We are the Northern Secwepemc te Qelmucw (NStQ), meaning the Shuswap people of the north. We are located in central British Columbia in the Cariboo Chilcotin Region. We are 4 of the 17 Shuswap bands that are known as the Secwepemc Nation. The Tsq'escen' (Canim Lake), Stswecem'c/Xgat'tem (Canoe & Dog Creek), Xat'sūll (Soda & Deep Creek), and T'exelc (Williams Lake a.k.a. Sugar Cane) communities hav
e built a political alliance to work together to address the needs and issues that are relevant to the NStQ communities. Northern Secwepemc te Qelmucw membership population is over 2000 people. We are known as the people from where the water flowed, where we held jurisdiction and managed large tracts of the Fraser River and the surrounding area and watersheds. Our ties to the land are an important element of our Secwepemc culture, traditional values and customs, and spiritual beliefs which we dictate to living in harmony with the land. Through the treaty process, we are striving for a very unique goal as compared to many other tables. We are not only seeking to govern ourselves, but we are seeking to maintain our integral relationship with our traditional territory as stewards of the land by proposing in our treaty a structure for something called "shared-decision making." Through shared-decision-making with Canada and BC, we are hoping to help guide the management of all the natural resources on our traditional territory.
