Stó:lo
Encyclopedia
The Sto:lo alternately written as Stó:lō, Stó:lô or Stó:lõ and historically as Staulo 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
of British Columbia
, Canada
. They traditionally speak Halq'eméylem, the "Upriver dialect" of Halkomelem, one of the Coast Salish languages. Stó:lō is the Halqemeylem word for the Fraser River
. The Stó:lō are thus the river people.
(called "the Milliken site") and a seasonal encampment ("the Glenrose Cannery site") near the mouth of the Fraser River. Remains of this latter campsite show that in spring and early summer they came here to hunt land and sea mammals, such as deer
, elk
, and seal
s and, to a lesser extent, fish for salmon
, stickleback
, eulachon
, and sturgeon
and gather shellfish
. Their livelihood depended on their success at harvesting the resources of the land and the rivers through fishing, foraging and hunting.
Stó:lō elders describe their connection to the land in the statement "we have always been here." They tell of their arrival in S'ólh Téméxw as Tel Swayel ("sky-borne" people) and through the transformations
of ancestral animals and fish such as the beaver
, mountain goat
, and sturgeon. Xexá:ls (transformers) fixed the world and the people and animals in it, creating the present landscape. As Carlson notes:
period, 5,000 to 10,000 years ago. Two archaeological sites referred to in the Origins section are well documented. Additional archaeological evidence from the early period has been found throughout the region, including sites at Stave Lake
, Coquitlam Lake
and Fort Langley
.
from a nomadic to a more sedentary lifestyle between 5,000 to 4,000 years ago. Characteristic of this period were decorative and sculpted stone items, an increasingly complex relationship with the environment and a more stable and increasingly complex culture
. The now extinct Coast Salish wooley dog appeared for the first time during this period.
Among the oldest archaeological digs in Canada is Xá:ytem, at Hatzic, just east of Mission
. Initial work on a suburban housing project around a transformer stone aroused the interests of Sto:lo archaeologist Gordon Mohs and the land eventually was transferred to Sto:lo governance for heritage purposes. The focus of the site is a large transformer stone which bears the name Xá:ytem, which has also come to be used for the ancient village site that has been excavated in the surrounding field. There are two major eras found in the dig, one 3000BP the other from 5000-9000BP . Both indicate posthole and timber-frame construction and advanced social and economic life, eventually covered by flooding and sediment during the ongoing evolution of the Fraser delta.
Around Harrison Bay, near Chehalis, a group of structures known variously as the Fraser Valley Pyramids or Scowlitz Mounds are currently the subject of investigation by a joint task force of the Scowlitz First Nation
and archaeologists. Little is known about the mounds, which appear to be burial mounds and which contain timber structures to sustain the weight of the mound. Because they are distinct from any other structures anywhere else in the region, it is not assumed that the people who made them were necessarily forebears of the Sto:lo peoples.
people. New forms of groundstone technology, including slate knives, slate points, hand mauls, nephrite chisels, and nephrite adzes, are evidence of an increasingly specialized society evolving during this period. Social class distinctions were accompanied by changing house forms that indicated expanding households. War
fare became increasingly widespread.
and George Vancouver
of England
explored the Georgia Strait in 1791 and 1792, respectively, they did not reach the Fraser River
or Stó:lō territory. The first point of contact between the Stó:lō and Europeans came indirectly, through disease.
epidemic
struck the Stó:lō in late 1782, arriving overland, likely spreading north from Mexico
. It is estimated that the epidemic killed two thirds of the Stó:lō people within six weeks. Those that survived were likely to have been struck with blindness just as hunting season was to begin, only compounding the devastation. Later, however, their close contact with Europeans would lessen the destructive power of the disease on the Stó:lō. In 1862, the effects of a smallpox outbreak on the Stó:lō were limited in comparison with northern indigenous people, because of their access to the vaccine. Although deadly Smallpox epidemics would return at least once more (in 1862 and possibly in 1824), it was, however, only one of a number of serious diseases that would strike the region. Measles
, mumps
, tuberculosis
, influenza
and venereal diseases would further ravage the Stó:lō population.
