The Cheam Indian Band () is a

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

band government In Canada, an Indian band (), First Nation band () or simply band, is the basic unit of government for those peoples subject to the ''Indian Act'' (i.e. status Indians or First Nations). Bands are typically small groups of people: the largest in ...

of the Stó:lō people in the Upper Fraser Valley region of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada, located near the community of Rosedale. They traditionally speak the Upriver dialect of

Halkomelem Halkomelem (; in the Upriver dialect, in the Island dialect, and in the Downriver dialect) is a language of various First Nations peoples of the British Columbia Coast. It is spoken in what is now British Columbia, ranging from southeastern ...

, one of the

Salishan The Salishan languages ( ), also known as the Salish languages ( ), are a family of languages found in the Pacific Northwest in North America, namely the Canadian province of British Columbia and the American states of Washington, Oregon, Ida ...

family of languages. The name ''Cheam'' means "wild strawberry place" and is the namesake of

Mount Cheam Cheam Peak or Mount Cheam ( and ; , the local indigenous language, referring to the lowland below. The Halqemeylem name for the mountain is Lhílheqey – ''Theeth-uhl-kay'' – from the word ''Lhelqey'' – "glacier" or "rehydrate", referring t ...

, which overlooks the community and most of the Upper Fraser Valley. They are a member government of the Sto:lo Tribal Council, one of two Sto:lo tribal councils. The band services two reserves on the north shore of Cheam Lake, home to 354 people with another 200 living off the reserve.

Treaty Process

Like other members of the Sto:lo Tribal Council, the Cheam are not participating in the

British Columbia Treaty Process The British Columbia Treaty Process (BCTP) is a land claims negotiation process started in 1993 to resolve outstanding issues, including claims to un-extinguished indigenous rights, with British Columbia's First Nations. Three treaties have ...

.BC Government Aboriginal Reconciliation and Renewal website
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References

External links

Cheams First Nation
Sto:lo governments First Nations governments in the Lower Mainland {{FirstNations-stub