First Nation people of the Kamloops district belong to the Shuswap tribe of the great Salish nation. This tribe covered a very large area extending over most of the Thompson and upper Columbia drainage basins. To the south were the Lillooets, Thompsons, and Okanagans, all Salish tribes, and in the extreme southeast the quite distinct Kootenais nation. The Shuswap tribe was divided into over twenty bands of varying sizes, with that at Kamloops being generally regarded as the most war-like and powerful. This superiority probably increased after the coming of the white men, since ready access to the trading post gave them a material advantage over more distant bands.
Their way of life was closely related to their environment. The mountains, with a fairly high rainfall, supported an abundance of game, berries, and roots during the summer; the rivers and lakes were well supplied with fish, and the drier valleys provided good homes for the cold winters. They were consequently basically a nomadic people, with a more or less permanent winter home and a number of camping grounds for the rest of the year. The summer lodges, used for hunting and fishing expeditions and for gatherings with other tribes, were teepees of varying sizes. Four long forked poles formed the solid pyramidal framework, with light poles and brushwood between, and a smoke hole at the top. They covered the poles with bark in the damper areas for warmth and water-proofing, but near Kamloops they more often used mats, woven from the plentiful reeds and tall grasses.
In winter more indoor space and more warmth were needed. The keekwillie consisted of a circular pit about five feet deep and between six and forty feet in diameter, and over this a sturdy teepee framework was then erected. The whole was covered with horizontal logs and sods for protection and insulation, with access by a notched pole through the smoke hole. The smaller keekwillies, used solely as storehouses, were unheated, and therefore covered completely. The larger were subdivided for various members of the family, or for adult groups in the band. These keekwillies were always built near water that does not readily freeze - a river or a deep warm lake. The residual hollows may still be found, usually as a small group in a favoured locality. The remains of an almost continuous long narrow winter village extend on the north shore of the South Thompson River between Monte and Campbell Creeks. Sweat houses, or kreliatn, were essentially small keekwillies, with a fire to heat rocks. Water was then poured slowly over the rocks to produce steam - and this very popular Turkish bath treatment was completed by a cold plunge in the river.
The most important item in the Shuswap diet was salmon. There were large annual camp sites for the whole band at suitable places; a variety of traps, weirs, lines, and nets were used, and the fish finally gaffed with bone spears. They were then cleaned, and dried for winter use by sun or wind; sometimes they were smoked on wooden racks, like those still used by the bridge at Lillooet. Other fish were caught by line or net during the summer, and ice-fishing was common on some of the lakes. Deer were plentiful, and many ingenious snares and corrals were used; the meat was cut in strips and dried, as for fish. Bear could sometimes be caught in deadfalls baited with salmon, while geese and ducks fell victim to bow and arrow, as another valuable source of food. Indeed all kinds of birds and mammals were used as opportunity presented.
The First Nations perople did not practice any form of cultivation, but relied on wild plants. Women and children usually gathered berries while their men were hunting, and the importance of this activity is still remembered in dances peculiar to the Kamloops Indians. The Berry-Picking dance reproduces the actions of the women, while Chickadee shows a child who gets lost on such an expedition. The most important berries in this area were Saskatoon, Chokecherry and Hawthorn, but many others were used when they could be found. They were dried in the sun, or preserved in small birch bark baskets heated in a larger basket containing water and hot stones, and then sealed with bark — an effective early version of modern sterilization. Various roots, bulbs, and mushrooms were preserved by drying, but were not a major source of food in this area. In times of need they used lichens, moss, and the cambium layer, between bark and wood, of pines. A wide variety of herbs were collected for medicinal use; Mount Peter was at one time called Roche des Femmes because the women used it regularly for gathering herbs.
Clothing was simple and practical, with buckskin as the basic fabric. Elk and moose hide were also important, particularly for heavier winter wear; indeed all kinds of fur were used, both for decoration and, fur inside, for extra warmth in moccasins, leggings,.and capes. Fur mittens and caps or headbands were also worn in winter. The bark of the sagebrush was very useful in summer when it was woven into light dresses and capes. Both sexes normally wore buckskin shirts. Women added a dress just below the knee; and men, trousers tied round the waist. Often fringing of the buckskin was the only ornamentation, but on ceremonial occasions the wealthier families added a wide variety of decorations — dyed feathers, porcupine quills, dentalium shells, elk teeth, bear claws, and many others. The scalps of red-headed woodpeckers were particularly valuable, as were the tail feathers of eagles in the warriors' dress. This clothing was modified quickly after the establishment of trading posts; brightly coloured cloth became immediately popular, and a measure of wealth in the family. Beads were highly prized for ornamentation, although they were never used in the massive designs of Prairie Indians.
The hair was usually oiled and the parting painted red when braided. Men's plaits usually hung free at each side, while the women looped theirs together at the back. Paint was used freely on the face; in this district red ochre is very common, and was mixed with grease to form a suitable cosmetic. Women sometimes also used yellow dye from lichens, and men brown earth. Black paint was used only by warriors and the shaman, or medicine man.
