ailes (also known as Chehalis) are an indigenous people from the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada.

Contents

Their band government is the Sts'ailes Nation, formerly known as the Chehalis First Nation or Chehalis Indian Band. [1] The band's name community is located on Indian reserve lands at Chehalis, which is on the lower Harrison River between the towns of Mission and Agassiz. Their band's mailing address is in nearby Agassiz. [2]

Name

The name Sts'ailes means "beating heart", which became the name of their village, located on the west side of the Harrison River. [3] Their usual English name, Chehalis, is identical to that of the much more numerous Chehalis people of southern Puget Sound in Washington.[ citation needed ] By Sts'ailes tradition, the southern Chehalis were separated from their homeland as a consequence of the Great Flood.[ citation needed ]

Heritage

In Sts'ailes tradition, Xals, the Transformer, defeated a powerful shaman known as "the Doctor". Xals turned the shaman to stone, and broke the stone to pieces, spreading the fragments to prevent his return. The heart of the shaman fell on the shores of the home lake (Harrison Lake), and became the place where the Sts'ailes originated. [4] There is evidence of this culture in the form of lithic (stone working) and mortuarial practices going back at least 1500 years. [4]

There is evidence that the Sts'ailes people relied primarily on the salmon from the Fraser-Harrison watershed as their most important food source. Many of their religious ceremonies are derived from significant periods of the year important to the fishery. [4]

While there is no modern link between the people (often referred to as Chehalis) and the Chehalis tribe of Eastern Washington, Sts'ailes heritage does speak of a flood that separated a southern portion of its people many years before.

The Sts'ailes have a rich and unique culture around visual arts and music.

Language

Sts'ailes people traditionally speak Halqemeylem, the Upriver dialect of Halkomelem.

Negotiations with British Columbia

The Sts'ailes do not participate in the 1999 framework Treaty process with British Columbia, citing the need to establish cultural identity and to be stewards of their ancestral homeland. [5] Because of this, there is no process to settle any aboriginal rights issues, which the nation regards as unnecessary. The governing tribal council also points to an increasingly self-reliant community with jobs and services. Salmon fishing rights have been a point of controversy, which reached a climax in 2012 when the provincial government sued the Sts'ailes council for operating an illegal fishery. [6] In the suit, then-chief Willie Charlie and fisheries manager Kim Charlie allegedly conspired to illegally fish for salmon in the Harrison River and Harrison Lake. Chief Harvey Paul argued that the salmon stock had been faithfully managed by the Sts'ailes for millennia, and that the illegal fishery was both hearsay, and the result of provincial mismanagement. The case was dropped in 2016, although a counter-suit by the nation is still pending.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lower Mainland</span> Region in British Columbia, Canada

The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland coast of British Columbia that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05 million people as of the 2021 Canadian census, the Lower Mainland contains sixteen of the province's 30 most populous municipalities and approximately 60% of the province's total population.

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

The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for 1,375 kilometres (854 mi), into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual discharge at its mouth is 112 cubic kilometres (27 cu mi) or 3,550 cubic metres per second (125,000 cu ft/s), and each year it discharges about 20 million tons of sediment into the ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fraser Valley</span> Geographical region in British Columbia

The Fraser Valley is a geographical region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington State. It starts just west of Hope in a narrow valley encompassing the Fraser River and ends at the Pacific Ocean stretching from the North Shore Mountains, opposite the city of Vancouver BC, to just south of Bellingham, Washington.

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

Chilliwack is a city of about 100,000 people and 261 km2 (100 sq mi) in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located about 100 km (62 mi) east of the City of Vancouver in the Fraser Valley. The enumerated population is 93,203 in the city and 113,767 in the greater metropolitan area.

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

Shuswap Lake is a lake located in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada that drains via the Little Shuswap River into Little Shuswap Lake. Little Shuswap Lake is the source of the South Thompson River, a branch of the Thompson River, a tributary of the Fraser River. It is at the heart of a region known as the Columbia Shuswap or "the Shuswap", noted for its recreational lakeshore communities including the city of Salmon Arm. The name "Shuswap" is derived from the Shuswap or Secwepemc First Nations people, the most northern of the Interior Salish peoples, whose territory includes the Shuswap. The Shuswap call themselves /ʃǝxwépmǝx/ in their own language, which is called /ʃǝxwepmǝxtʃín/.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stó꞉lō</span> Group of First Nations peoples in British Columbia, Canada

The Stó꞉lō, alternately written as Sto꞉lo, Stó꞉lô, or Stó꞉lõ, historically as Staulo, Stalo or Stahlo, and historically known and commonly referred to in ethnographic literature as the Fraser River Indians or Lower Fraser Salish, are a group of First Nations peoples inhabiting the Fraser Valley and lower Fraser Canyon of British Columbia, Canada, part of the loose grouping of Coast Salish nations. Stó꞉lō is the Halqemeylem word for "river", so the Stó꞉lō are the river people. The first documented reference to these people as "the Stó꞉lō" occurs in Catholic Oblate missionary records from the 1880s. Prior to this, references were primarily to individual tribal groups such as Matsqui, Ts’elxweyeqw, or Sumas.