who travelled down the Fraser River in 1808. Hudson's Bay Company
posts Fort Langley
(established in 1827) and Fort Yale
(1848) brought tremendous change to the relationships of the Stó:lō with each other and with the land. Although these HBC posts were built with the fur trade
in mind, trade in salmon soon took over as primary item of exchange. Between 1830 and 1849, Fort Langley's purchases of salmon increased from 200 barrels to 2610 barrels. The Kwantlen branch of the Sto:lo relocated their main village to the proximity of the fort, partly to maintain primacy in trade with the Company and partly for protection. The fort repelled an attack by the Euclataws of Quadra Island
and is credited with putting an end to slave raids on the lower Fraser by northern tribes.
Watershed
s were the basis for the relationship between Coast Salish towns and villages. Thus, a central theme in the culture of the Stó:lō is salmon fishing. The various tribes fished on the Fraser River and its tributaries, including the Chilliwack and the Harrison
. The life of the people was profoundly influenced by the life cycle of the salmon. Ceremonies such as the First Salmon ceremony, performed when the first fish was caught each year, reflected its importance in Stó:lō culture.
The Síyá:m (or leader) was the most powerful member of each family, while the best hunter was named the Tewit to lead during the hunting season. The Grand Chief, a title which originated much later, is known as the Yewal Síyá:m.
. Although some modern longhouses were built with gable
d roofs, most Stó:lō longhouses were built with a single flat but slanted roof, similar to the Xá:ytem Longhouse. Entire extended families would live in a longhouse, and the structure could be extended as the family expanded. Pit houses (or Quiggly hole
houses) were also used, though generations earlier.
, then by train and automobile.
. A pubescent girl would be brought to a pit lined with cedar boughs and told to wait there during daylight hours, only leaving to eat and sleep. Others would bring her fir boughs and instruct her to pick out the needles one at a time, but this was the only work she would be allowed to do; other women would feed, and wash her until her first menstrual period was over. This was practiced widely at least until youth were sent to residential schools
.
people on the Harrison River
, while ethnically and linguistically similar, do not consider themselves Sto:lo. Similarly, the Musqueam Indian Band
, Tsleil-Waututh First Nation
, Tsawwassen First Nation
and Semiahmoo Indian Band are sometimes described as Sto:lo because they are in the Lower Mainland and are ethnolinguistically similar, but they are not part of any Sto:lo organization.
in August 1995. Four First Nations withdrew from the treaty process, leaving seventeen to reach Stage Four of the six-stage process.
In 2005, an internal reorganization of the nineteen Stó:lō First Nations divided them into two tribal councils. Eleven of these First Nations — Aitchelitz, Leq'a:mel, Matsqui, Popkum, Shxwhá:y Village, Skawahlook, Skowkale, Squiala, Sumas, Tzeachten, and Yakweakwioose — chose to remain in the Sto:lo Nation. Eight others formed a new tribal council called the Stó:lō Tribal Council. The eight members of the Stó:lō Tribal Council
— Chawathil, Cheam, Kwantlen First Nation, Kwaw-kwaw-Apilt, Scowlitz, Seabird Island, Shxw'ow'hamel First Nation, and Soowahlie — are not participating in the treaty process.
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
peoples inhabiting the Fraser Valley
Fraser Valley
The Fraser Valley is the section of the Fraser River basin in southwestern British Columbia downstream of the Fraser Canyon. The term is sometimes used to refer to the Fraser Canyon and stretches upstream from there, but in general British Columbian usage of the term refers to the stretch of the...
of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. They traditionally speak Halq'eméylem, the "Upriver dialect" of Halkomelem, one of the Coast Salish languages. Stó:lō is the Halqemeylem word for the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
. The Stó:lō are thus the river people.