The Chief was elected by the band and, in early days, kept his position until death. He was responsible for directing policy and for maintaining the laws of the band. Indeed even at the beginning of this century, long after the Provincial Police were well-established, effective power on the Kamloops Reserve was still in the hands of Chief Louis. The shaman was also very powerful, not only in his role as healer, but also as advisor to the Chief, and because the people were fearful of the magic of his incantations. He painted his face black, and was the only person allowed to wear a wolfskin cape. In addition there were chiefs in charge of hunting expeditions and war parties; these men too were accorded great respect, and were chosen for their ability in these fields. Warriors wore black paint and coyote capes, and tied their hair in a knot on top of the head before battle. Solemn yet violent drumming and dances, which are still performed, always preceded the departure of a war party; their omission meant certain defeat.
Polygamy was permitted, but few men had more than two wives. However, John Tod described Nicola as "a very great chieftain, and a bold man, for he had seventeen wives." This was perhaps partly a status symbol, since Chief Nicola was very conscious of his own importance and power.
Transport in the early days was mainly by canoe, since the area was rich in good waterways. There were no large birch trees, so that the majority were made from the bark of big spruce or pine trees, strengthened with slats and cross bars, and sewn with split willows or roots. They were caulked with moss and pitch, and finally covered with gum. Much heavier dugouts were also used, particularly after the introduction of iron tools. On land, goods were packed by dogs or by men and women. Snowshoes were necessary in winter; these were of maple or fir, with birch cross-sticks, and strips of skin for netting. Horses were known from the early 1800s; by the middle of the century they were numerous enough to have superseded dogs altogether, and horse-breeding became a source of profit to several of the Indians.
Trade between different bands and tribes was very active, except in time of war. Many items from the white traders found their way to the Shuswaps from the coast, and even from the east, long before posts were established in the Interior. One important regular trading place, where the Shuswaps met the Okanagans, was near the present Penticton; another was the Fountain, then a spurting cascade, where they traded with the Lillooet, Thompson, and Fraser River tribes. Green Lake, in the Bonapartes' territory, was the scene of huge annual gatherings of all tribes from the Interior and North for trading, feasting and sports.
At such times the warlike and humourless reputation of the Kamloops band was forgotten. Running, leaping, shouting, and swimming contests were popular, as was horse racing later. There were games played with a hide stuffed ball, and crooked sticks, resembling grass hockey, while in winter a stick with netting presaged lacrosse. Gambling games were played in the evenings with dice or birch-bark cards, and the stick game, or lehalle, still survives. This sometimes lasted several days, with drumming an integral part of it. Indeed it seems that no First Nations event was complete without much drumming and singing and dancing. Most of the dances are in part religious, showing a reverence for the Great Chief and his many aspects in the world of nature. A favourite of the Kamloops band is a song in praise of the beauty and freedom of the rivers, lakes, and mountains; another depicts the grief and bewilderment of a swan injured and unable to follow his brothers when the spring comes.
With the coming of the fur traders, the Indians received many material advantages, and the revolution in their way of life slowly started. Among the obvious drawbacks to the change were the resultant over-trapping in some areas, so that meat became scarce. Also the demand of the Company for salmon persuaded the First Nations people to trade too many, leaving a severe shortage for themselves. The introduction of horses and of potato growing offered some compensation; none the less most bands lived on the verge of starvation.
A much worse evil, and a much bigger killer than even the fiercest of the tribal wars, was disease brought by the Europeans to a population which had no immunity. There are, of course, no early statistics, but small-pox certainly killed huge numbers; sometimes a whole band was wiped out by the infection. The H.B.C. vaccinated some of the First Nations people when an epidemic threatened, but was quite unable to prevent a drastic reduction in the population of the Interior during the dreadful outbreak of 1862. In later years tuberculosis was the main killer, but measles and influenza also took their toll. Up to at least 1900 most authorities believed the Indians would soon become extinct from such diseases, but gradually they built up an adequate immunity, finally allowing their population to increase rapidly.
The Fist Nations people had no written language, and few pictographs have been found in this district. Consequently only vague legends surround individual Indians before the coming of the traders - and even then the pronunciation and spelling of Indian names defeated most Europeans. However, there were interpreters of the local languages, and the Chinook jargon - an early type of international esperanto - helped in communication, while many of the Indians received anglicized names. Thus the Okanagan Chief Shiwelean or N-kwala, soon became Nicholas or Neckilus, and his powerful regime is perpetuated in the Nicola Valley. Similarly, Chief Sel-howt-kan of the Upper Lake is remembered as Adam of Adams Lake, while Tenemasket, a small-pox victim, was known as Chief Peter, and the mountain is perhaps named in his honour. Chief Tranquille, who died in 1841, leaves his name in river and lake, and Chief Neskainilth is similarly honoured.
The Quilchena and Douglas Lake band was meantime dominated by Chief Chilliheetza who was also respected by the H.B.C. On August 20, 1861, the clerk noted in his journal: "Sellah-kectsah's son arrived in the devil's own Hurray for a suit of white clothes for his father who said he was dying. God knows I am the least able to afford the present — however there was no refusing." It was a false alarm, however; the old Chief visited the Fort himself on October 15, full of promises to get his band to hunt and trade more vigorously. His son Johnny succeeded him later, and became a famous horse-breeder.
Another notable First Nations figure, still remembered with love and respect, was Hli-hleh-Kan, or Chief Louis, who died in 1915 after over 60 years as chief of the Kamloops band. He had successfully helped his people over the most difficult years of transition between their old and new ways of life, had maintained law and order, and, like Chilliheetzah, had many times been their representative in negotiations with all levels of government.