The Bonaparte Indian Band a.k.a. Bonaparte First Nation, is a member band of the

Shuswap Nation Tribal Council The Shuswap Nation Tribal Council is a First Nations Tribal Council in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Based in the Thompson and Shuswap Districts of the Central Interior, although including one band on the upper Columbia River in the ...

of the Secwepemc (Shuswap) people.

Indian Reserves and communities

The band's main community is on the

Bonaparte Indian Reserve No. 3 Bonaparte is a settlement in British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscap ...

, located comprising 704 ha., usually known as the Bonaparte Reserve, between Cache Creek and the terminus of Highway 99 at the Hat Creek Ranch or Lower Hat Creek (a.k.a. Carquile), Some band members work as guides, interpreters and wranglers for the Hat Creek Ranch, which is a heritage museum/restoration of a roadhouse of the

Cariboo Wagon Road The Cariboo Road (also called the Cariboo Wagon Road, the Great North Road or the Queen's Highway) was a project initiated in 1860 by the Governor of the Colony of British Columbia, James Douglas. It involved a feat of engineering stretching fro ...

and had been the homestead of Donald McLean, former Chief Trader at

Fort Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...

and one of the combatants and casualties of the

Chilcotin War The Chilcotin War, the Chilcotin Uprising or the Bute Inlet Massacre was a confrontation in 1864 between members of the Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin) people in British Columbia and white road construction workers. Fourteen men employed by Alfred Wadd ...

of 1864. Other reserves are: * Lower Hat Creek 2, 31.6 ha., on Hat Creek between

Marble Canyon Marble Canyon is the section of the Colorado River canyon in northern Arizona from Lee's Ferry to the confluence with the Little Colorado River, which marks the beginning of the Grand Canyon. Lee's Ferry is a common launching point for rive ...

and that creek's confluence with the

Bonaparte River The Bonaparte River is a tributary of the Thompson River, joining it at the community of Ashcroft, British Columbia. The river is about long, including the length of Bonaparte Lake. Rising on the Silwhoiakun Plateau to the northwest of Kamloops, B ...

(not to be confused with Lower Hat Creek, or Carquile, which is ''at'' the confluence of the creek and the river). * Grasslands 7, 207.6 ha., at McLean Lake, in the Trachyte Hills northwest of Cache Creek * ''Hihium Lake 6'' (Shared between Upper Nicola,

Lower Nicola Lower Nicola is a rural community in the Nicola Country region of the Southern Interior of British Columbia. It is located at the confluence of Guichon Creek and the Nicola River The Nicola River , originally French Rivière de Nicholas or Rivi� ...

, Bonaparte, and Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Bands), 31.6 ha. * ''Hihium Lake 6A'' (Shared between the Skeetchestn and Bonaparte Bands), on north shore of Hihium Lake near NE corner of Hihium Lake Indian Reserve No. 6, 2.10 ha. * ''Hihium Lake 6B'' (Shared between the Skeetchestn and Bonaparte Bands), on south shore of Hihium Lake, near its east end, 2.0 ha. * Loon Lake 4, 24.6 ha., at Loon Lake * Mauvais Rocher 5, 40.2 ha., on the

Thompson River The Thompson River is the largest tributary of the Fraser River, flowing through the south-central portion of British Columbia, Canada. The Thompson River has two main branches, the South Thompson River and the North Thompson River. The river ...

to the east of

Ashcroft Ashcroft may refer to: Places * Ashcroft, British Columbia, a village in Canada **Ashcroft House in Bagpath, Gloucestershire, England—eponym of the Canadian village * Ashcroft, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia * Ashcroft, Colorado, ...

* Upper Hat Creek 1, 835.3 ha., on Hat Creek to the southeast of

and north of the locality of Upper Hat Creek. The reserves were created when the government of the

Colony of British Columbia The Colony of British Columbia refers to one of two colonies of British North America, located on the Pacific coast of modern-day Canada: *Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) *Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871) See also *History of Br ...

, without negotiation or consent of the First nations, and without legally extinguishing First Nations claim to the land, established an

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." Ind ...

system in the 1860s.

Population

The Bonaparte Indian Band are also called the Stuctwesemc in

Secwepemctsín The Shuswap language (; shs, Secwepemctsín ) is the traditional language of the Shuswap people ( shs, Secwépemc ) of British Columbia. An endangered language, Shuswap is spoken mainly in the Central and Southern Interior of British Columbia ...

, which means "people of the Valley" (also spelled St'uxwtews). Band population is 815, with 584 living off-reserve. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - Registered Population

References

External links

Shuswap Nation website

{{Secwepemc First Nations Secwepemc governments Bonaparte Country