Lillooet
Lillooet is a community located in southwestern British Columbia, situated in the heart of the traditional territory of the St'át'imc Nation. This region is part of the Plateau cultural area, where the Salishan language group is predominant. Lillooet serves as both a historical and contemporary center for the local Indigenous peoples, who have deep cultural and spiritual connections to the land. The population of Lillooet, as recorded in the 2016 Census by Statistics Canada, is approximately 1,260 residents.
The town bears significant historical importance as a former hub for Gold Rush activities in the mid-19th century, which shaped its development and demographic changes. Today, Lillooet is recognized not only for its rich Indigenous heritage but also for its natural beauty and outdoor recreational opportunities. Visitors to the area can explore both the cultural significance of the St'át'imc people and the stunning landscapes that define the region. This blend of history and nature offers a unique perspective on the ongoing relationship between the local communities and their environment.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Lillooet
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Plateau
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Salishan
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Southwestern British Columbia
- POPULATION SIZE: 1,260 (Statistics Canada, 2016 Census of Population)
The Lillooet, an interior branch of the and an Indigenous people within the St'át'imc people and territory, dates back centuries and is centered in the vicinity of the Lillooet and Fraser rivers in southwestern British Columbia. They were divided into the Upper and Lower Lillooet, and each division was composed of several named bands. The name means “wild onion” and was at first applied only to the Lower Lillooet. The Upper Lillooet called themselves St'át'imc, the meaning of which is unknown.
The Lillooet lived in small villages, each representing one clan. Their primary source of food was fish, especially salmon, which they caught with spears, nets, and traps. They also hunted bear, beaver, rabbit, raccoon, squirrel, and mountain goat. Men were the primary hunters, while women worked to preserve the meat and to gather berries and food from the wild. They made good use of the animals they hunted, using the skins for clothing, quills for ornamentation, and wool and hair for weaving cloth. Their homes were often made of logs or wood planks and housed four to eight families. Other villages had circular with warming earth berms for winter and mat houses for summer. In the front of a house, there was likely to be a featuring the clan’s totem. Lillooets had sustained contact with White traders from the early 1800s, when explorer Simon Fraser and his party first traveled through their land. The Lillooet traded heavily with Whites as well as with their Indigenous neighbors.
After gold was discovered in the area in the mid-1800s, the Lillooet people encountered many White miners and maintained mostly friendly relations with them. They fought at times with their neighbors, especially the . In 1863, a great epidemic of smallpox hit the area and killed many people; the Lillooet lost many members to the disease. Shortly afterward, they were afflicted by a famine that further reduced their numbers.
On May 10, 1911, at Spence's Bridge, British Columbia, sixteen St'át'imc chiefs presented a signed Declaration of the Lillooet Tribe to colonial leaders and the Canadian government as a whole, claiming their rightful ownership of their traditional territory and all natural resources found within it. The document also stated their protests about the way the government had treated Indigenous peoples. The Declaration was a significant part of the rising discontent among First Nations people before World War I, culminating in a federal ban on potlatch gatherings in 1922, which prohibited the assembly of more than three First Nations males at political meetings.
Near the end of the twentieth century, many Lillooet, who were part of the St'át'imc nationhood, still lived on traditional territory, on several small reserves, and were making their living by wood cutting and other forms of wage labor. The St'át'imc nationhood upheld the 1911 Declaration well into the twenty-first century and advocated for and supported St'át'imc community rights within the St'át'imc jurisdiction. The Lillooet or Lil’wat First Nation remained one of eleven communities in the St'át'imc Nation in the mid-2020s, and they were working towards self-determination. They worked towards initiatives to preserve their cultural heritage, invest in economic development, improve infrastructure, and strengthen their government.
Bibliography
"History – Lil'wat." Lil'wat Nation, lilwat.ca/wearelilwat7yul/history. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Luebering, J. E. Native American History. Britannica Educational, 2011.
Prentiss, Anna Marie, et al. People of the Middle Fraser Canyon: An Archaeological History. UBC, 2012.
"St'át'imc Gathering." Indigenous Workforce. IWF, 24 May 2013.
Statistics Canada. "Lillooet Tribal Council [First Nation/Indian Band or Tribal Council Area], British Columbia." Aboriginal Population Profile, 2016 Census, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-510-X2016001, 18 July 2018, www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/abpopprof/index.cfm?Lang=E. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
"A Storied Land: The Flood and the Distribution of the Lillooet People." St'at'imc. statimc.ca/about/history/. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Tibballs, Scott. "Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre Celebrates National Indigenous Peoples Day." Pique Newsmagazine, 20 June 2024, www.piquenewsmagazine.com/local-news/squamish-lilwat-cultural-centre-celebrates-national-indigenous-peoples-day-9114592. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.
Wonders, Karen. "St'át'imc." First Nations, www.firstnations.eu/development/statimc.htm. Accessed 29 Oct. 2024.