Origins of a people in this region
The first traces of people living in the Fraser Valley date from 8,000 to 10,000 years ago, the Stó:lō called this area, their traditional territory, S'ólh Téméxw. These early inhabitants of the area were highly mobile hunter-gatherers. There is archeological evidence of a settlement in the lower Fraser CanyonFraser Canyon
The Fraser Canyon is an 84 km landform of the Fraser River where it descends rapidly through narrow rock gorges in the Coast Mountains en route from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia to the Fraser Valley...
(called "the Milliken site") and a seasonal encampment ("the Glenrose Cannery site") near the mouth of the Fraser River. Remains of this latter campsite show that in spring and early summer they came here to hunt land and sea mammals, such as deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
, elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
, and seal
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
s and, to a lesser extent, fish for salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
, stickleback
Stickleback
The Gasterosteidae are a family of fish including the sticklebacks. FishBase currently recognises sixteen species in the family, grouped in five genera. However several of the species have a number of recognised subspecies, and the taxonomy of the family is thought to be in need of revision...
, eulachon
Eulachon
The eulachon, also oolichan, hooligan, ooligan, or candlefish, is a small anadromous ocean fish, Thaleichthys pacificus, a smelt found along the Pacific coast of North America from northern California to Alaska....
, and sturgeon
Sturgeon
Sturgeon is the common name used for some 26 species of fish in the family Acipenseridae, including the genera Acipenser, Huso, Scaphirhynchus and Pseudoscaphirhynchus. The term includes over 20 species commonly referred to as sturgeon and several closely related species that have distinct common...
and gather shellfish
Shellfish
Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some kinds are found only in freshwater...
. Their livelihood depended on their success at harvesting the resources of the land and the rivers through fishing, foraging and hunting.
Stó:lō elders describe their connection to the land in the statement "we have always been here." They tell of their arrival in S'ólh Téméxw as Tel Swayel ("sky-borne" people) and through the transformations
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
of ancestral animals and fish such as the beaver
Beaver
The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
, mountain goat
Mountain goat
The Mountain Goat , also known as the Rocky Mountain Goat, is a large-hoofed mammal found only in North America. Despite its vernacular name, it is not a member of Capra, the genus of true goats...
, and sturgeon. Xexá:ls (transformers) fixed the world and the people and animals in it, creating the present landscape. As Carlson notes:
- The Stó:lō walk simultaneously through both spiritual and physical realms of this landscape, connected to the CreatorGreat SpiritThe Great Spirit, also called Wakan Tanka among the Sioux, the Creator or the Great Maker in English, and Gitchi Manitou in Algonquian, is a conception of a supreme being prevalent among some Native American and First Nations cultures...
through the land itself as transformed by Xexá:ls.
Early period
There is a continuous record of occupation of S'ólh Téméxw by Aboriginal people dating from the early HoloceneHolocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
period, 5,000 to 10,000 years ago. Two archaeological sites referred to in the Origins section are well documented. Additional archaeological evidence from the early period has been found throughout the region, including sites at Stave Lake
Stave Lake
Stave Lake is a hydroelectric reservoir in the Stave River system, located on the northern edge of the District of Mission, about 65 km east of Vancouver, British Columbia. The main arm of the lake is just over 20 km long, and there is a southwest arm ending at Stave Falls Dam about...
, Coquitlam Lake
Coquitlam Lake
Coquitlam Lake is a reservoir located just north of Coquitlam, British Columbia. It is one of the three main water sources for Metro Vancouver, and also a part of BC Hydro's power generation system...
and Fort Langley
Fort Langley, British Columbia
Fort Langley is a village with a population of 2,700 and forms part of the Township of Langley. It is the home of Fort Langley National Historic Site, a former fur trade post of the Hudson's Bay Company.-History:...
.