The Chehalis River is located in the southwest corner of British Columbia, Canada near the city of Chilliwack. It flows south-eastward out of the Douglas Ranges of the Coast Mountains, draining into the Harrison River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harrison Hot Springs</span> Village in British Columbia, Canada

Harrison Hot Springs is a village located at the southern end of Harrison Lake in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada. It is a part of the Fraser Valley Regional District; its immediate neighbour is the District of Kent, which includes the town of Agassiz. As its name would suggest, it is a resort community known for its hot springs and has a population of just over 1,500 people. It is named after Benjamin Harrison, a former deputy governor of the Hudson's Bay Company.

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

Harrison Lake is the largest lake in the southern Coast Mountains of Canada, being about 250 square kilometres (95 mi²) in area. It is about 60 km (37 mi) in length and at its widest almost 9 km (5.6 mi) across. Its southern end, at the resort community of Harrison Hot Springs, is c. 95 km east of downtown Vancouver. East of the lake are the Lillooet Ranges while to the west are the Douglas Ranges. The lake is the last of a series of large north-south glacial valleys tributary to the Fraser along its north bank east of Vancouver, British Columbia. The others to the west are the Chehalis, Stave, Alouette, Pitt, and Coquitlam Rivers. Harrison Lake is a natural lake, not man-made. The lake is supplied primarily from the Lillooet River, which flows into the lake at the northernmost point.

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

The Harrison River is a short but large tributary of the Fraser River, entering it near the community of Chehalis, British Columbia, Canada. The Harrison drains Harrison Lake and is the de facto continuation of the Lillooet River, which feeds the lake.

Chehalis is a small forestry, agricultural and First Nations community in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia located on Highway 7 on the west bank of the Harrison River between the town of Mission and the resort community of Harrison Hot Springs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kent, British Columbia</span> District municipality in British Columbia, Canada

The District of Kent is a district municipality located 116 kilometres (72 mi) east of Vancouver, British Columbia. Part of the Fraser Valley Regional District, Kent consists of several communities, the largest and most well-known being Agassiz—the only town in the municipality—Harrison Mills, Kilby, Mount Woodside, Kent Prairie, Sea Bird Island and Ruby Creek. Included within the municipality's boundaries are several separately-governed Indian reserves, including the Seabird Island First Nation's reserves on and around the island of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harrison Mills, British Columbia</span> Unincorporated community in British Columbia, Canada

Harrison Mills, formerly Carnarvon and also Harrison River, is an agricultural farming and tourism-based community in the District of Kent west of Agassiz, British Columbia. The community is a part of the Fraser Valley Regional District. Harrison Mills is home to the British Columbia Heritage Kilby Museum and Campground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coast Salish</span> Related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast

The Coast Salish are a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak one of the Coast Salish languages. The Nuxalk nation are usually included in the group, although their language is more closely related to Interior Salish languages.

The Sts'ailes Nation formerly known as Chehalis First Nation is the band government of the Sts'Ailes people, whose territories lie between Deroche and Agassiz, British Columbia. The Sts'Alies are a Halkomelem-speaking people but are distinct historically and politically from the surrounding Sto:lo peoples.

Nicomen Island is an island in the Fraser Valley region of southwestern British Columbia. Nicomen Mountain in the Douglas Ranges lies to the north across Nicomen Slough. Chilliwack Mountain lies to the south across the Fraser River. Adjacent to the northeast is Skumalasph Island. Dewdney, which by road is about 11 kilometres (7 mi) east of Mission, extends onto the northwestern end of the island. Deroche, which by road is about 29 kilometres (18 mi) west of Agassiz extends onto the northeastern end.

The Upper Chehalis are a Southwestern Coast Salish people Indigenous to Washington state.

References

  1. ↑ "Welcome." Sts'ailes. Retrieved 13 Aug 2013.
  2. ↑ "Sts'ailes Band." British Columbia Assembly of First Nations. Retrieved 13 Aug 2013.
  3. ↑ "Sts'ailes." SFU Stepping Stones. Retrieved 13 Aug 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-01-03. Retrieved 2017-01-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ↑ "Who we are | STS'ailes Band". Archived from the original on 2013-07-18. Retrieved 2017-01-03.
  6. ↑ Chilliwack court dismisses fisheries charge against former Sts'ailes chief, Paul J. Henderson, Chilliwack Times, August 29, 2016 Chilliwack court dismisses fisheries charge against former Sts'ailes chief
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.