Katzie First Nation ( hur, q̓ic̓əy̓) is an Indigenous band located in the

Lower Fraser Valley The Fraser Valley is a geographical region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington State. It starts just west of Hope in a narrow valley encompassing the Fraser River and ends at the Pacific Ocean stretching from the ...

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, for ...

, Canada. They are part of the Sto:lo

Coast Salish The Coast Salish is a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak one of the Coa ...

group of peoples, historically referred to by European settlers as Fraser River Indians or Fraser Salish. Their band government is the

Katzie First Nation The Katzie First Nation or Katzie Nation ( hur, q̓ic̓əy̓) is the band government of the Katzie people of the Lower Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, Canada. Indian Reserves The Katzie Nation manages the affairs of residents of fi ...

, which does not belong to either of the two Sto:lo tribal councils.

Language

həṅq̓əmín̓əḿ, the downriver 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 ...

, is still spoken by Katzie peoples, despite colonization attempts (including the

Canadian Residential School System In Canada, the Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by Christian churches. The school ...

is one of the Coast Salish or Salishan languages.

Lands and governance

Traditional Katzie territory includes the entire Pitt watershed, including the Alouette watershed, the Fraser River and lands adjacent down to Point Roberts, and lands between the Fraser and

Boundary Bay , image = Boundary Bay Regional Park in Tsawwassen.jpg , image_size = 260px , alt = , caption = Looking east across Boundary Bay from Tsawwassen , image_bathymetry = , alt_bathymetry = ...

. There are approximately 592 members of the

(their

Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' (, long name ''An Act to amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians'') is a Canadian act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still ...

-mandated government), and 302 are currently living on their five reserves.

Origins

The Katzie once comprised five communities in the region, each with its own founding chief and which, according to the Katzie, were the foundation of other peoples in the region, notably the Musqueam and Kwantlen. ''Oe’lecten'' and his people were based at what is now known as Pitt Lake, ''Swaneset'' at Sheridan Hill, ''Xwoe’pecten'' at Port Hammond (whose descendants became the Kwantlen), ''Smakwec'' at

Point Roberts Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

(whose people, the

Snokomish The Snokomish were a Halkomelem-speaking Coast Salish people whose territory was primarily located across the Boundary Bay area. The Snokomish were also known as the Derby people, as their territory included a portion of the Fraser River, near De ...

were largely killed in a

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

epidemic in the 18th century), and ''C’simlenexw'' at

Point Grey Point Grey ( Squamish: Elḵsn) is a headland marking the southern entrance to English Bay and Burrard Inlet. The headland is the site of Wreck Beach, Tower Beach, Point Grey Beach and most notably, since 1925, on its top is the Point Grey Camp ...

(whose descendants became the Musqueam). Today's Katzie are primarily the descendants of ''Oe’lecten'' and ''Swaneset''.

External links

Katzie First Nation website
Sto:lo Lower Mainland {{BritishColumbia-poli-stub