Middle period
Many more sites exist that date from the middle Holocene period (c. 5,500-3,000 years ago). Tools found indicate considerable continuity with the early period. One striking feature of this period is the introduction of permanent house sites, showing evidence of cultural transmissionCultural diffusion
In cultural anthropology and cultural geography, cultural diffusion, as first conceptualized by Alfred L. Kroeber in his influential 1940 paper Stimulus Diffusion, or trans-cultural diffusion in later reformulations, is the spread of cultural items—such as ideas, styles, religions, technologies,...
from a nomadic to a more sedentary lifestyle between 5,000 to 4,000 years ago. Characteristic of this period were decorative and sculpted stone items, an increasingly complex relationship with the environment and a more stable and increasingly complex culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
. The now extinct Coast Salish wooley dog appeared for the first time during this period.
Among the oldest archaeological digs in Canada is Xá:ytem, at Hatzic, just east of Mission
Mission, British Columbia
Mission, the core of which was formerly known as Mission City, is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is situated on the north bank of the Fraser River overlooking the City of Abbotsford and with that city is part of the Central Fraser Valley. Mission is the...
. Initial work on a suburban housing project around a transformer stone aroused the interests of Sto:lo archaeologist Gordon Mohs and the land eventually was transferred to Sto:lo governance for heritage purposes. The focus of the site is a large transformer stone which bears the name Xá:ytem, which has also come to be used for the ancient village site that has been excavated in the surrounding field. There are two major eras found in the dig, one 3000BP the other from 5000-9000BP . Both indicate posthole and timber-frame construction and advanced social and economic life, eventually covered by flooding and sediment during the ongoing evolution of the Fraser delta.
Around Harrison Bay, near Chehalis, a group of structures known variously as the Fraser Valley Pyramids or Scowlitz Mounds are currently the subject of investigation by a joint task force of the Scowlitz First Nation
Scowlitz First Nation
The Scowlitz First Nation or Scowlitz Indian Band is the band government of Skaulits subgroup of the Sto:lo people located on Harrison Bay in the Upper Fraser Valley region between Chehalis and Lake Errock, British Columbia, Canada...
and archaeologists. Little is known about the mounds, which appear to be burial mounds and which contain timber structures to sustain the weight of the mound. Because they are distinct from any other structures anywhere else in the region, it is not assumed that the people who made them were necessarily forebears of the Sto:lo peoples.
Late period
This period extends from 3,000 years ago to first contact with EuropeanEuropean ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
people. New forms of groundstone technology, including slate knives, slate points, hand mauls, nephrite chisels, and nephrite adzes, are evidence of an increasingly specialized society evolving during this period. Social class distinctions were accompanied by changing house forms that indicated expanding households. War
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
fare became increasingly widespread.
Contact with Europeans
Although Captains Jose Maria Narvaez of SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and George Vancouver
George Vancouver
Captain George Vancouver RN was an English officer of the British Royal Navy, best known for his 1791-95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
explored the Georgia Strait in 1791 and 1792, respectively, they did not reach the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
or Stó:lō territory. The first point of contact between the Stó:lō and Europeans came indirectly, through disease.
Smallpox
A smallpoxSmallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
struck the Stó:lō in late 1782, arriving overland, likely spreading north from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. It is estimated that the epidemic killed two thirds of the Stó:lō people within six weeks. Those that survived were likely to have been struck with blindness just as hunting season was to begin, only compounding the devastation. Later, however, their close contact with Europeans would lessen the destructive power of the disease on the Stó:lō. In 1862, the effects of a smallpox outbreak on the Stó:lō were limited in comparison with northern indigenous people, because of their access to the vaccine. Although deadly Smallpox epidemics would return at least once more (in 1862 and possibly in 1824), it was, however, only one of a number of serious diseases that would strike the region. Measles
Measles
Measles, also known as rubeola or morbilli, is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...
, mumps
Mumps
Mumps is a viral disease of the human species, caused by the mumps virus. Before the development of vaccination and the introduction of a vaccine, it was a common childhood disease worldwide...
, tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
and venereal diseases would further ravage the Stó:lō population.
