Secwépemc
The Shuswap, or Secwépemc, are a prominent Indigenous group belonging to the Interior Salish peoples, primarily located in British Columbia, Canada. With a population of approximately 5,620 Salish speakers and 1,290 Secwepmc speakers as of 2021, they historically dominated the region along the Fraser, Thompson, and Columbia Rivers. The Secwépemc lived in autonomous bands, each led by a hereditary chief, and practiced a semi-nomadic lifestyle that involved seasonal migrations between winter earth lodges and summer mat-covered shelters. Their diet was heavily reliant on fish, particularly salmon, supplemented by the hunting of various animals for food, clothing, and tools.
Throughout history, the Secwépemc engaged in trade with groups such as the Hudson's Bay Company, exchanging furs and food for manufactured goods. However, the arrival of European diseases in the 19th century severely impacted their population and influence. In response to their declining numbers and the need for greater recognition, the Secwépemc formed alliances with other tribes, resulting in the establishment of the Confederacy of the Interior Tribes in 1945. They have successfully retained significant portions of their traditional lands and established the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council in 1980 to advocate for their rights. As of the mid-2020s, the Secwépemc Nation comprises seventeen bands and continues to strive for cultural preservation and autonomy, recently facing challenges such as rebuilding after the devastating Bush Creek East wildfire in 2023.
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Shuswap
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Plateau
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Salishan
- PRIMARY LOCATION: British Columbia
- POPULATION SIZE: 5,620 - Salish; 1,290 Secwepmc speakers (Statistique Canada, 2021)
The Secwpemc, also called the Shuswap, are one of the Interior Salish peoples, part of the Salishan linguistic grouping. They lived along the Fraser, Thompson, and Columbia Rivers in present-day British Columbia and were historically the dominant Salishan group in the region, holding more land and power than their neighbors—the St'át'imc (or Lillooet), Nlaka'pamux (or Thompson), and Okanagan peoples—with whom some, though not all, groups of Secwépemc often fought.
The Secwépemc lived in bands that were grouped into about seven autonomous divisions, each advised and coordinated by a hereditary chief. They owned enslaved people, whom they acquired in battle or trade. Their staple food was fish, especially salmon, which they caught with spears, nets, and traps. They also hunted bear, beaver, rabbit, raccoon, squirrel, and mountain goat. They made good use of the animals they hunted, using the skins for clothing, quills for ornamentation, and wool and hair for weaving cloth. They were semi-nomadic, living in permanent earth lodges dug into the ground in the winter and moving to temporary mat-covered shelters, similar to tepees, for the summer. For travel, they used bark canoes, snowshoes, and horses.
In the early nineteenth century, the Hudson’s Bay Company established trading posts nearby. The Secwépemc traded skins, furs, and food for woven goods, steel weapons and tools, and glass beads. By the middle of the century, warfare between Indigenous groups had faded, but epidemics of measles, smallpox, scarlet fever, and other diseases had wiped out large numbers of Secwépemc and other Interior Salish peoples. Weakened numbers led to weakened influence. In 1945, in an attempt to force the Canadian government to be more responsive to their needs, the Secwépemc joined with the Tsilhqot'in (or Chilcotin) and others to form the Confederacy of the Interior Tribes of British Columbia. In the end, the Secwépemc managed to hold on to their traditional lands and ways longer than most Indigenous groups. In the late 1970s, they were given about 146,000 acres of reserve land in British Columbia, where they continue to maintain some of the old ways. In 1980, the Secwépemc formed the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council. The organization continued to advocate for Indigenous rights and promote autonomy in the twenty-first century. In the mid-2020s, there were seventeen remaining bands that made up the Secwépemc Nation and three Secwépemc dialects. In 2023, the Secwépemc Nation was forced to rebuild hundreds of buildings after their lands were devastated by the Bush Creek East wildfire.
Bibliography
“About Us - Our Land.” Tk̓'emlúps te Secwépemc, tkemlups.ca/profile/history/our-land/. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
Ignace, Marianne Boelscher. "Shuswap." Handbook of North American Indians, edited by William C. Sturtevant, general editor, and Deward E. Walker Jr., volume editor, vol. 12, Smithsonian Institution, 1998, pp. 203–19.
“Indigenous Ancestry Responses by Single and Multiple Indigenous Ancestry Responses: Canada, Provinces and Territories.” Statistique Canada, 26 Oct. 2022, www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810028901. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
Kennedy, Dorothy, et al. "Plateau Indigenous Peoples in Canada." The Canadian Encyclopedia, 4 Mar. 2015, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/aboriginal-people-plateau. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
Kennedy, Dorothy, and Randy Bouchard. “Interior Salish.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 11 Jan. 2021, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/interior-salish-first-nations. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
Luciano, Abby. “Community's Resilience Celebrated 1 Year after B.C. Wildfire.” CBC, 18 Aug. 2024, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bush-creek-wildfire-1.7295000. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
Pritzker, Barry M. "Shuswap." A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford University Press, 2000.
Shuswap Nation Tribal Council (SNTC), shuswapnation.org. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
"Welcome to First Nation Profiles." First Nation Profiles, 3 May 2024, fnp-ppn.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/fnp/Main/Index.aspx?lang=eng. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.