Hwlitsum

Last updated February 28, 2024

The Hwlitsum or Lamalchi or Lamalcha are an Indigenous people whose traditional territories were in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia, Canada. Their traditional villages were on Canoe Pass, which is known in their language as Hwlitsum, and on Kuper Island (called by them Lamalchi, another spelling of their name,) Saltspring Island and Galiano Island.

The Lamalcha War

On 20 April 1863, a shelling of their village on Kuper Island by the Royal Navy's HMS Forward led to a series of events known as the Lamalcha War or Lamalchi Affair. The reason for the shelling was the authorities of the Colony of Vancouver Island believed the village was sheltering men suspected of murdering three white men. After a prolonged firefight, resulting in the killing of one British sailor, the Forward retreated. While some say this episode was the only tactical defeat of the Royal Navy in the era following the Crimean War to the opening of the 20th Century, the Forward returned the next day to destroy the then-abandoned village.^[1]. During the war the escaped Lamalcha evaded capture by various other Royal Navy warships, including HMS Satellite, until the seven suspects were captured and brought to Esquimalt.

Eventually four Lamalcha were hung for murder in Victoria and the Lamalcha village confiscated; that area is now home to the Penelakut and Kuper Island's Indian reserves are governed by the Penelakut First Nation.

A detailed account of the events leading to the Lamalcha War is provided by Chris Arnett in "Terror of the Coast - Land Alienation and on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands 1849 -1863.”

Political organization

Contemporary landclaim

In 2014 elders of the group filed a land claim in the BC Supreme Courts for large pieces of Stanley Park, Galiano Island and Saltspring Island, overlapping with claims of the Squamish and Musqueam Nations and others (this is common throughout BC).^[2]^[3] Currently the Hwlitsum Band is not yet recognized under the federal Indian Act.

A letter of support for their cause was sent to the federal and provincial governments in 2007 by the Union of BC Indian Chiefs.^[4]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hwlitsum First Nation</span>

The Hwlitsum First Nation is an organization representing the group historically known as the Lamalchi or Lamalcha but properly called Hwlitsum. The Hwlitsum are the descendants of the Lamalchi people and changed their name to Hwlitsum when they moved to Hwlitsum in 1892. Hul'qumi'num custom names groups based on the location of their winter village. Changing location of their winter village changed the name of the people. The Hwlitsum are a Hulquminum-speaking people whose home region is in the Southern Gulf Islands. The Hwlitsum were never granted reserves or band status and are currently seeking recognition as a band government from the governments of British Columbia and Canada.

Stuart Channel is a strait in the Gulf Islands region of the Gulf of Georgia, separating Vancouver Island on the west from Thetis, DeCourcy and Penelakut (Kuper) Islands on the east. Ladysmith Harbour and the town of Chemainus face onto it from Vancouver Island. It is crossed by a BC Ferries route serving Thetis and Penelakut Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuper Island Indian Residential School</span> Defunct Canadian residential school

The Kuper Island Indian Residential School, also known as Kuper Island Indian Industrial School, was a Canadian Indian residential school located on Kuper Island, near Chemainus, British Columbia, that operated from 1889 to 1975. The school was operated by the Roman Catholic Church, with funding from the Department of Indian Affairs.

References

↑ Francis, Daniel. "Voices from the Past". Daniel Francis: Reading the National Narrative. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
↑ Hume, Mark (9 December 2014). "Native group lays claim to Stanley Park, Galiano and Saltspring Islands". The Globe and Mail.
↑ New land claim seeks massive territory on B.C.'s South Coast, including Stanley Park: Tiny, unrecognized Hwlitsum First Nation launches ‘novel’ lawsuit, Jeff Lee, Vancouver Sun, 2 November 2014
↑ "UBCIC Supports Consultation with Hwlitsum First Nation Prior to Ratification of Tsawwassen Treaty, open letter to Government of Canada and Government of British Columbia, UBCIC website, March 27, 2007". Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2014.