Stʼatʼimc
Interior Salish -speaking peoples |
The Stʼatʼimc (IPA: Stʼatʼimc culture displayed many features typical of
Groups
The Stʼatʼimc are divided linguistically, culturally and geographically into two main tribes or First Nations.[2]
- The Upper Stʼatʼimc (Upper Lillooet or Fraser River Lillooet), living near the present city of Lillooet on the Fraser River. They refer to themselves as STLA'tlei-mu-wh-talk and speak Stʼatʼimcets dialect.
- The Lower Stʼatʼimc (Lower Lillooet or Mount Currie Lillooet), living in the vicinity of today's Skookumchuk. They refer to themselves as LEEL'-wat-OOL - 'The true People', 'The true Lillooet' (of which were the words 'Lillooet' and 'Lilwat' derived) and speak Ucwalmícwts dialect.
- The Lakes Lillooet (Lexalexamux or Tsala'lhmec - 'Lake People'),N'quatqua First Nation (also known as Anderson Lake Indian Band) and Seton Lake First Nation (also known as Seton Lake Indian Band), historically a group at the foot of Seton Lake, near Lillooet, known as the Skimka'imx were also included in this group.[4]
Lower Stʼatʼimc
- the Lil'wat First Nation, their traditional territory extended south to Rubble Creek in the Cheakamus River drainage, near Garibaldi townsite, north to just below Anderson Lake, east to the Upper Stein Valley and west to the Toba Inlet of the Pacific Ocean, in total approximately 780,000 ha, the current community Mount Currie (or Lilwatʼul) is the heart of the Lil’wat Nation territory
- the Xa'xtsa First Nation (also known as the Douglas First Nation), Xa’xtsa (pronounce: ha-htsa) is made up of two communities: Port Douglas at the northern end of Little Harrison Lake, about 90 km northeast of Vancouver, and their main community Tipella, on the west side of the Lillooet River, southernmost of the In-SHUCK-ch communities, and also of the entire St’atl’imx linguistic group (/ˈhɑːtsə/[citation needed])
- the Skatin First Nations (pron. /skɑːˈtiːn/), at Skookumchuck Hot Springs on the Lillooet River, the community is located on the east side of the Lillooet River, on the 19-Mile Post of the old Harrison-Lillooet wagon road (about 35 kilometres from the head of Harrison Lake), before the arrival of European settlers, this community was considered to be the largest on the lower Lillooet River, comparable in size to the pre-contact village of present-day Mount Currie of the Lil'wat First Nation
- the Samahquam First Nation (/ʃəˈmɑːkwəm/[citation needed]) (‘warm place out of the cold’, pronounced: 'shah-MAH-kwum'), returned to their reservation lands in the early 1990s and constructed the Baptiste Smith community, at the southwest end of Little Lillooet Lake (aka Tenas Lake, derived from the Chinook Jargon tenass - 'little') on the Lillooet River system. They once occupied both sides of Little Lillooet Lake.
The tiny and remote communities of Samahquam, Xa'xtsa and Ska'tin Bands collectively, including the Tenas Lake Band, seceded from the larger Lillooet Tribal Council (now called the
Upper Stʼatʼimc
The tribal territory of the different groups of the Upper Stʼátʼimc extended west of the Fraser River from the mouth of the Pavilion Creek (′Sk'elpáqs′) to the Texas Creek in the mountains above the Bridge River and westward through the valleys of Seton Lake and Anderson Lake to Duffey Lake. The territory of the Upper Stʼátʼimc east of the Fraser River included the Three Lake Valley (also known as Fountain Valley) and the adjacent mountains and stretched towards the Hat Creek, a tributary of the Bonaparte River.
