The Sts'ailes (also known as Chehalis) are an

indigenous people 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 ...

from the Lower Mainland region of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. Their band government is the Chehalis First Nation, formerly known as the Chehalis Indian Band. The band's name community is located on

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the ''Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." Indi ...

lands at Chehalis, which is on the lower

Harrison River The Harrison River is a short but large tributary of the Fraser River, entering it near the community of Chehalis, British Columbia, Canada. The Harrison drains Harrison Lake and is the ''de facto'' continuation of the Lillooet River, which feed ...

between the towns of Mission and

Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he rec ...

. Their band's mailing address is in nearby Agassiz.

Name

The name ''Sts'ailes'' means "beating heart", which became the name of their village, located on the west side of the

. Their usual English name, Chehalis, is identical to that of the much more numerous Chehalis people of southern

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected m ...

in Washington. By Sts'ailes tradition, the southern Chehalis were separated from their homeland as a consequence of the

Great Flood A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the primaeva ...

Heritage

In Sts'ailes tradition, Xals, the Transformer, defeated a powerful shaman known as "the Doctor". Xals turned the shaman to stone, and broke the stone to pieces, spreading the fragments to prevent his return. The heart of the shaman fell on the shores of the home lake (

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 sou ...

), and became the place where the Sts'ailes originated. There is evidence of this culture in the form of lithic (stone working) and mortuarial practices going back at least 1500 years. There is evidence that the Sts'ailes people relied primarily on the salmon from the

Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal ...

- Harrison watershed as their most important food source. Many of their religious ceremonies are derived from significant periods of the year important to the fishery. While there is no modern link between the people (often referred to as Chehalis) and the Chehalis tribe of Eastern Washington, Sts'ailes heritage does speak of a flood that separated a southern portion of its people many years before. The Sts'ailes have a rich and unique culture around visual arts and music.

Language

Sts'ailes people traditionally speak Halqemeylem, the Upriver dialect of

Halkomelem Halkomelem (; in the Upriver dialect, in the Island dialect, and in the Downriver dialect) is a language of various First Nations peoples of the British Columbia Coast. It is spoken in what is now British Columbia, ranging from southeastern ...

Negotiations with British Columbia

The Sts'ailes do not participate in the 1999 framework Treaty process with British Columbia, citing the need to establish cultural identity and to be stewards of their ancestral homeland. Because of this, there is no process to settle any aboriginal rights issues, which the nation regards as unnecessary. The governing tribal council also points to an increasingly self-reliant community with jobs and services. Salmon fishing rights have been a point of controversy, which reached a climax in 2012 when the provincial government sued the Sts'ailes council for operating an illegal fishery.Chilliwack court dismisses fisheries charge against former Sts'ailes chief, Paul J. Henderson, Chilliwack Times, August 29, 2016 Chilliwack court dismisses fisheries charge against former Sts'ailes chief In the suit, then-chief Willie Charlie and fisheries manager Kim Charlie allegedly conspired to illegally fish for salmon in the Harrison River and Harrison Lake. Chief Harvey Paul argued that the salmon stock had been faithfully managed by the Sts'ailes for millennia, and that the illegal fishery was both hearsay, and the result of provincial mismanagement. The case was dropped in 2016, although a counter-suit by the nation is still pending.

References

External links