Chilcotin
The Chilcotin, also known as Tsilhqot'in, are an Indigenous tribe located in British Columbia, Canada, named after the river that flows through their traditional territory. Historically, they came from a region north of their current reservation and engaged in subsistence activities such as fishing for salmon, hunting caribou, elk, and deer, and gathering roots and berries. Their social structure was unique, characterized by small, familial camps without designated leaders, emphasizing communal living and cultural values, including the principle of sharing resources.
The Chilcotin held a spiritual belief system that did not center on a single supreme being, but rather involved the acquisition of a personal guardian spirit through ritualistic practices. Their artistic expressions included carving, basketry, and music. Contact with European settlers began in the late 1700s, leading to significant social upheaval, particularly during the Fraser River gold rush, which brought about a drastic decline in their population due to disease.
Throughout the 19th century, the Chilcotin faced challenges, including conflicts with settlers and the imposition of missionary schooling. By the late 20th century, they adapted to new economic realities, with ranching becoming a primary livelihood. In 2014, a landmark Supreme Court decision recognized their land rights, marking a significant moment in the ongoing struggle for Indigenous land claims in Canada. Today, the Chilcotin maintain an active community, working to serve the needs of their people while honoring their cultural heritage.
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Chilcotin
Category: Tribe
Culture area: Subarctic
Language group: Northern Athapaskan
Primary location: British Columbia, Canada
Population size: 2,595 (Statistique Canada, 2021)
The Chilcotin (or Tsilhqot'in), named for a river flowing through their homeland, originally came from an area north of their present reservation in British Columbia. This tribe from the Subarctic culture area fished for salmon, hunted caribou, elk, and deer, and gathered roots and berries. The Chilcotin had no group leaders. No one could force another tribal member to do anything. They lived in small, isolated camps made up of brothers and sisters and their husbands, wives, and children. These camps grew larger in the winter when a number of family groups lived together in a cluster, but when spring came, they moved to their separate hunting areas again. Parents usually arranged marriages. Sharing was a cultural ideal; if people had things to spare, they gave them away.
The Chilcotin believed that ghosts and monsters filled the universe but had no direct influence on human affairs. No single, all-powerful supreme being was thought to exist. Individuals could acquire a “guardian spirit” while teenagers—but only after fasting, meditating, and bathing during a vision quest lasting several weeks. This spirit protected an individual from harm and helped bring success in fishing, hunting, and gambling. Chilcotin art consisted of human heads carved in tree stumps, basketry, dancing, and drums for music.
White trappers first contacted Chilcotin along the Fraser River in the late 1700s. Until the 1850s, however, they had little contact with Europeans. Then, the Fraser River gold rush brought prospectors and railroad surveyors onto Chilcotin land. Within two years, a smallpox epidemic reduced the tribe’s numbers from 1,500 to 550. The Chilcotin fought a brief war against White settlers in 1864, but after five Indians were hanged, the war came to an end. In the 1870s, Roman Catholic missionaries established schools, and the Chilcotin moved onto a reservation in the 1880s. Ranching replaced hunting as the most important economic activity, and many of the natives became cowboys. In the 1960s, several resorts opened in the area, and many Chilcotin found jobs as maids, cooks, and fishing guides. In 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada granted possession of more than 650 square miles of land in British Columbia claimed and long occupied by the Chilcotin. The case set important precedents for tribal land claims of First Nations people in Canada. Well into the twenty-first century, the Chilcotin continued to thrive with an organized and active community serving the needs of its people.
Bibliography
“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 1 Apr. 2023.
Kunkel, Titilope I. Tsilhqot'in Culture: Sadanx, Yedanx, K'andzin—The Ancient, the Past, and the Present. Williams Lake: Tsilhqot'in National Govt., 2012. Print.
Lane, Robert B., and Zach Parrott. "Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin)." The Canadian Encyclopedia, 5 Nov. 2018, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/chilcotin-tsilhqotin. Accessed 1 April 2023.
Lutz, John S. Makúk: A New History of Aboriginal-White Relations. Vancouver: UBCP, 2008. Print.
"Tsilhqot'in First Nation Granted B.C. Title Claim in Supreme Court Ruling." CBC News, 26 June 2014, www.cbc.ca/news/politics/tsilhqot-in-first-nation-granted-b-c-title-claim-in-supreme-court-ruling-1.2688332. Accessed 1 Apr. 2023.
Tŝilhqot’in National Government, 2023, www.tsilhqotin.ca/. Accessed 1 Apr. 2023.