Skatin
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Skatin is a community of under 100 persons in Skatin First Nations, aka the Skatin Nations, a
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 larger Band of the
In-SHUCK-ch Nation The In-SHUCK-ch Nation, also known as Lower Lillooet people, are a small First Nations Tribal Council on the lower Lillooet River south of Pemberton- Mount Currie in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The communities of the In-SHUCK-ch are ...
, part of the St'at'imc people who are also referred to as Lower Stl'atl'imx. Skatin, the official new name, reverts to the traditional pre-colonial/pre-Columbian name. The alternate past name still commonly used by outsiders, ''Skookumchuck'', is the
St'at'imcets Lillooet (; Lillooet: / , ) is a Salishan language of the Interior Salish languages, Interior branch spoken by the Stʼatʼimc in southern British Columbia, Canada, around the middle Fraser River, Fraser and Lillooet River, Lillooet Rivers. Th ...
version of the Chinook Jargon ''Skookumchuck'', meaning ''Strong Waters'', i.e. rapids. The town site is 4 km south of T'sek Hot Spring (alt. spelling T'sik Hot Spring), formerly named both Saint Agnes Well and
Skookumchuck Hot Springs Skookumchuck Hot Springs is a hot spring in British Columbia, Canada. Its pre-colonial, Indigenous name is Tsek Hot Spring or T'sek Hot Spring. The former colonial name is Saint Agnes Well. The springs are located near the First Nation commun ...
. The community is 28 km south of the outlet of
Lillooet Lake Lillooet Lake is a lake in British Columbia, Canada about 25 km in length and about in area. It is about 95 km downstream from the source of the Lillooet River, which resumes its course after leaving Little Lillooet Lake, aka Tenas Lak ...
on the east side of the
Lillooet River The Lillooet River is a major river of the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia. It begins at Silt Lake, on the southern edge of the Lillooet Crown Icecap about 80 kilometres northwest of Pemberton and about 85 kilometres northwest of W ...
. It is approximately 75 km south of the town of Pemberton and the large reserve of the Lil'wat branch of the St'at'imc at Mount Currie,
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 ...
. See Skatin First Nations for details about the complicated Band(s) structure. Skatin is geographically an extension of both the Pemberton and Harrison Valleys, but by legal fiction is officially part of the
Fraser Valley The Fraser Valley is a geographical region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington State. It starts just west of Hope in a narrow valley encompassing the Fraser River and ends at the Pacific Ocean stretching from th ...
for Provincial and Federal administrative purposes.


Population

Skatin community includes about 30 houses, a church, band office, fire hall, a new school and gymnasium built in 2003. The population living at Skatin is 65 at the town site, which varies according to season; 74 on other Reserves; and 275 off Reserves; the majority living in the Fraser Valley and lower mainland, including Vancouver.


Language

The Skatin First Nations speak Ucwalmícwts/Lower St̓át̓imc: fluent speakers: 7, understand or speak somewhat: 51, learning speakers: 51.


European Contact

The town church was built by members of the Douglas, Skatin and Samahquam Bands between 1895 and 1906. The
Oblate Fathers In Christianity (specifically the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person associated with a Benedictine monastery or convent who is specifically dedicated to God and service. Oblates are in ...
established a mission there and demanded the native people in the surrounding wilderness to settle there. The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate instructed the natives in Christianity, and to this day the
Church of the Holy Cross, Skatin The Church of the Holy Cross is a National Historic Site of Canada, located on one of the Indian reserves of the Skatin First Nation, in southwestern British Columbia. It is located on the east side of the Lillooet River on BC's first inland G ...
, stands as a stunning example of the North American architectural style known as
Carpenter Gothic Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic or Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massin ...
/Wood Gothic. In 1981, the church was designated as a National Historic Site by Heritage Canada. A community-based group, Ama Liisaos Heritage Trust Society, is working on conservation of the church. Prominent features are the simple but elegant stained glass windows, consisting of a checkerboard pattern of bright red mercuric glass and alternating bright blue cobalt glass squares. The glass was imported from Europe and brought in by mule, by a gold prospector who had struck it rich in the Cariboo Gold Rush, on his return to the goldfields.


