Spuzzum First Nation ( thp, Spô’zêm) is a

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 ...

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 government located near

Spuzzum, British Columbia Spuzzum is an unincorporated settlement in British Columbia, Canada. Because it is on the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately north of the community of Hope, it is often referred to as being "beyond Hope". Environment Spuzzum lies in a constric ...

. It is a member of the

Fraser Canyon Indian Administration The Fraser Canyon Indian Administration is a First Nations tribal council government composed of five bands in the Fraser Canyon and Thompson Canyon areas of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Other Nlaka'pamux governments belong to eit ...

, one of three tribal councils of the

people. Other members of the Fraser Canyon Indian Administration are the

Kanaka Bar Kanaka Bar is an unincorporated community and locality in the Fraser Canyon region of British Columbia, Canada, located near the town of Lytton. Named for a gold-bearing bar on the Fraser River below, which was mined by Hawaiians (called "Kana ...

, Skuppah and

Nicomen First Nation Nicomen First Nation ( thp, Nq’áwmn) is a Nlaka'pamux First Nations government located near Lytton, British Columbia. It is a member of the Fraser Canyon Indian Administration as well as of the Scw’exmx Tribal Council, which are two of three ...

s (the Nicomen First Nation is also a member of 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 ...

). The Spuzzum First Nation reserve community and offices are located at

Spuzzum Spuzzum is an unincorporated settlement in British Columbia, Canada. Because it is on the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately north of the community of Hope, it is often referred to as being "beyond Hope". Environment Spuzzum lies in a constrict ...

in the lower

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 ...

, near the

Alexandra Bridge The Royal Alexandra Interprovincial Bridge, also known as the Alexandra Bridge or Interprovincial Bridge, is a steel truss cantilever bridge spanning the Ottawa River between Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec. In addition to carrying vehicl ...

and about 10 miles north of

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

. Other

governments belong either to the

or the

Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council 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 ...

History

The chief of the Spuzzum in 1858, Kowpelst ("White Hat") was one of the first to work Hill's Bar at the onset of 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 ...

and was considered a "friendly Indian" during the

Fraser Canyon War The Fraser Canyon War, also known as the Canyon War or the Fraser River War, was an incident between the Nlaka'pamux people and white miners in the newly declared Colony of British Columbia, which later became part of Canada, in 1858. It occurr ...

of that fall between the

American miners 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 ...

and the upstream Nlaka'pamux of

Camchin Camchin, also spelled Kumsheen, is an anglicization of the ancient name for the locality and aboriginal village once located on the site of today's village of Lytton, British Columbia, Canada, whose name in Nlaka'pamuctsin is ''ƛ'q'əmcín''. It a ...

. He was appointed as a magistrate by Sir James Douglas During the

, a few thousand miners from bars farther up the canyon thronged at Spuzzum in terror of the upstream Nlaka'pamux, and some villages and food caches of the Spuzzum people were destroyed by armed parties of miners coming up from Yale, even though relations with the Spuzzum were considered friendlier than with their Nlaka'pamux kin farther upriver.

Reserve lands

Spuzzum First Nation has sixteen different reserves ranging greatly in size, and totaling . The largest two (Spuzzum 1 and 1a) stand on the West Bank of the Fraser River near the mouth of Spuzzum Creek.

Spuzzum people

Annie York Annie Zixtkwu York (September 21, 1904 - August 19, 1991) was a distinguished elder of the Nlaka'pamux people (also known as Thompson) of the Spuzzum First Nation of Spuzzum, in Fraser Canyon located in the lower region of British Columbia, Canad ...

* Carl Stromquist * Brenda Crabtree, a Spuzzum weaver at the

Emily Carr University of Art and Design Emily Carr University of Art + Design (abbreviated as ECU) is a public art university located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The university's campus is located within the Great Northern Way Campus in Strathcona. The university is a co ...

Chief and Councillors

Chief James Hobart, Councillor Diana Stromquist and Councillor Angie Mitchell were elected on June 13, 2020.

Treaty Process

Demographics

The 1878 Reserve Commission census found 237 people living in Spuzzum and neighbouring villages. The 1881 census listed only 146 people, but the number is dubious since that era (during construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway) would likely have been the community's peak population. Other estimates places the Indigenous population at the time around 400. As of September 2015, the community had a registered population of 274, though only 46 lived on reserve.Registered Population
Spuzzum Profile, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada

Economic Development

Social, Educational and Cultural Programs and Facilities

References

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - First Nation Detail
{{Nlaka'pamux First Nations Nlaka'pamux governments First Nations governments in the Fraser Canyon