Spuzzum First Nation ( thp, Spô’zêm) is a Nlaka'pamux First Nations 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 Nlaka'pamux 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). The Spuzzum First Nation reserve community and offices are located at Spuzzum in the lower Fraser Canyon, near the Alexandra Bridge and about 10 miles north of Yale. Other Nlaka'pamux governments belong either to the Nicola Tribal Association or the Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council.

History

The chief of the Spuzzum in 1858, Kowpelst ("White Hat") was one of the first to work

Hill's Bar Hill's Bar is a long-abandoned ghost town located in the Fraser Canyon region of British Columbia, Canada. The site of the former boomtown is situated near the right bank of the Fraser River, between Yale and the mouth of Emory Creek. The eponymo ...

at the onset of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush and was considered a "friendly Indian" during the Fraser Canyon War 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. He was appointed as a magistrate by Sir James Douglas During the Fraser Canyon War, 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 The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...

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 Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

Brenda Crabtree Brenda is a feminine given name in the English language. Origin The overall accepted origin for the female name Brenda is the Old Nordic male name ''Brandr'' meaning both ''torch'' and ''sword'': evidently the male name Brandr took root in areas ...

, a Spuzzum weaver at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design,

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 The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

) 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