The Sumas First Nation (

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 ...

: ''Sema:th'') ''Sumalh'' or Sumas Indian Band is 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 Sto:lo people located in the

Upper Fraser Valley The Fraser Valley is a geographical region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington State. It starts just west of Hope in a narrow valley encompassing the Fraser River and ends at the Pacific Ocean stretching from the ...

region, at the community of Kilgard a.k.a. Upper Sumas, part of Abbotsford,

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 ...

. They are a member government of the Sto:lo Nation tribal council. Its governance structure is a custom

electoral system An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections m ...

. The current chief is Dalton Silver. The official language is Halq'eméylem. The group occupies the region near the

Sumas Prairie Sumas Prairie is a landform in British Columbia, Canada and the State of Washington, United States. Part of the Fraser Lowland, it was created by the draining of Sumas Lake early in the 20th Century, and extends from the Vedder Canal southwestwar ...

, and historically used

Sumas Lake Sumas () is a city in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 1,307 as of the 2010 census. Sumas is located adjacent to the Canada–U.S. border and borders the city of Abbotsford, British Columbia. The Sumas-Huntingd ...

as "our supermarket, our shopping center," before it was drained by colonial authorities who wanted to farm the land underneath. When the lake was drained, the First Nation was pushed onto a nearby reserve so that settlers could use the fertile soil underneath the lake. The First Nation occupies higher ground near the Prairie, not the prairie on the lakebed itself, so they did not have to evacuate when the former lake flooded during the

November 2021 Pacific Northwest floods The 2021 Pacific Northwest floods comprise a series of floods that affected British Columbia, Canada, and parts of neighboring Washington state in the United States. The flooding and numerous mass wasting events were caused by a Pineapple Expre ...

. Before 1962 the people were known as Sumas (Kilgard) and are distinct from the Leqʼ a꞉ mel who were also known as the Sumas before 1962. Other previous names include: Nicomen Slough, Somass River and Sumas Tribe. The name "Sumas" means "big flat opening" or "land without trees" and is derived from a Cowichan tribe. Their reserve land area covers 245.3 hectares and has a population of 332. In 2021, 60 hectares of government land adjacent to Fraser River Heritage Park and the Pekw’xe:yles Indian Reserve, the former site of

St. Mary's Indian Residential School St. Mary's Indian Residential School was the name of two Indian residential schools in Mission, British Columbia. The first was operated by the Roman Catholic Church of Canada, and the second was operated by the Canadian federal government. Approxi ...

, was transferred to the Leq’á:mel, Matsqui (Mathexwi) and Sumas (Semá:th) First Nations Society. Not being reserve land, the property remains under provincial and local government laws. Most of it was leased back to the government for use as a park and recreational area. The property also contains pre-contact archaeological sites. The First Nation band council runs a number of businesses including

Semath Industries Se:math Industries was an artisanal brick foundry that took over the operations of the historic Clayburn Brick Foundry that first opened in 1905 History Charles Maclure opened the first brick foundry in 1905, the first in British Columbia. The cl ...

References

External links

Sumas First Nation
Sto:lo governments First Nations governments in the Lower Mainland Politics of Abbotsford, British Columbia {{Canada-gov-stub

See also

References

External links