The Nicola Athapaskans, also known as the Nicola people or Stuwix, were an Athabascan people who migrated into 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 ...

of what is now the Southern Interior of British Columbia from the north a few centuries ago but were slowly reduced in number by constant raiding from peoples from outside the valley (mostly Secwepemc), with the survivors, the last of whom lived near Nicola Lake, assimilated to the Scw'exmx-Syilx Nicola people by the end of the 19th century. The term Nicola for them is a

misnomer A misnomer is a name that is incorrectly or unsuitably applied. Misnomers often arise because something was named long before its correct nature was known, or because an earlier form of something has been replaced by a later form to which the name ...

, though a common one used by ethnologists and linguists - it commemorates a famous

Okanagan The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is pa ...

chief who once held sway over the valley and its peoples as well as over the Kamloops Shuswap). First appearing in 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, t ...

valley and at Spences Bridge, they came into conflict with the Secwepemc and Nlaka'pamux peoples of that area, the Thompson Canyon, after journeying south to get away from "bad neighbours". At first in conflict with the Nlaka'pamux, peaceful terms were come to and they were invited to settle in the area of Nicola Lake and the upper

Similkameen Country The Similkameen Country, also referred to as the Similkameen Valley or Similkameen District, but generally referred to simply as The Similkameen or more archaically, Similkameen, is a region roughly coinciding with the basin of the river of the sam ...

and lived alongside the valley's mix of

and

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 ...

-speaking groups. The latter's name for them is the only indigenous name that exists for them, ''stuwix'' ("strangers"), as their own language, known as Nicola, did not survive and very little is known about it, as only a very little was recorded before it became extinct. At one time the Stuwix had also lived in the upper Similkameen and are credited by historian Mark S. Wade as being the first known inhabitants of that area until they were driven out by the group today constituted as the

Upper Similkameen Indian Band The Upper Similkameen Indian Band or Upper Smelqmix, is a First Nations band government in the Canadian province of British Columbia, whose head offices are located in town of Hedley in the Similkameen Country. They are a member of the Okanagan Na ...

and retreating to the area of Douglas, Stump and Nicola Lakes, where they were sheltered by

Chief Nicola Nicola ( – ) (Spokan: ''Hwistesmetxe'qen'', ''Walking Grizzly Bear''), also Nkwala or N'kwala, was an important First Nations political figure in the fur trade era of the British Columbia Interior (early 19th century to 1858) as well as into the ...

and the Scw'exmx and Spaxomin who lived under his rule. Despite friendly relations with their immediate neighbours, they were subject to repeated raids by hostile tribes, notably the Secwepemc (Shuswap) and by the later 19th century only a handful survived. Very little is known of them as by the mid-19th century they were nearly extinct due to constant raiding by Thompson and Shuswap from outside the valley, and their surviving members were largely absorbed by the surrounding Scw'exmx, a branch of the Thompson people by the time of European contact, and also partly by the

Spaxomin The Upper Nicola Band is a First Nations band government in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located near the town of Merritt in the Nicola Country at Douglas Lake. Known in the Okanagan language as the Spaxomin, they are a member of b ...

, a branch of the Okanagan people also in the valley who are also known as the Spahomin Band. Some family lines are thought to survive among the Scwe'exmx, and a handful of placenames in the Merritt-

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

area are believed to be from their language, which some linguists believe may be closely related to, or simply a dialect of, the

Chilcotin language ''Nenqayni Ch’ih'' (lit. "the Native way") (also Chilcotin, Tŝilhqotʹin, Tsilhqot’in, Tsilhqút’in) is a Northern Athabaskan language spoken in British Columbia by the Tsilhqot’in people. The name ''Chilcotin'' is derived from the Ch ...

Another account

Although the anthropological and linguistic consensus is that the Nicola people were Athapaskan, an account in

Okanagan Mourning Dove The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part ...

's writings says that they were a

Chinookan The Chinookan languages were a small family of languages spoken in Oregon and Washington along the Columbia River by Chinook peoples. Although the last known native speaker of any Chinookan language died in 2012, the 2009-2013 American Community ...

group who had travelled up the Columbia River to escape bad neighbours there, finally finding refuge up the

Okanagan River The Okanogan River (known as the Okanagan River in Canada) is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 115 mi (185 km) long, in southern British Columbia and north central Washington. It drains a scenic plateau region called ...

and beyond the upper Similkameen around Nicola Lake.

References

*Boas, Franz (1924) ''Vocabulary of an Athapascan Tribe of Nicola Valley, British Columbia,'' International Journal of American Linguistics 3.1.36-38.
''The Thompson Country'', pp. 8-10, Mark Sweeten Wade
{{authority control First Nations in British Columbia Similkameen Country Nicola Country First Nations history in British Columbia

Another account

See also

References