The Gold Rush Era

In 1858 the
Fraser Canyon Gold Rush The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, (also Fraser Gold Rush and Fraser River Gold Rush) began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River a few miles upstream from the Thompson's ...
began and some 30,000 miners began the trek through traditional Lil'wat and upper St'at'imc territory to the goldfields at
Lillooet Lillooet () is a district municipality in the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia. The town is on the west shore of the Fraser River immediately north of the Seton River mouth. On BC Highway 99, the locality is by road abo ...
, then known as Cayoosh Flat Trail.


Flood control

In 1947 the Pemberton Dyking District, for flood control in the adjacent
Pemberton Valley The Pemberton Valley is a valley flanking the Lillooet River upstream from Lillooet Lake, including the communities of Mount Currie, Pemberton, British Columbia and the agricultural district surrounding them and flanking the river as far upstre ...
, lowered
Lillooet Lake Lillooet Lake is a lake in British Columbia, Canada about 25 km in length and about in area. It is about 95 km downstream from the source of the Lillooet River, which resumes its course after leaving Little Lillooet Lake, aka Tenas Lak ...
, permanently altering the character of the rapids and the water level in the Lillooet River. Conversely, Little Lillooet Lake earlier was raised by the Royal Engineers in their improvements to the route to the gold fields, turning it into a lower arm of Lillooet Lake proper, eliminating the portage and resulting in moving south the former Port Lillooet - down to what had been the south end of Little Lillooet Lake.


Telephone service

There are no landlines or cellular service in the area; radio telephones and satellite phones only. First Nations, loggers, roadbuilders and government officials all rely extensively on the use of VHF radios.


Electricity

Ironically, though adjacent to high tension power lines for more than half a decade, Skatin was not connected to the grid until January 2011, when BC Hydro crews disconnected the community diesel generating station.


Logging


Agriculture

There were several native and European homesteads with mixed farms with livestock, small orchards, groves of nut trees including
hazel Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K ...
s ('' C. avellana'' and ''C. sieboldiana'') and filberts ('' C. maxima''),
walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...
s and Northern
pecan The pecan ( , , ; ''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the Southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed primarily in the U.S. states of Georgia ( ...
s, and small vineyards ranging from three to 15 acres. These farms were very abundant because of rich alluvial soils in a sheltered valley system that runs in a general East-West direction, so the north shore of the river and lake have full sun year round and minimal shading. The waters also moderate the climate toward more temperate conditions with warm summer nights: i.e. able to grow tree fruits:
peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...
es and
apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...
s as the
Okanagan Valley The Okanagan ( ), also called the Okanagan Valley and sometimes the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part of t ...
and
Niagara Peninsula The Niagara Peninsula is an area of land lying between the southwestern shore of Lake Ontario and the northeastern shore of Lake Erie, in Ontario, Canada. Technically an isthmus rather than a peninsula, it stretches from the Niagara River in the ...
, and traditionally
almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...
s such as fleshy almond/Northern almond/Hungarian almond var. Balaton/sweet kernel apricot (''Prunus armeniaca var. Balaton''). Oral tradition holds that
BC Hydro The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, trade name, operating as BC Hydro, is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia. It is the main electricity distributor, serving more than 4 million customers in most areas, wi ...
removed (or stole) the soil from all the farms along and south of
Lillooet Lake Lillooet Lake is a lake in British Columbia, Canada about 25 km in length and about in area. It is about 95 km downstream from the source of the Lillooet River, which resumes its course after leaving Little Lillooet Lake, aka Tenas Lak ...
, for building the service road used to install the high tension power lines to feed California. Several raised vegetable beds have been successfully started at the nearby hot springs. Discussions have been begun about using the geothermal source for district heating and greenhouses. The area has the potential to supply all temperate fruit and hothouse needs extending to Whistler.