Simon Fraser and Fort Langley
The 1782 epidemic was soon followed by direct, face-to-face contact with white people. The first white man to explore the region from overland was Simon FraserSimon Fraser (explorer)
Simon Fraser was a fur trader and an explorer who charted much of what is now the Canadian province of British Columbia. Fraser was employed by the Montreal-based North West Company. By 1805, he had been put in charge of all the company's operations west of the Rocky Mountains...
who travelled down the Fraser River in 1808. Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
posts Fort Langley
Fort Langley National Historic Site
Fort Langley is a former trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company, now located in the village of Fort Langley, British Columbia. Commonly referred to as "the birthplace of British Columbia", it is designated a National Historic Site of Canada and administered by Parks Canada.-A new fort:After John...
(established in 1827) and Fort Yale
Yale, British Columbia
Yale is an unincorporated town in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was founded in 1848 by the Hudson's Bay Company as Fort Yale by Ovid Allard, the appointed manager of the new post, who named it after his superior, James Murray Yale, then Chief Factor of the Columbia District...
(1848) brought tremendous change to the relationships of the Stó:lō with each other and with the land. Although these HBC posts were built with the fur trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
in mind, trade in salmon soon took over as primary item of exchange. Between 1830 and 1849, Fort Langley's purchases of salmon increased from 200 barrels to 2610 barrels. The Kwantlen branch of the Sto:lo relocated their main village to the proximity of the fort, partly to maintain primacy in trade with the Company and partly for protection. The fort repelled an attack by the Euclataws of Quadra Island
Quadra Island
Quadra Island is an island off the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, part of the Discovery Islands. It is separated from Vancouver Island by Discovery Passage, and from Cortes Island by Sutil Channel...
and is credited with putting an end to slave raids on the lower Fraser by northern tribes.
Salmon
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
s were the basis for the relationship between Coast Salish towns and villages. Thus, a central theme in the culture of the Stó:lō is salmon fishing. The various tribes fished on the Fraser River and its tributaries, including the Chilliwack and the Harrison
Harrison River
The Harrison River is a short but large tributary of the Fraser River, entering it near the community of Chehalis, British Columbia. The Harrison drains Harrison Lake and is the de facto continuation of the Lillooet River, which feeds the lake....
. The life of the people was profoundly influenced by the life cycle of the salmon. Ceremonies such as the First Salmon ceremony, performed when the first fish was caught each year, reflected its importance in Stó:lō culture.
Societal structure
Stó:lō society was organized into classes: the sí:yá:m (or upper classes), the ordinary people, and the slaves. A person's family status was important in determining their role within Stó:lō society, and within longhouse ceremonies, though this has faded over time. Slaves may have been treated relatively well, but were not permitted to eat with others at the Longhouse fire. They were primarily responsible for menial tasks such as gathering food or firewood. The actual use of slaves died out long ago, though the memory of which families descend from slaves may continue.The Síyá:m (or leader) was the most powerful member of each family, while the best hunter was named the Tewit to lead during the hunting season. The Grand Chief, a title which originated much later, is known as the Yewal Síyá:m.
Housing and shelter
The primary shelter for the Stó:lō people was in the form of a longhouseNative American long house
Longhouses were built by native peoples in various parts of North America, sometimes reaching over but generally around wide. The dominant theory is that walls were made of sharpened and fire-hardened poles driven into the ground and the roof consisted of leaves and grass...
. Although some modern longhouses were built with gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roofs, most Stó:lō longhouses were built with a single flat but slanted roof, similar to the Xá:ytem Longhouse. Entire extended families would live in a longhouse, and the structure could be extended as the family expanded. Pit houses (or Quiggly hole
Quiggly hole
A quiggly hole, also known simply as a quiggly or kekuli, is the remains of an underground house built by the First Nations people of the Interior of British Columbia and the Columbia Plateau in the U.S....
houses) were also used, though generations earlier.
