The Simpcw First Nation, formerly known as the North Thompson Indian Band, is a

First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

s band government based in the

Thompson Country Thompson Country, also referred to as The Thompson and sometimes as the Thompson Valley and historically known as the Couteau Country or Couteau District, is a historic geographic region of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, more or less de ...

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. It is a member of the

Shuswap Nation Tribal Council The Shuswap Nation Tribal Council is a First Nations Tribal Council in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Based in the Thompson and Shuswap Districts of the Central Interior, although including one band on the upper Columbia River in the ...

. It 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 ...

government of the Secwepemc (Shuswap) Nation, located in the Central Interior region of the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

of British Columbia. The band's main community is at Chu Chua, British Columbia. Four of the five First Nation Reserves in Simpcw territory were designated on July 5, 1877 and the fifth was designated on February 24, 1916. The

Shuswap language The Shuswap language (; shs, Secwepemctsín ) is the traditional language of the Shuswap people ( shs, Secwépemc ) of British Columbia. An endangered language, Shuswap is spoken mainly in the Central and Southern Interior of British Columbia b ...

name for North Thompson Band's community and reserve is 'Simpcw'.

Chief and Councillors

The current chief and council were sworn in on June 1, 2015 at 1:00 pm, they will serve a 3-year term until the next election.

Historical Leaders

Chief Cinnitza was mentioned by

Archibald McDonald Archibald McDonald (3 February 1790 – 15 January 1853) was chief trader for the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Langley, Fort Nisqually and Fort Colvile and one-time deputy governor of the Red River Colony. Early life McDonald was born in Leech ...

from a trip in 1828. Chief

André André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation o ...

is mentioned in records from the time of settling First Nation Reserves in 1877 as well as being a signatory to the Memorial to Frank Oliver in 1911.

Treaty Process

Simpcw First Nation is currently not involved in the treaty process and has never ceded or surrendered any of their land.

History

The Simpcw inhabit Simpcwúl̓ecw, an area now known in English as the North Thompson. Simpcw lands include an area from McLure to McBride, from

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...

to the headwaters of the

Athabasca Athabasca (also Athabaska) is an anglicized version of the Cree name for Lake Athabasca in Canada, āthap-āsk-ā-w (pronounced ), meaning "grass or reeds here and there". Most places named Athabasca are found in Alberta, Canada. Athabasca may a ...

. The Simpcw collected local plants and animals for survival and employed various methods for fishing. An example of a kind of fishing barrier observed in the Barrière River was described by

George Mercer Dawson George Mercer Dawson (August 1, 1849 – March 2, 1901) was a Canadian geologist and surveyor. Biography He was born in Pictou, Nova Scotia, the eldest son of Sir John William Dawson, Principal of McGill University and a noted geologis ...

as "two weirs or fences each of which stretched completely across the stream." The Simpcw interacted with other First Nations in

and

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. Early interactions with Europeans began around the start of the nineteenth century with fur traders. Alexander Ross wrote that David Stuart came to the area to spend the winter of 1811–12. Stuart's wrote of his visit that after being blocked from a return to

Fort Astoria Fort Astoria (also named Fort George) was the primary fur trading post of John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company (PFC). A maritime contingent of PFC staff was sent on board the '' Tonquin'', while another party traveled overland from St. Louis. ...

by snow " epassed our time with the She Whaps and other tribes in that quarter."

