Louie Sam ( – February 24, 1884) was a Stó:lō youth from an Indigenous community near

Abbotsford, British Columbia Abbotsford is a city located in British Columbia, adjacent to the Canada–United States border, Greater Vancouver and the Fraser River. With an estimated population of 153,524 people it is the largest municipality in the province outside metrop ...

who was lynched by an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

mob. Sam was 14 at the time these events occurred. He had been accused of the murder of James Bell, a shopkeeper in Nooksack (today

Whatcom County, Washington Whatcom County is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington, bordered by the Canadian Lower Mainland (the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley Regional Districts of British Columbia) to the north, Okanogan Coun ...

). The people of his band, today the

Sumas First Nation The Sumas First Nation (Halkomelem: ''Sema:th'') ''Sumalh'' 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 a.k.a. Upper Sumas, part of Abbotsford, British Col ...

at Kilgard turned him over to the B.C. government to settle the matter. Following this, an angry mob crossed the border into Canada on February 24 and captured Sam, who had been in the custody of a B.C. deputy awaiting his trial at New Westminster. They then hanged him from a tree close to the U.S. border. A subsequent investigation by Canadian authorities strongly suggests that Sam was innocent and that the likely murderers were two white Americans who were leaders of the lynch mob. They were William Osterman, the Nooksack

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

operator who took over Bell's business, and David Harkness, who at the time of Bell's murder was living with Bell's estranged wife. Neither man was ever prosecuted. On March 1, 2006, the Washington State Senate and House of Representatives approved a resolution stating that "through this resolution, the Senate joins its peers in the government of British Columbia, acknowledging the unfortunate historical injustice to Louie Sam and the proud Stó:lō people".

In media

Bibliography

Notes References * - Total pages: 375 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sam, Louie Year of birth uncertain 1884 deaths 1884 murders in Canada 19th-century First Nations people Canada–United States relations Canadian murder victims First Nations history in British Columbia History of Washington (state) Lynching deaths People murdered in British Columbia Sto:lo people 1884 murders in the United States