Transportation

There are no rail or public transit buses, though there is a daily school bus for children. The Band maintains mini-buses for transport of seniors and others needing medical and other services in and beyond Pemberton.


Roads

Work is slowly proceeding on the 7 Nations Highway re-connecting
Harrison Hot Springs Harrison Hot Springs is a village located at the southern end of Harrison Lake in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada. It is a part of the Fraser Valley Regional District; its immediate neighbour is the District of Kent, which inclu ...
with Pemberton. The last 20 miles at the head of
Harrison Lake Harrison Lake is the largest lake in the southern Coast Mountains of Canada, being about 250 square kilometres (95 mi2) in area. It is about 60 km (37 mi) in length and at its widest almost 9 km (5.6 mi) across. Its sou ...
leading to
Port Douglas Port Douglas is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Douglas, Queensland, Australia, approximately north of Cairns. In the , the locality of Port Douglas had a population of 3,650 people. The town's population can often double, however, ...
are in very poor repair ever since the sawmill closed at Port Douglas, around 1995. Work on the Harrison Lake section was disrupted by the Wood Lake Wildfire in summer 2015. The westernmost section of road was improved in the spring of 2015; In-SHUCK-ch Forest Service Road/FSR was widened from 1 to 1½ lanes to 2 lanes and two ½-lane shoulders (3 lanes ''in toto'') for the length of
Lillooet Lake Lillooet Lake is a lake in British Columbia, Canada about 25 km in length and about in area. It is about 95 km downstream from the source of the Lillooet River, which resumes its course after leaving Little Lillooet Lake, aka Tenas Lak ...
. Drivers are advised to take a basic back-roads tool kit including flares, flashlights, shovel, jacks, tire iron, at least 1 spare tire (2 is better), water for people and vehicle, refillable water cans, and several cans of ''run flat'' aerosols to re-inflate tires. In the winter, add an axe, shovel, studs and/or chains/other traction devices to the list. Check latest updates before heading out.


Air

There are charter helicopter flights, weather/visibility permitting. The closest airport is Pemberton Regional Airport. Seaplanes can be chartered out of
Whistler/Green Lake Water Aerodrome Whistler/Green Lake Water Aerodrome is located on Green Lake adjacent to Whistler, in British Columbia, Canada. It offers glacier tours, twice daily scheduled service between Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre, Vancouver International Water Air ...
and "land" nearby at the south end of
Lillooet Lake Lillooet Lake is a lake in British Columbia, Canada about 25 km in length and about in area. It is about 95 km downstream from the source of the Lillooet River, which resumes its course after leaving Little Lillooet Lake, aka Tenas Lak ...
.


Education

The elementary and junior high school (grades K-9), formerly known as the Head of the Lake School, now called Skatin Community School, is for the children of In-SHUCK-ch members, the majority of which are from Skatin and Tipella. 44 students currently attend this school. The Xit'olacw School in Xit'olacw Village (Mount Currie New Site) has 244 students, grades K-12.
School District 48 Sea to Sky School District No. 48 (Sea to Sky) is a school district in British Columbia, Canada. The school district serves three major population centres along the Sea-to-Sky Corridor; Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton. The District also serves six Abori ...
operates public schools in Pemberton. Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique operates one Francophone primary school in Pemberton: école de la Vallée-de-Pemberton.Carte des écoles
." '' Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britanique''. Retrieved on 22 January 2015.


References


Sources

*


Further reading

*''Beyond Garibaldi'', Irene Ronayne, self-published *''People of the Harrison'', Daphne Sleigh, ASIN: B000K6MFLG


External links

*
Pemberton and District Chamber of Commerce

Tourism Pemberton

Pemberton and District Museum and Archives Society

Pemberton Valley Dyking District
{{authority control Lillooet Country St'at'imc governments