Ross Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sou ...

came himself in May 1812 to establish 'Fort Cumcloups' where he "sent messages to the different tribes around who soon assembled bringing with them their furs. Here we stayed for ten days The number of Indians collected on the occasion could not have been less than 2,000." Alexander Ross's account of a journey in about 1815 describes some meetings specifically in the North Thompson. Describing his journey from Kamloops to the Rocky mountains he writes, The lake called by

"Friendly Lake" is identified as East Barriere Lake by Kenneth A. Spaulding in his edited edition of

's account.

also notes the extent of the area with which the guide he met near East Barriere Lake was familiar when he writes after reaching Eagle Hill, "As we journeyed along our guide took us up to another height and pointing out to us the country generally, said he had passed and repassed through various parts of it seven different times, and in as many different places; he seemed to know it well, and observed that the road we had travelled, with all its difficulties, was the very best to be found." On the way back to Canoe River and passing 'a considerable lake' they returned to 'Friendly Lake' where the guide's family had departed, but had left behind a stick with a certain notch, stuck in the ground with a certain lean which indicated to their guide where his family had gone. Spaulding identified the 'considerable lake' as

Adams Lake Adams Lake is a large, deep, coldwater lake in British Columbia, Canada; its average depth ranks 6th in the world. The southern end of the lake is approximately north of the town of Chase in the Shuswap Country region of British Columbia. The l ...

. In 1828,

kept a journal of a trip from Hudson's Bay to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. In an entry for October 3 he described meeting Chief Cinnitza at 'the Fort' after a traverse of the 'North River'. On October the 4th he wrote, "At Barrier Village by eight." And described a breakfast at eleven "surrounded by the Indians of the Barrier." McDonald lists "Shin-poos (of the north branch of the Thompson)" as one of seven tribes that traded at Fort Kamloops in the reports of his father, Angus McDonald. And writes, "As to the Shin-poos, a mountain race, a remnant of the 'Snare Indians', my father in his report says, that there were but few of them (about 60 families) and that they did not come very regularly to the Fort." McDonald also copied the following from his father's report to the Governor and Council reporting on the spring of 1823: "This Tribe (the Shin-poo) inhabits the north branch of Thompsons River. They are good beaver hunters, and go sometimes to and even east of the Rocky Mountains—I had in view to have one or two men to accompany them all summer, so as to endeavor to meet the Gentlemen (that is to say the Express and Passengers coming in by Rocky Mountain Portage) coming to the Columbia next fall, at the little House (which I believe was at the east end of the Portage) which would be by far a nearer and more practicable way of obtaining a knowledge of the country about the heads of the Thompson and N Branch than by sending from the east side, as Mr Annance was, last summer: the Tribe not having come to the Port this Spring prevents my sending with them." In 1862 a gold rush in the Cariboo brought smallpox to the area which caused many deaths, reducing the population to "the merest handful." From the 1890s to 1970 children were taken to the

Kamloops Indian Residential School The Kamloops Indian Residential School was part of the Canadian Indian residential school system. Located in Kamloops, British Columbia, it was once the largest residential school in Canada, with its enrolment peaking at 500 in the 1950s. The s ...

where life was harsh and use of their own language was forbidden. Some Simpcw served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1909 anthropologist

James Teit James Alexander Teit (15 April 1864 — 30 October 1922) was an anthropologist, photographer and guide who worked with Franz Boas to study Interior Salish First Nations peoples in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He led expeditions through ...

recorded "opinions held by the tribe regarding the qualities and average characteristics of their neighbors and also of the several divisions of their own people in former days." Of the 'North Thompson' he wrote that, "The North Thompson division were probably the best hunters and greatest travellers. They were mild, quiet, steady, rather serious, hospitable, rather poor." In August 1916, the Simpcw people of the

Tête Jaune Cache Tête, head in French, may refer to : * ''Tête'' (sculpture), a 1912 work of art by Amedeo Modigliani; one of the most expensive sculptures ever sold * "Je danse dans ma tête", a 1991 song from the Dion chante Plamondon album by Céline Dion * ...

were forcibly relocated out of the area to Chu Chua and other places. The people were made to travel the 300 kilometres by foot. In August 2016 events were held to mark the 100th anniversary of that event. The people of the Simpcw First Nation have made applications to the government to have lands at

formally recognized. The Simpcw have been known in English by different names, "The name of the North Thompson Band, simpxʷwemx...also known in English to traders as people of the North Fork of Thompson River, was spelled Chin-Poo by ohnMcLeod (1823) and rchibaldMcDonald (1827), Shinpoo by the Oblate Missionaries...and Nsi'mpxemux̣ by Teit. Their former main village, ciqʷceqʷélqʷ 'red willows' (Cornus stolonifera)...was referred to as Tsuk-tsuk-kwalk, erroneously translated as 'red pine' by Dawson...and as Tcoqtceqwa'llk by Teit. The reserve name Chu Chua is not derived from this but is an anglicization of texʷcwex 'creek running through the bush'."