Transportation
Although river and lake canoes were built within Stó:lō, larger ocean-going canoes were primarily acquired through trade with indigenous people of the coast and Vancouver island. In the late 19th century, the emphasis on water transport was replaced first by horse and buggyHorse and buggy
A horse and buggy or horse and carriage refers to a light, simple, two-person carriage of the late 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, drawn usually by one or sometimes by two horses...
, then by train and automobile.
Adolescence and adulthood
Traditionally, Stó:lō girls went through puberty rites at the time of their first menstruationMenstruation
Menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining . It occurs on a regular basis in sexually reproductive-age females of certain mammal species. This article focuses on human menstruation.-Overview:...
. A pubescent girl would be brought to a pit lined with cedar boughs and told to wait there during daylight hours, only leaving to eat and sleep. Others would bring her fir boughs and instruct her to pick out the needles one at a time, but this was the only work she would be allowed to do; other women would feed, and wash her until her first menstrual period was over. This was practiced widely at least until youth were sent to residential schools
Canadian residential school system
-History:Founded in the 19th century, the Canadian Indian residential school system was intended to assimilate the children of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada into European-Canadian society...
.
List of Sto:lo governments
While there are two Sto:lo tribal councils, not all Sto:lo bands belong to either council. Also, the Chehalis Indian Band of the Sts'AilesSts'Ailes
The Sts'ailes are a First Nations people in the Lower Mainland of the Canadian province of British Columbia. They are a Halqemeylem-speaking people but are distinct historically and politically from the surrounding Sto:lo peoples...
people on the Harrison River
Harrison River
The Harrison River is a short but large tributary of the Fraser River, entering it near the community of Chehalis, British Columbia. The Harrison drains Harrison Lake and is the de facto continuation of the Lillooet River, which feeds the lake....
, while ethnically and linguistically similar, do not consider themselves Sto:lo. Similarly, the Musqueam Indian Band
Musqueam Indian Band
The Musqueam Indian Band is a First Nations government in the Canadian province of British Columbia, and is the only Indian band whose reserve community lies within the boundaries of the City of Vancouver....
, Tsleil-Waututh First Nation
Tsleil-Waututh First Nation
The Tsleil-Waututh First Nation, also known as the Burrard Indian Band or Burrard Band, is a First Nations government in the Canadian Province of British Columbia...
, Tsawwassen First Nation
Tsawwassen First Nation
The Tsawwassen First Nation is a First Nations government whose only Indian reserve is located in the Greater Vancouver area of the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada, adjacent to the South Arm of the Fraser River and the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal and just north of the international...
and Semiahmoo Indian Band are sometimes described as Sto:lo because they are in the Lower Mainland and are ethnolinguistically similar, but they are not part of any Sto:lo organization.
Members of the Sto:lo Nation Society
- Aitchelitz First NationAitchelitz First NationThe Aitchelitz First Nation, also known as the Aitchelitz Band or Aitchelitz Indian Band, is a First Nations band government of the Sto:lo people, located at Sardis, British Columbia, Canada...
- Leq'a:mel First Nation
- Matsqui First NationMatsqui First NationThe Popkum First Nation or Popkum Indian Band is a band government of the Sto:lo people located in the Central Fraser Valley region, at Matsqui, in the northern part of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. They are a member government of the Sto:lo Nation tribal council.-References:...
- Popkum First NationPopkum First NationThe Popkum First Nation or Popkum Indian Band is a band government of the Sto:lo people located in the Upper Fraser Valley region, at Popkum, northeast of Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. They are a member government of the Sto:lo Nation tribal council.-References:...
- Skway First NationSkway First NationThe Skway First Nation aka Skway Indian Band is a band government of the Stó:lō people living in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada near the city of Chilliwack. They traditionally speak the Upriver dialect of Halkomelem, one of the Salishan family of languages...
- Skawahlook First NationSkawahlook First NationThe Skawahlook First Nation, formerly the Tait Indian Band is a band government of the Sto:lo people whose reserves and communities are located in the Upper Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, Canada, near the community of Ruby Creek, which is at the eastern end of the District of Kent...
