The Nicola people are 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 ...

political and cultural alliance in the

Nicola Country The Nicola Country, also known as the Nicola Valley and often referred to simply as The Nicola, and originally Nicolas' Country or Nicholas' Country, adapted to Nicola's Country and simplified since, is a region in the Southern Interior of British ...

region of the Southern Interior of the Canadian province 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, ...

. They are mostly located in the

Nicola River The Nicola River , originally French Rivière de Nicholas or Rivière de Nicolas, adapted to Nicolas River, Nicola's River in English, is one of the major tributaries of the Thompson River in the Canadian province of British Columbia, entering th ...

valley around the area of Merritt and are an alliance of Scw'exmx, the local branch of the

Nlaka'pamux The Nlaka'pamux or Nlakapamuk ( ; ), also previously known as the ''Thompson'', ''Thompson River Salish'', ''Thompson Salish'', ''Thompson River Indians'' or ''Thompson River people'', and historically as the ''Klackarpun'', ''Haukamaugh'', ''Kni ...

(Thompson) people, and the Spaxomin, the local branch of the Syilx or

Okanagan people The ''Syilx'' () people, also known as the Okanagan, Okanogan or Okinagan people, are a First Nations and Native American people whose traditional territory spans the Canada–US boundary in Washington state and British Columbia in the Okanagan ...

. The combined population of the communities composing the Nicola people is approximately 3,492, with around 1,250 of these members living on-reservation. The name Nicola is not a derivation of Nlaka'pamux or its variants, but is taken from the usual English name of the chief who forged the alliance, Nicola (''Hwistesmexte'qen'', "Walking Grizzy Bear"), which then included the Secwepemc communities surrounding

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 ...

. He had been dubbed "Nicholas" by the Métis voyageurs of the fur companies (pron. French way as Nico-LA, but in general BC usage as NICK-ola, also known in English as Nicholas or Old Nicholas). A "nativized" adaptation of Nicola in common use today is N'kwala.

Government

The Nicola have a separate tribal council from the rest of the Nlaka'pamux, the

Nicola Tribal Association Nicola may refer to: People * Nicola (name), including a list of people with the given name or, less commonly, the surname **Nicola (artist) or Nicoleta Alexandru, singer who represented Romania at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest * Nicola people ...

, which also includes the Siska Band of the

Fraser Canyon The Fraser Canyon is a major 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. Colloquially, the term "Fraser ...

. The Douglas Lake Band, which is the home of the Spaxomin group, are also members of the

Okanagan Nation Alliance The Okanagan Nation Alliance is a First Nations Tribal Council in the Canadian province of British Columbia, spanning the Nicola, Okanagan and Similkameen Districts of the Canadian province of British Columbia and also the Colville Indian Rese ...

as well as the Nicola Tribal Association.

The Nicola Athapaskans

"Nicola" is used by linguists and ethnographers to refer to an Athapaskan people and their language who formerly lived in the area, but were extinct by the later 19th century.

References

External links

Nicola Watershed Governance Partnership''The Thompson Country'', Mark Sweeten Wade
{{authority control Syilx Nlaka'pamux First Nations in British Columbia

Government

The Nicola Athapaskans

See also

References

External links