Xatśūll First Nation

Xatśūll First Nation is an Indigenous community located on the edge of the Fraser River just north of Williams Lake, British Columbia. Xatśūll First Nation consists of over 400 members who are a part of a larger group of British Columbia’s Interior Salish people known as the Secwepemc. The Interior Salish occupy the south central region of the Province and are comprised of four separate nations known as the St’at’imc (Lillooet), Nlaka’pamux (Thompson), Siylx (Okanagan) and Secwepemc (Shuswap). The Secwepemc Nation is the largest and northernmost Interior Salish group. They have occupied the region for thousands of years prior to European settlement. The vast traditional territory of the Secwepemc people extended from the Rocky Mountains in the East through the Columbia River valley to the west of the Fraser River area and the Southern Arrow Lakes region to the Northern McBride area. The Secwepemc Nation was traditionally a self-governing people who were united by Secwepemctsin language, culture and belief system; however the bands were operated separate and independent from each other. Yet the nation worked together as a political alliance that regulated use of the land and resources, and protected their territories. The Xatśūll First Nation is the most northerly Secwepemc community in this vast region and has occupied this village site for at least 5,000 years. For thousands of years the Northern Secwepemc have occupied and utilized large areas of the northern territory extending East of Mt. Alex Graham going North East to Bowen Lake areas including areas around Quesnel Lake and Horsefly.