Demographics

The Simpcw First Nation currently has 724 members.

reported that in about the 1820s his father wrote that there was about sixty Simpcw families. In 1883 a government report on population listed "North Thompson and Canoe Lake: 144." In 1850 the population after being reduced by foreign infections was estimated at 250, in 1906 the population was down to 70.

Economic Development

The Simpcw First Nation has a highly developed and active economic development organization currently known as the Simpcw Resources Group of Companies (SRG)

Social, Educational and Cultural Programs and Facilities

Simpcw Fisheries manages and operates a

hatchery A hatchery is a facility where eggs are hatched under artificial conditions, especially those of fish, poultry or even turtles. It may be used for ex-situ conservation purposes, i.e. to breed rare or endangered species under controlled condit ...

called Dunn Lake Hatchery. Simpcw hosts a special 'Coho Day' in October at the hatchery. Neqweyqwelsten School is an elementary school located in Chu Chua. It is open to all Simpcw First Nation and community members, as well as non-members if space is available.

First Nation Reserves

First Nation Reserves under the administration of the Simpcw First Nation are: *North Thompson 1 (07186), 1236.1 ha, "

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 ...

District on the east bank of the

North Thompson River The North Thompson River is the northern branch of the Thompson River, the largest tributary of the Fraser River, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It originates at the toe of the Thompson Glacier in the Premier Range of the Cariboo Mou ...

about 45 miles north of

." *Nekalliston 2 (07187), 1.4 ha, "

District near

Little Fort Little Fort is a small community on the west bank of North Thompson River in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is some north of Kamloops, British Columbia, Kamloops. The community is located at the junction of British Columbia Highway ...

and opposite Nekalliston Creek 50 miles north of

." *Barriere River 3A (07188), 1.6 ha, "

District on left bank of the Barrière River about 2 miles from mouth of the

." *Louis Creek 4 (07189), 3 ha, "

District on the left bank of Louis Creek about ¼ mile from its confluence with

about 34 miles north of

." *Boulder Creek 5 (07190), 280 ha "

District, Lot 4088, north of Dunn Lake." In the 1870s the government created the Red Trees Reserve at Chu Chua without consulting with the Simpcw. In the report of a survey of 1872, Alfred R C Selwyn mentions two stays at what he calls the "Red Pine Reserve". Records of decisions on the reserves are listed online in the BC Provincial Collection at the Federal and Provincial Collections of Minutes of Decision, Correspondence, and Sketches which is a collection of materials produced by the Joint Indian Reserve Commission and Indian Reserve Commission from 1876–1910. Decisions for North Thompson 1, Nekalliston 2, Barriere River 3, and Louis Creek 4 are item 1081/78, from July 5, 1877. Barriere River 3 was sold in 1921 in exchange for Barriere River 3A. These decisions were made by A. C. Anderson during a trip up the

with Chief André on July 3–5, 1877 to as far as Little Fort. This decision was made at a time when other First Nations in the area were considering going to war over their treatment by the government. The sale of Barriere River 3 and the Boulder Creek reserve are listed in the 1943 Schedule. Boulder Creek was allotted by Royal Commission on February 24, 1916.

Notes

:1.The notes published in this book were based on observations made by

in the years 1877, 1888, 1889, and 1890.

External links

Simpcw First Nation websiteShuswap Nation websiteHarlan Smith silent film footage, reclaimed, with narration

References

{{Secwepemc First Nations Secwepemc governments Thompson Country