- Skowkale First NationSkowkale First NationThe Skowkale First Nation or Skowkale Indian Band is a band government of the Sto:lo people located in the Upper Fraser Valley region, near Sardis, part of Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. They are a member government of the Sto:lo Nation tribal council.-References:...
- Squiala First NationSquiala First NationThe Squiala First Nation or Squiala Indian Band is a band government of the Sto:lo people located in the Upper Fraser Valley region, near Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. They are a member government of the Sto:lo Nation tribal council.-References:...
- Sumas First NationSumas First NationThe Sumas First Nation or Sumas Indian Band is a band government of the Sto:lo people located in the Upper Fraser Valley region, at the community of Kilgard aka Upper Sumas, part of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. They are a member government of the Sto:lo Nation tribal council.-References:...
- Tzeachten First NationTzeachten First NationThe Tzeachten First Nation or Tzeachten Indian Band is a band government of the Sto:lo people located in the Upper Fraser Valley region near Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. They are a member government of the Sto:lo Nation tribal council....
- Yakweakwioose First NationYakweakwioose First NationThe Yakweakwioose First Nation or Yakweakwioose Indian Band is a band government of the Sto:lo people located in the Upper Fraser Valley region at Sardis, near Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. They are a member government of the Sto:lo Nation tribal council.-References:...
Members of the Stó:lō Tribal Council
- Chawathil First NationChawathil First NationThe Chawathil First Nation or Chawathil Indian Band is a band government of the Sto:lo people located in the Upper Fraser Valley region near Hope, British Columbia, Canada. They are a member government of the Stó:lō Tribal Council.-References:...
- Cheam Indian BandCheam Indian BandThe Cheam Indian Band is a band government of the Stó:lō people located in the Upper Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, Canada, located near the community of Rosedale. They traditionally speak the Upriver dialect of Halkomelem, one of the Salishan family of languages...
- Kwantlen First NationKwantlen First NationThe Kwantlen First Nation is the band government of the Kwantlen subgroup of the Stó:lō people in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada, located primarily at Fort Langley. They traditionally speak the Downriver dialect of Halkomelem, one of the Salishan family of languages...
- Kwaw-kwaw-Apilt First NationKwaw-kwaw-Apilt First NationThe Kwaw-kwaw-Apilt First Nation or Kwaw-kwaw-Apilt Indian Band is a band government of the Sto:lo people located in the Upper Fraser Valley region near Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. They are a member government of the Stó:lō Tribal Council....
- Scowlitz First NationScowlitz First NationThe Scowlitz First Nation or Scowlitz Indian Band is the band government of Skaulits subgroup of the Sto:lo people located on Harrison Bay in the Upper Fraser Valley region between Chehalis and Lake Errock, British Columbia, Canada...
- Seabird Island First NationSeabird Island First NationThe or Seabird Indian Band is a band government of the Sto:lo people located on Sea Bird Island in the Upper Fraser Valley region, 3kms east of Agassiz, British Columbia, Canada...
- Shxw'ow'hamel First NationShxw'ow'hamel First NationThe Shxw'ow'hamel First Nation or Shxw'ow'hamel Indian Band is a band government of the Sto:lo people located in the Upper Fraser Valley region near Hope, British Columbia, Canada. They are a member government of the Stó:lō Tribal Council.-References:...
- Soowahlie First NationSoowahlie First NationThe Soowahlie First Nation or Soowahlie Indian Band is a band government of the Sto:lo people located in the Upper Fraser Valley region at Cultus Lake, British Columbia, Canada. They are a member government of the Stó:lō Tribal Council.-Indian Reserves:...
Sto:lo bands with no tribal council
- Skwah First NationSkwah First NationThe Skwah First Nation aka the Skwah Indian Band is a band government of the Sto:lo people in the area of the City of Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada...
