The Nlakaʼpamux or Nlakapamuk ( ; ), also previously known as the ''Thompson'', ''

Thompson River The Thompson River is the largest tributary of the Fraser River, flowing through the south-central portion of British Columbia, Canada. The Thompson River has two main branches, the South Thompson River and the North Thompson River. The river ...

Salish'', ''Thompson Salish'', ''Thompson River Indians'' or ''Thompson River people'', and historically as the ''Klackarpun'', ''Haukamaugh'', ''Knife Indians'', and ''Couteau Indians'', are an Indigenous

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

people of the

Interior Salish The Interior Salish languages are one of the two main branches of the Salishan language family, the other being Coast Salish. It can be further divided into Northern and Southern subbranches. The first Interior Salish people encountered by Ameri ...

language group in southern

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. Their traditional territory includes parts of the

North Cascades The North Cascades are a section of the Cascade Range of western North America. They span the border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and ...

region of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Other names

Frontier-era histories and maps transliterate the name Nlakaʼpamux as ''Hakamaugh'' or ''Klackarpun''; they were also known as the ''Kootomin'', or ''Couteau'' (Knife). or ''Knife Indians''. In the dialect of the Thompson language used by the Ashcroft Indian Band, the variant ''Nlʼakapxm'' is used. The Nlakaʼpamux of the Nicola Valley, who are all in 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 peopl ...

reserves refer to themselves as

Scwʼexmx The Scwʼexmx ( Scw̓éxmx), meaning "people of the creek(s)", are a branch of the Nlaka'pamux (Thompson) people in the Nicola Country of the Canadian province of British Columbia (, meaning "creek", is the name of the Nicola River in the Thomp ...

and speak a different dialect of the Thompson language. Together with the Spaxomin people, a branch of the

Okanagan people The Syilx () people, also known as the Okanagan, Suknaqinx, or Okinagan people, are a First Nations and Native American people whose traditional territory spans the Canada–US boundary in Washington state and unceded British Columbia in the Ok ...

(Syilx) who live in the upper Nicola valley and also belong to the Nicola Tribal Association, they are collectively known as the Nicola people, or Nicolas.

Ethnobotany

Blueberries (''

Vaccinium myrtilloides ''Vaccinium myrtilloides'' is a North American species of blueberry with common names including common blueberry, velvetleaf huckleberry, velvetleaf blueberry, Canadian blueberry, and sourtop blueberry. Description ''Vaccinium myrtilloides'' is a ...

'') are traditionally used by them in pies. They have used the leaves of sedge (''

Carex ''Carex'' is a vast genus of over 2,000 species of grass-like plants in the family (biology), family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges (or seg, in older books). Other members of the family Cyperaceae are also called sedges, however those of ge ...

'') as brushes for cleaning and also as

forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...

for their livestock.

Religion

The Nlakaʼpamux were the object of both

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

and

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

missionary efforts in the nineteenth century, resulting in the vast majority belonging to one of the two denominations by the beginning of the twentieth century.

Governments

The

Nlakaʼpamux Nation Tribal Council The Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council, formerly the Fraser Thompson Indian Services Society, is a First Nations government Tribal Council comprising bands in the Fraser Canyon and Thompson Canyon areas of the Canadian province of British Columbi ...

despite its name does not include all Nlakaʼpamux people, but is one of two main tribal bodies within the region, the other being the

. The

Lytton First Nation The Lytton First Nation (), a First Nations in Canada, First Nations band government, has its headquarters at Lytton, British Columbia, Lytton in the Fraser Canyon region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the largest of all Nlaka ...

or Lytton Band, focussed on the town of the same name, which is named

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 ...

or Kumsheen in the Nlakaʼpamux language and is one of the largest Nlakaʼpamux communities, does not belong to any of the three tribal associations. While the Upper Nicola Band is affiliated with the Scwʼexmx Tribal Council it is a

Syilx The Syilx () people, also known as the Okanagan, Suknaqinx, or Okinagan people, are a First Nations in Canada, First Nations and Native Americans in the United States, Native American people whose traditional territory spans the Canada–United St ...

community and part of the Okanagan Nation Alliance it is not Nlakaʼpamux and has a different traditional territory than the other Nlakaʼpamux Bands. None of the Nlakaʼpamux governments are in the British Columbia Treaty Commission process at present.List of First Communities in BC, BC Treaty Commission
/ref>

Nlakaʼpamux Nation Tribal Council

* Boothroyd Indian Band * Boston Bar Indian Band * Oregon Jack Creek Indian Band * Spuzzum Indian Band * Lytton Indian Band * Skuppah Indian Band

Scwʼexmx Tribal Council
(Originally Nicola Tribal Association or NTA)

* Shackan Indian Band (Original NTA) * Nooaitch Indian Band (Original NTA) *

Upper Nicola Band The Upper Nicola Band (, also spelt as ''Spaxomin'') is a First Nations band government in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located near the town of Merritt in the Nicola Country at Douglas Lake. They are a member of both the Okanaga ...

(Original NTA)(A member of the Okanagan Nation Alliance) * Coldwater Indian Band (Original NTA)

Unaffiliated

* Ashcroft Indian Band * Kanaka Bar Indian Band * Lower Nicola Indian Band * Siska Indian Band * Cook's Ferry Indian Band * Nicomen Indian Band (Former member of the Fraser Canyon Indian Administration)

Language

The Nlakaʼpamux speak an

an language named ', usually transliterated as Nlakaʼpamuxtsn and known in English as the Thompson language. The

of the Nicola Valley speak a dialect also called ''Scwʼexmx''.

Notable people

* Tara Beagan, writer and actress * G. A. Grisenthwaite, writer * Kevin Loring, writer * Terese Marie Mailhot, writer * Sharon McIvor, activist * Ilona Verley, drag queen and make-up artist * Annie York, writer

Notes

Bibliography

* ''Thompson River Salish Dictionary'' Compiled by Laurence C. Thompson and M. Terry Thompson * ''They Write Their Dreams on the Rock Forever: Rock Writings in the Stein River Valley of British Columbia'' (with Chris Arnett and Richard Daly * ''Spuzzum: Fraser Canyon Histories,'' with Andrea LaForet * ''Historical Atlas of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest'', Derek Hayes, Cavendish Books, Vancouver (1999) ISBN * ''The Resettlement of British Columbia: Essays on Colonialism & Geographical Change'', University of British Columbia Press; New Ed edition (January 1997) ISBN * * ''NLakaʼpamux Language'' CD by Barbara Joe(2005) * ''Shackan Stories'' by Jim Toodlican(2006) {{Authority control Interior Salish Native American history of Washington (state)