Skatin is a community of under 100 persons in
Skatin First Nations The Skatin First Nations, aka the Skatin Nations, are a band government of the In-SHUCK-ch Nation, a small group of the larger St'at'imc people who are also referred to as Lower Stl'atl'imx. The Town of Skatin - the St'at'imcets version of the Ch ...
, aka the Skatin Nations, a
Band government
In Canada, an Indian band or band (french: bande indienne, link=no), sometimes referred to as a First Nation band (french: bande de la Première Nation, link=no) or simply a First Nation, is the basic unit of government for those peoples subjec ...
of the larger Band of the
In-SHUCK-ch Nation The In-SHUCK-ch Nation, also known as Lower Lillooet people, are a small First Nations Tribal Council on the lower Lillooet River south of Pemberton- Mount Currie in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The communities of the In-SHUCK-ch a ...
, part of the
St'at'imc people who are also referred to as Lower Stl'atl'imx. Skatin, the official new name, reverts to the traditional pre-colonial/pre-Columbian name. The alternate past name still commonly used by outsiders, ''Skookumchuck'', is the
St'at'imcets version of the Chinook Jargon ''Skookumchuck'', meaning ''Strong Waters'', i.e. rapids. The town site is 4 km south of T'sek Hot Spring (alt. spelling T'sik Hot Spring), formerly named both Saint Agnes Well and
Skookumchuck Hot Springs
:''This page is about natural hot spring near the First Nations community of Skatin 50 kilometres south of Pemberton Pemberton, British Columbia. For the town and associated rapids in the East Kootenay see Skookumchuck, British Columbia; for th ...
. The community is 28 km south of the outlet of
Lillooet Lake on the east side of the
Lillooet River. It is approximately 75 km south of the town of
Pemberton and the large reserve of the
Lil'wat branch of the St'at'imc at
Mount Currie,
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, ...
. See
Skatin First Nations The Skatin First Nations, aka the Skatin Nations, are a band government of the In-SHUCK-ch Nation, a small group of the larger St'at'imc people who are also referred to as Lower Stl'atl'imx. The Town of Skatin - the St'at'imcets version of the Ch ...
for details about the complicated Band(s) structure.
Skatin is geographically an extension of both the
Pemberton and Harrison Valleys, but by legal fiction is officially part of the
Fraser Valley for Provincial and Federal administrative purposes.
Population
Skatin community includes about 30 houses, a church, band office, fire hall, a new school and gymnasium built in 2003. The population living at Skatin is 65 at the town site, which varies according to season; 74 on other Reserves; and 275 off Reserves; the majority living in the Fraser Valley and lower mainland, including Vancouver.
Language
The Skatin First Nations speak Ucwalmícwts/Lower St̓át̓imc: fluent speakers: 7, understand or speak somewhat: 51, learning speakers: 51.
European Contact
The town church was built by members of the Douglas, Skatin and Samahquam Bands between 1895 and 1906. The
Oblate Fathers
In Christianity (especially in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person who is specifically dedicated to God or to God's service.
Oblates are individuals, either laypersons or clergy, normally livi ...
established a mission there and demanded the native people in the surrounding wilderness to settle there. The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate instructed the natives in Christianity, and to this day the
Church of the Holy Cross, Skatin
The Church of the Holy Cross is a National Historic Site of Canada, located on one of the Indian reserves of the Skatin First Nation, in southwestern British Columbia. It is located on the east side of the Lillooet River on BC's first inland Gol ...
, stands as a stunning example of the North American architectural style known as
Carpenter Gothic/Wood Gothic. In 1981, the church was designated as a
National Historic Site by Heritage Canada. A community-based group, Ama Liisaos Heritage Trust Society, is working on conservation of the church. Prominent features are the simple but elegant stained glass windows, consisting of a checkerboard pattern of bright red mercuric glass and alternating bright blue cobalt glass squares. The glass was imported from Europe and brought in by mule, by a gold prospector who had struck it rich in the Cariboo Gold Rush, on his return to the goldfields.
The Gold Rush Era
In 1858 the
Fraser Canyon Gold Rush
The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, (also Fraser Gold Rush and Fraser River Gold Rush) began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River a few miles upstream from the Thompson's c ...
began and some 30,000 miners began the trek through traditional
Lil'wat and upper
St'at'imc territory to the goldfields at
Lillooet, then known as Cayoosh Flat Trail.
Flood control
In 1947 the Pemberton Dyking District, for flood control in the adjacent
Pemberton Valley
The Pemberton Valley is a valley flanking the Lillooet River upstream from Lillooet Lake, including the communities of Mount Currie, Pemberton, British Columbia and the agricultural district surrounding them and flanking the river as far upstrea ...
, lowered
Lillooet Lake, permanently altering the character of the rapids and the water level in the Lillooet River. Conversely, Little Lillooet Lake earlier was raised by the Royal Engineers in their improvements to the route to the gold fields, turning it into a lower arm of Lillooet Lake proper, eliminating the portage and resulting in moving south the former Port Lillooet - down to what had been the south end of Little Lillooet Lake.
Telephone service
There are no landlines or cellular service in the area; radio telephones and satellite phones only. First Nations, loggers, roadbuilders and government officials all rely extensively on the use of VHF radios.