The Upper Stʼátʼimc settled in several main settlements on the banks above the Fraser River and on the banks of the Seton and Anderson Lake — probably the word 'Stʼátʼimc' is derived from a former village Tʼatʼlh on Keatley Creek. Previous there were the following communities: Sk'ámqain on the shore of Seton Lake, Satʼ at the site of present-day city of Lillooet, Nxwísten at the mouth of the Bridge River, Xáxlip (′Fountain′), Slha7äs and Tsal'álh along Seton Lake and Nk'wátkwa on the western shore of Lake Anderson. Beside those significant settlements there have been several smaller villages. In
- In-SHUCK-ch Nation, although now on its own from that organization and from the Lillooet Tribal Council, despite close family ties to the various bands of that organization. Located at the head of Anderson Lake, northeast of Pemberton. Historically the N'Quatqua and Tsalalh bands were one group, the Lakes Lillooet or Lexalexamux, and included a group at the foot of Seton Lake, near Lillooet, known as the Skimka'imx.
- Seton Portage, Skeil, Ohin and Shalalth farther east along Seton Lake. All of these are collectively self-governed within the Lillooet Tribal Council as the Seton Lake First Nation.
- Lillooet(Cayoose Creek/Pashilqua Reserves)
- Lillooet, also spelled Tl'itl'kt (Lillooet Reserve)
- Lillooet (Bridge River Indian Band)
- Fountain Indian Band.
- Secwepemc (Shuswap) peoples, who are part of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council.
History
They had several types of dwellings—long plank houses, winter earthlodges, and summer bark- or mat-covered lodges, not unlike those at the Keatley Creek Archaeological Site. Salmon and other fish were the basis of the economy, and numerous animals (bear, sheep, caribou, deer, and small mammals) were hunted and trapped, and berries and fruit were gathered. Warfare with other groups was unusual, with intensive intertribal trade the more typical state of affairs. The Tsilhqot’in-St’at’imc war was one brutal war for the St’at’imc and threatened their survival as a nation. The Tsilhqot’in raided all 11 bands of the Stʼatʼimc and took women and children as slaves. Both nations met at many roots (Graveyard Valley) in the St’at’imc territory at which the Stʼatʼimc were victorious. Chief In-Kick-Tee (Hunter Jack) was the warchief in that battle and made a peace treaty in 1845.
Declaration of the Lillooet Tribe
The
Language
The ancestral language of the Stʼátʼimc people is
References
Bibliography
- Joseph, Marie. (1979). Cuystwí malh Ucwalmícwts: Ucwalmícwts curriculum for beginners. Mount Currie, B.C.: Ts’zil Publishing House. ISBN.
- Larochell, Martina; van Eijk, Jan P.; & Williams, Lorna. (1981). Cuystwí malh Ucwalmícwts: Lillooet legends and stories. Mount Currie, B.C.: Ts’zil Publishing House. ISBN.
- Smith, Trefor. Our Stories Are Written on the Land A Brief History of the Upper Stʼátʼimc 1800-1940. Lillooet, BC: Upper Stʼátʼimc Language, Culture and Education Society, 1998. ISBN 1-896719-08-2
- van Eijk, Jan P. (1991). Cuystwí malh Ucwalmícʷts: Teach yourself Lillooet: Ucwalmícwts curriculum for advanced learners. Mount Currie, B.C.: Ts’zil Publishing House. ISBN.
- van Eijk, Jan P. (1997). The Lillooet language: Phonology, morphology, syntax. Vancouver: UBC Press. ISBN.
- Williams, Lorna; van Eijk, Jan P.; & Turner, Gordon. (1979). Cuystwí malh Ucwalmícwts: Ucwalmícwts curriculum for intermediates. Mount Currie, B.C.: Ts’zil Publishing House. ISBN.
External links
- USLCES webpages(USLCES webpages)
- map of Northwest Coast First Nations (including Stʼatʼimc)
- History Of The Stl'atl'imx People
- The Sťáťimc Chiefs Council(Stʼatʼimc Chiefs Council(SCC) )
- Lil'Wat Nation website (Lower Lillooet/Mt. Currie)
- Photos
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .