Shuswap (Shus wap): "to know, or recognize" or "to unfold, or spread." The word may also refer to relationships between people. They may once have called themselves Xatsu’ll, "on the cliff where the bubbling water comes out." The people currrently refer to themselves as the Great Secwepemc Nation.
Location Shuswaps continue to live in and near their aboriginal territory in the Fraser and North and South Thompson River valleys, British Columbia.
Population The early-nineteenth-century Shuswap population was about 7,000. In 1991 it stood at almost 5,000.
Language Shuswap is a dialect of the Interior division of the Salishan language family.
Historical Information
History Interior Salishan people settled in their historic areas roughly 9,000 years ago. Hudson’s Bay Company posts were established in the early nineteenth century. The people soon became active in the fur trade. Intertribal warfare ended in the early 1860s. About that time, the Shuswap were decimated by epidemics, in part brought by gold miners flooding the region. Non-natives squatted on and then claimed the land of the ailing Shuswap. A Shuswap reserve of 176 square miles was created in 1865; it was soon reduced to 1 square mile. A second reserve was created in 1895. In 1945, with the Chilcotin and other groups, the Shuswap founded the British Columbia Interior Confederation to try to persuade provincial and federal officials to be more responsive to their needs.
Religion Adolescent boys sought guardian spirits for luck and skills through fasting, praying, and visiting remote places. Shamans’ powerful guardians allowed them to cure illness and restore lost souls. Their methods included massage, blowing, sprinkling water, and prescribing taboos. Feasting, dancing, singing, drumming, and tobacco smoking were included in most religious ceremonies. Masked dances reenacted a person’s vision quest.
Government The Shuswap were divided into about seven autonomous bands. All had hereditary chiefs who advised, lectured on correct behavior, and coordinated subsistence activities. There were also specialized chiefs for war, hunt, dance, and other activities.
Customs Bands were more or less nomadic, according to their food sources. By the nineteenth century, northern and western bands had adopted the Northwest Coast pattern of social stratification. The nobility belonged to hereditary crest groups, and commoners belonged to nonhereditary associations. Slaves were generally acquired in battle or trade. At puberty, boys undertook guardian spirit quests, whereas girls were secluded and practiced basket making and other skills. They also fasted and prayed, and they went out at night to run, exercise, and bathe. Corpses were buried in sand banks or rock slides with their possessions; small mourning houses were sometimes built by the grave.
Dwellings Men built circular winter lodges of cedar bark and earth on a wood frame. Lodges were excavated to a depth of around 6 feet and ranged between about 20 and 35 feet in diameter. The floor was covered with spruce boughs. The clan totem was carved on the center pole or on an outside pole (lower division). Larger log and plank dwellings had several rooms and housed between four and eight families. Oblong or conical mat-covered houses served as shelter in summer.
Diet Fish, especially salmon, was the staple in some areas. People away from rivers depended on large and small game and fowl. All groups ate roots and berries.
Key Technology Men caught fish with nets, basket traps, spears, weirs, and hooks. Hunting equipment included bow and arrow, traps, and spears. Utensils and some baskets were made of birch bark, coiled baskets were fashioned from cedar or spruce roots, and many tools were made of stone. People also made skin or woven grass bags. Digging sticks had wood or antler cross-handles.
Trade All bands traded for slaves. Other major trade items included dentalium shells, hemp, cedar bark, moose and deer skins, roots, and salmon products.
Notable Arts Women wove geometric designs into their well-crafted baskets. They also decorated clothing with porcupine quillwork.
Transportation People plied the rivers and lakes in bark and dugout canoes. They used snowshoes in winter. Horses arrived in the late eighteenth century.
Dress Most clothing was made from cedar bark or skins. Men wore deerskin breechclouts in summer and added skin leggings and short shirts in winter. Women probably wore wraparound skirts, with leggings in winter. Moccasins were generally plain. Some people used thongs to tie pieces of fur or hide to their feet. Women wove robes of rabbit skin or goat wool. Fringe, bone, teeth, and shell decoration was used on some items. Personal decorations included dentalium shell ornaments and face paint. Men wore long looped necklaces, often decorated with abalone shell. Women tended to wear abalone in their braids and tattoo their wrists and arms. In the nineteenth century, many people switched to Plains-style skin clothing.
War and Weapons All bands acquired slaves by raiding and in war. At least by the eighteenth century, warfare had become a regular band activity. The Shuswap fought at one time with most of their neighbors, including bands of Okanagon, Thompson, Cree, Chilcotin, and Carrier. Defensive equipment included rod armor, elk-skin vests, and shields. Weapons included the bow and arrow; short spears; wood, bone, and stone clubs; and bone knives.
Contemporary Information
Government/Reservations Some eighteen Secwepemc bands live in British Columbia. Total reserve land equals roughly 59,000 hectares. See selected profiles under "Daily Life." (All statistics are as of 1995 unless otherwise noted.)
Economy Hunting, trapping, and fishing remain important. See profiles under "Daily Life" for additional activities.
Legal Status The bands profiled under "Daily Life" are federally and provincially recognized.
Daily Life The Adams Lake Band controls seven reserves on almost 3,000 hectares of land. The reserve, then called the Sahkaltkum Band Reserve, was allotted in 1877. The population is 570, of whom 363 live on the reserves. The band is affiliated with the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council. Children attend band and provincial schools. Important economic activities and resources include forestry, land leases, and a laundromat. Facilities include offices, a community hall, a fitness and cultural center, a clubhouse, and a church.
The Bonaparte Band controls six reserves on 1,332 hectares of land. The reserve was allotted in 1878. The population is 631, of whom 204 live on the reserves. Elections are held under the provisions of the Indian Act, and the band is affiliated with the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council.
The Canim Lake Band (Tsqescen) controls six reserves totaling 2,029.6 hectares of land. They are part of the Lake Division of the Shuswap Tribe. Band population in 1996 was 517 members, nearly three-quarters of whom lived on tribal land. The band is affiliated with the Cariboo Tribal Council. Facilities include a K-12 school. The band itself employs between 50 and 150 people, depending on the season. In addition to educating its members, the band operates many social programs, several businesses, and health services. Shuswap is taught in the school.
The Canoe Creek Band includes the communities of Dog Creek and Canoe Creek. The band controls 5,880.4 hectares of relatively poor land; the best local land is owned by non-native ranchers. The band is affiliated with the Cariboo Tribal Council. Fewer than half of the band’s 650 members live on the reserve. Housing and jobs are in short supply. Dog Creek children attend public school; Canoe Creek operates a K-3 school. Facilities in Dog Creek include administrative offices, a store/gas station/post office, a gymnasium/ community center, and a skating rink. Canoe Creek has the school, a community center, and a church. Band members operate their own small businesses. Sports are popular, as are hunting, gathering, and fishing.
The High Bar Band controls three reserves on 1,506 hectares of land on the Fraser River. The reserve was allotted in 1871. The population is 49, of whom two live in one house on the reserves. Elections are held according to custom, and the band is currently unaffiliated. There is a cattle ranch on the reserve.
The Kamloops Band controls five reserves on 13,249 hectares of land near the city of Kamloops. The reserve was allotted in 1877. The population is 832, of whom 491 live in 138 houses on the reserves. Elections are held according to custom, and the band is affiliated with the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council. Children attend provincial schools. Important economic activities and resources include forestry, mining, ranching, a development corporation, an industrial park, land leases, a museum, and cattle and hay ranching. Facilities include offices and a garage.
The Little Shuswap Band controls five reserves on 3,135 hectares of land. The population is 258, of whom 157 live in 53 houses on the reserves. Elections are held according to custom, and the band is unaffiliated. Children attend band and provincial schools. Important economic activities and resources include forestry, land leases, a resort, and logging. Facilities include offices, a community hall, a boat house, and a machine shop.
The Neskonlith Indian Band controls three reserves. They are currently in the process of forging a ten-year plan for community building and economic development. Along with the Adams Lake and Little Shuswap Bands, they are working on land claims arising from their original 1862 reservation.
The Shuswap Band controls one reserve on 1,106 hectares of land. The reserve was allotted in 1884. The population is 205, of whom 113 live in 49 houses on the reserves. Elections are held according to the provisions of the Indian Act, and the band is affiliated with the Ktunaxa/Kinbasket Tribal Council. Children attend band and provincial schools. Important economic activities and resources include a sand and gravel company, a hay ranch, a recreational vehicle park, and small businesses. Facilities include offices and a community center.
The Skeetchestn Band, formerly Dead Man’s Creek Band, controls one reserve consisting of 7,908 hectares of land. The population is 383, of whom 135 live in 45 houses on the reserve. Elections are held according to custom, and the band is affiliated with the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council. Children attend band and provincial schools. Important economic activities and resources include a campsite, a store, tourism, and individual ranches. Facilities include offices, a recreation center, a church, and a community center.
The Soda Creek Band (Xatsu’ll First Nation) occupies two reserves totaling about 2,048 hectares. The present population is between 250 and 300 people, almost all of whom are Secwepemc. The band is affiliated with the Cariboo Tribal Council. Economic activities include logging and tourism. The people have received little or no compensation for non-native utility and natural resource extraction on tribal lands.
The Spallumcheen Band controls three reserves on 3,095 hectares of land at Enderby. The reserves were allotted in 1877. The population is 574, of whom 309 live in 84 houses on the reserves. Elections are held according the provisions of the Indian Act, and the band is affiliated with the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council. Children attend band and provincial schools. Important economic activities and resources include logging, a gas station, a grocery store, and arts and crafts.
The Whispering Pines/Clinton Band controls three reserves on 565 hectares of land 18 kilometers north of Kamloops. The population is 97, of whom 60 live in 11 houses on the reserves. Elections are held according the provisions of the Indian Act, and the band is affiliated with the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council. Children attend provincial schools. Important economic activities and resources include cattle and hay ranching and a rodeo grounds.
The Williams Lake Band has roughly 1,927 hectares of land. Over 60 percent of the approximately 350 band members live on-reserve. The band is affiliated with the Cariboo Tribal Council. Economic activities include agriculture and timber as well as small businesses. Children attend public schools. Members enjoy indoor and outdoor recreational facilities.