- Qayqayt First NationQayqayt First NationThe Qayqayt First Nation , also known as the New Westminster Indian Band, is a band government located at New Westminster, British Columbia. The Qayqayt First Nation historically spoke the Hun'qumi'num dialect of Halkomelem, a Coast Salish language. The Qayqayt reserve used to exist on the...
- Kwikwetlem First NationKwikwetlem First NationThe Kwikwetlem First Nation, also known as the Coquitlam Indian Band, is the band government of the Kwikwetlem people, a Sto:lo people living in the Coquitlam area of British Columbia, Canada. They traditionally speak the Downriver dialect of Halkomelem, one of the Salishan family of languages...
- Scowlitz First NationScowlitz First NationThe Scowlitz First Nation or Scowlitz Indian Band is the band government of Skaulits subgroup of the Sto:lo people located on Harrison Bay in the Upper Fraser Valley region between Chehalis and Lake Errock, British Columbia, Canada...
- Yale First NationYale First NationThe Yale First Nation is an independent First Nation, located at Yale, British Columbia. It is not affiliated with Sto:lo tribal council.-Treaty Process:They have reached Stage 5 in the BC Treaty Process...
- Union Bar First NationUnion Bar First NationThe Union Bar First Nation is a band government of the Sto:lo people, located near Hope, British Columbia.-References:...
- Peters BandPeters BandThe Peters Band are a First Nations band government of the Sto:lo people in the area of Hope, British Columbia....
- Katzie First NationKatzie First NationThe Katzie are an Indigenous people of the Lower Fraser Valley in British Columbia, Canada. The Katzie historically spoke Halqemeylem, the Upriver Dialect of Halkomelem, one of the Coast Salish family of languages. They are part of the Sto:lo group of peoples, historically referred to as the...
BC treaty negotiations
The Stó:lō Declaration included twenty-four First Nations when it was signed in 1977. Twenty-one of these nations entered the BC Treaty Process as the Sto:lo NationStó:lo Nation
The Sto:lo Nation is a First Nations Tribal Council in the Fraser Valley region of the Canadian province of British Columbia that is the tribal council for First Nations band governments in the area of Chilliwack, Abbotsford and at NIcomen Island. This tribal council should not be confused with...
in August 1995. Four First Nations withdrew from the treaty process, leaving seventeen to reach Stage Four of the six-stage process.
In 2005, an internal reorganization of the nineteen Stó:lō First Nations divided them into two tribal councils. Eleven of these First Nations — Aitchelitz, Leq'a:mel, Matsqui, Popkum, Shxwhá:y Village, Skawahlook, Skowkale, Squiala, Sumas, Tzeachten, and Yakweakwioose — chose to remain in the Sto:lo Nation. Eight others formed a new tribal council called the Stó:lō Tribal Council. The eight members of the Stó:lō Tribal Council
Stó:lo Tribal Council
The Stó:lō Tribal Council is a First Nations Tribal Council in the Fraser Valley-Greater Vancouver region of the Canadian province of British Columbia that is the tribal council for First Nations band governments from Hope, at the south end of the Fraser Canyon down to Langley...
— Chawathil, Cheam, Kwantlen First Nation, Kwaw-kwaw-Apilt, Scowlitz, Seabird Island, Shxw'ow'hamel First Nation, and Soowahlie — are not participating in the treaty process.
External links
- Sto:lo Nation Tribal Council website
- Map of Sto:lo territory
- Stó:lo Traditional Territory Map as identified for the 1995 BC Treaty Commission
- Xá:ytem / Hatzic Rock National Historic Site of Canada
- Xá:ytem Longhouse Interpretive Centre
- T'xwelatse Comes Home, Seattle Times article, January 28, 2007.
- Ethnographic Overview of Stó:lo People and the Traditional use of the Hudson's Bay Company Brigade Trail Area, by Brian Thom.
- Stó:lo Culture - Ideas of Prehistory and Changing Cultural Relationships to the Land and Environment, by Brian Thom