The Xatsu'll First Nation is one of four northern autonomous Secwepemc Nation Bands making up the Cariboo Tribal Council. The Xatsu'll First Nation has a growing population of 250-300 and presently occupies two reserves, consisting of approximately 2,048 hectares: Deep Creek, 30 km and Soda Creek, 45 km north of Williams Lake on Highway 97.

Economic development ventures presently include Xatsu'll Logging, Soda Creek Log Homes & Truss, Whispering Willows Campsite & Store, and the Xatsu'll Heritage Village and Soda Creek Emporium Restaurant will be opening in the spring of 1996.

Although there are Ts'ilqotin, Carrier, Nuxalk, Lil'wat and Cree living among the people of Xatsu'll, 95% are still Secwepemc. Xatsu'll was originally a combination of two groups of Secwepemc peoples. Before smallpox wiped out most of the population, there was quite a large Secwepemc community west of the Fraser River, known now only as 'Buckskin'. The remaining few moved to Xatsu'll and the territory west of the Fraser was then considered 'taboo'.

The Cariboo, renamed by the European, was the centre of the Gold Rush. Ironically, unsuspecting Secwepemc and Carrier guides led a party of five Europeans to the gold. Thousands of miners came into Xatsu'll territory. Lower Soda Creek, just a couple miles from Xatsu'll, became a boom town. It was the final stop on the stagecoach route, that came through Deep Creek from Ashcroft, and the start of the steam boat journey which took people north on the Fraser.

Once the natives provided the Europeans with what they needed to survive, the European attitude of superiority dismissed any honour or justice from their relationships with the native people. What native people felt then and still feel today can be summed up by a quote from Sara Sam, a Xatsu'll Elder, who turned 99 on July 29, 1995. She said, 'The Indians saved lots of them white people. They didn't know how to get around and now they think the Indians are no good.'

The early years of European contact set the tone for aboriginal\white relations which, for the most part, continues today. In Williams Lake and the surrounding area native people are still treated as second or third class citizens. This of course began with the original settlers, continued with the churches, particularly in the residential schools (today's parents are the first generation in a 100 years legally able to keep their children at home with them) and was institutionalized in all aspects of aboriginal/white relationships. The findings of the Sarich Inquiry are further proof that racism is alive and well in the fabric of white society in Xatsu's traditional area.

The area around Soda Creek was squatted upon by many of the Europeans who came looking for gold. Land belonging to Xatsu'll was claimed by settlers with the approval of white governments and their various bureaucracies who pretended to be looking after the interests of Xatsu'll. Leaders of Xatsu'll tried in vain to get the government to settle land claims in an honorable way. The people of Xatsu'll, weakened by disease and other European vices, watched helplessly as the European society took control of their land, their resources and their lives.

In 1865, James Douglas established a reserve for the Xatsu'll people. The original reserve was 22 miles long and 8 miles wide. Settlers wanted the land and over a number of years the people of Xatsu'll ended up with one mile square on a rocky hillside, for all their needs. Deals made on behalf of the Xatsu'll usually ended up far more beneficial for those wanting what little Xatsu'll had left. These deals were usually made without the knowledge or understanding of the people of Xatsu'll. They protested but were not heard, until 1895 when the settlers and missionaries in the area protested as well. It was only then that a second reserve at Deep Creek was made available to the Xatsu'll, for planting wheat and barley. The British Columbia Preemption Act prevented Xatsu'll people (and all natives in B.C.) from acquiring and owning land.

The history of the intrusion of white authorities upon the lives of Xatsu'll is not one to be proud of, yet still continues today. This intrusion affected every area of the native people's lives from birth to death. Traditional native names were changed for the convenience of the non-natives. If a native person left a will the government can override it they did not agree with it. There isn't a single aspect of the lives of the Xatsu'll which remains untouched by governments who assume authority and all too often abuse it.

Prime examples of this abuse of authority are the trespasses on Xatsu'll by BC Rail, BC Hydro, BC Telephone, Westcoast Transmission (BC Gas), and the Ministry of Transportation and Highways among many others. Xatsu'll got very little, and in some cases no compensation, for the transportation and utility corridors negotiated on their behalf by the Federal government. For the still existing trespasses and the extraction of the many renewable and non-renewable resources, Xatsu'll has received nothing. This is the same for all other First Nation's communities.

This brings us to the present. We have to begin somewhere to right the wrongs that have been done to the people of Xatsu'll. A beginning that can set the tone for positive future aboriginal/non-aboriginal relations, is the honorable and fair Treaty negotiation process between Xatsu'll, as a member of the Cariboo Tribal Council, and the Provincial and Federal governments. We cannot change history, but we can learn from it. We can adopt the principles upon which all relationships should be based: Mutual Respect and Dignity.

We, the people of Xatsu'll, look forward to a future where distinct cultures live side by side, each respecting the other.

You are invited to visit the Xats'ull Heritage Village. First of its kind in North America, Xats'ull Heritage Village (pronounced hat-shul) is located in the heart of the historic Cariboo region of British Columbia, Canada. It is a place for all cultures to experience the traditional Shuswap lifestyle. Spend a day or two weeks learning the old ways, the crafts and skills of the native elders.

For more information about the Xats'ull people, visit their website.