Electricity
Ironically, though adjacent to high tension power lines for more than half a decade, Skatin was not connected to the grid until January 2011, when BC Hydro crews disconnected the community diesel generating station.
Logging
Agriculture
There were several native and European homesteads with mixed farms with livestock, small orchards, groves of nut trees including
hazel
The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...
s (''
C. avellana'' and ''C. sieboldiana'') and filberts (''
C. maxima''),
walnuts and Northern
pecan
The pecan (''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed in the southern United States, primarily in Georgia, ...
s, and small vineyards ranging from three to 15 acres. These farms were very abundant because of rich alluvial soils in a sheltered valley system that runs in a general East-West direction, so the north shore of the river and lake have full sun year round and minimal shading. The waters also moderate the climate toward more temperate conditions with warm summer nights: i.e. able to grow tree fruits:
peach
The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...
es and
apricot
An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''.
Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...
s as the
Okanagan Valley and
Niagara Peninsula
The Niagara Peninsula is an area of land lying between the southwestern shore of Lake Ontario and the northeastern shore of Lake Erie, in Ontario, Canada. Technically an isthmus rather than a peninsula, it stretches from the Niagara River in the ...
, and traditionally
almond
The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...
s such as fleshy almond/Northern almond/Hungarian almond var. Balaton/sweet kernel apricot (''Prunus armeniaca var. Balaton''). Oral tradition holds that
BC Hydro removed (or stole) the soil from all the farms along and south of
Lillooet Lake, for building the service road used to install the high tension power lines to feed California.
Several raised vegetable beds have been successfully started at the nearby hot springs. Discussions have been begun about using the geothermal source for district heating and greenhouses. The area has the potential to supply all temperate fruit and hothouse needs extending to Whistler.
Transportation
There are no rail or public transit buses, though there is a daily school bus for children. The Band maintains mini-buses for transport of seniors and others needing medical and other services in and beyond Pemberton.
Roads
Work is slowly proceeding on the 7 Nations Highway re-connecting
Harrison Hot Springs
The Village of Harrison Hot Springs is a small community at the southern end of Harrison Lake in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. It is a member of the Fraser Valley Regional District; its immediate neighbour is the District of Kent and i ...
with
Pemberton. The last 20 miles at the head of
Harrison Lake
Harrison Lake is the largest lake in the southern Coast Mountains of Canada, being about 250 square kilometres (95 mi²) in area. It is about 60 km (37 mi) in length and at its widest almost 9 km (5.6 mi) across. Its so ...
leading to
Port Douglas are in very poor repair ever since the sawmill closed at Port Douglas, around 1995. Work on the Harrison Lake section was disrupted by the Wood Lake Wildfire in summer 2015. The westernmost section of road was improved in the spring of 2015; In-SHUCK-ch Forest Service Road/FSR was widened from 1 to 1½ lanes to 2 lanes and two ½-lane shoulders (3 lanes ''in toto'') for the length of
Lillooet Lake. Drivers are advised to take a basic back-roads tool kit including flares, flashlights, shovel, jacks, tire iron, at least 1 spare tire (2 is better), water for people and vehicle, refillable water cans, and several cans of ''run flat'' aerosols to re-inflate tires. In the winter, add an axe, shovel, studs and/or chains/other traction devices to the list. Check latest updates before heading out.
Air
There are charter helicopter flights, weather/visibility permitting. The closest airport is
Pemberton Regional Airport. Seaplanes can be chartered out of
Whistler/Green Lake Water Aerodrome
Whistler/Green Lake Water Aerodrome is located on Green Lake adjacent to Whistler, in British Columbia, Canada.
It offers glacier tours, twice daily scheduled service between Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre, Vancouver International Water Airp ...
and "land" nearby at the south end of
Lillooet Lake.
Education
The elementary and junior high school (grades K-9), formerly known as the Head of the Lake School, now called Skatin Community School, is for the children of In-SHUCK-ch members, the majority of which are from Skatin and Tipella. 44 students currently attend this school.
The Xit'olacw School in Xit'olacw Village (Mount Currie New Site) has 244 students, grades K-12.
School District 48 Sea to Sky
School District No. 48 (Sea to Sky) is a school district in British Columbia, Canada. The school district serves three major population centres along the Sea-to-Sky Corridor
The Sea-to-Sky Corridor, often referred to as the Corridor or the Sea t ...
operates public schools in Pemberton.
Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique operates one Francophone primary school in Pemberton: école de la Vallée-de-Pemberton.
[Carte des écoles]
" ''Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britanique
The ''Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique'' (also known as Francophone Education Authority or School District No 93) is the French-language school board for all French schools located in British Columbia. Its headquarters are ...
''. Retrieved on 22 January 2015.
References
Sources
*
Further reading
*''Beyond Garibaldi'', Irene Ronayne, self-published
*''People of the Harrison'', Daphne Sleigh, ASIN: B000K6MFLG
External links
*
Pemberton and District Chamber of CommerceTourism PembertonPemberton and District Museum and Archives SocietyPemberton Valley Dyking District
{{authority control
Lillooet Country
St'at'imc governments