The Cheam Indian Band ( hur, Xwchí:yò:m) is a

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

band government In Canada, an Indian band or band (french: bande indienne, link=no), sometimes referred to as a First Nation band (french: bande de la Première Nation, link=no) or simply a First Nation, is the basic unit of government for those peoples subjec ...

of the Stó:lō people in the Upper Fraser Valley region of

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 landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada, located near the community of Rosedale. They traditionally speak the Upriver dialect of

Halkomelem Halkomelem (; in the Upriver dialect, in the Island dialect, and in the Downriver dialect) is a language of various First Nations peoples of the British Columbia Coast. It is spoken in what is now British Columbia, ranging from southeastern ...

, one of the

Salishan The Salishan (also Salish) languages are a family of languages of the Pacific Northwest in North America (the Canadian province of British Columbia and the American states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana). They are characterised by ag ...

family of languages. The name ''Cheam'' means "wild strawberry place" and is the namesake of

Mount Cheam Cheam Peak or Mount Cheam (pronounced and in English, in Halqemeylem, the local indigenous language, referring to the lowland below. The Halqemeylem name for the mountain is Lhílheqey – ''Theeth-uhl-kay'' – from the word ''Lhelqey'' – "g ...

, which overlooks the community and most of the Upper Fraser Valley. They are a member government of the Sto:lo Tribal Council, one of two Sto:lo tribal councils. The band services two reserves on the north shore of Cheam Lake, home to 354 people with another 200 living off the reserve.

Treaty Process

Like other members of the Sto:lo Tribal Council, the Cheam are not participating in the

British Columbia Treaty Process The British Columbia Treaty Process (BCTP) is a land claims negotiation process started in 1993 to resolve outstanding issues, including claims to un-extinguished indigenous rights, with British Columbia's First Nations. Two treaties have been ...

.BC Government Aboriginal Reconciliation and Renewal website
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References

Sto:lo governments First Nations governments in the Lower Mainland {{FirstNations-stub