Indigenous Traditional Territory

Lillooet is situated on Lil’wat Territory but the site of the town is actually a shared territory between the St’at’imc, Tsilquotin and Denendeh First Nations.  The St’at’imx speaking people are divided further into 3 dialects: the Upper and Lower and the Lake’s Lillooet dialects.  They refer to these dialects as Stʼatʼimcets Ucwalmícwts and Skimka'imx.  Lillooet is a unique place to visit in that it on the Fraser river which is a significant waterway for commercial reasons but also for traditional travel. The area is surrounded by mountains, and although very dry compared to the lower mainland, it is quite beautiful in terms of its scenery. Over 50 percent of the occupants identify as Indigenous, so it is also a great place to go and learn about First Nations culture, both traditional and modern.


View from the south of town:

Map of the townsite:

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Lillooet is interesting because the town is a main population centre for the St'at'imc people, with over 50 percent of the population of 2324 people being of this heritage.  The St’at’imc people attest to have lived in the area for over 1000 years so they have a particularly strong connection to the area and the surrounding regions. Lillooet or Lil’wat is a post-colonial name for all the St'at'imc people, which is a St'at'imcets word for a type of wild onion, an important food staple.  Before 1860 the town was actually called Cayoosh Flat, named after a dead cayuse horse, but the people of the town petitioned the Chiefs of the Upper St'at'imc and Lil’wat for the right to call the town by the new name.  So the name of the town itself is derived from a First Nations word.  Interestingly some ethnologists believe that the word St’at’imc was itself only used by outsiders, because before the arrival of colonialists, the people had no specific name for themsel...
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