The Bonaparte Indian Band a.k.a. Bonaparte First Nation, is a member band of the
Shuswap Nation Tribal Council The Shuswap Nation Tribal Council is a First Nations Tribal Council in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Based in the Thompson and Shuswap Districts of the Central Interior, although including one band on the upper Columbia River in th ...
of the
Secwepemc (Shuswap) people.
Indian Reserves and communities
The band's main community is on the
Bonaparte Indian Reserve No. 3, located comprising 704 ha., usually known as the Bonaparte Reserve, between
Cache Creek and the terminus of Highway 99 at the
Hat Creek Ranch or Lower Hat Creek (a.k.a. Carquile), Some band members work as guides, interpreters and wranglers for the Hat Creek Ranch, which is a heritage museum/restoration of a roadhouse of the
Cariboo Wagon Road
The Cariboo Road (also called the Cariboo Wagon Road, the Great North Road or the Queen's Highway) was a project initiated in 1860 by the Governor of the Colony of British Columbia, James Douglas. It was built in response to the Cariboo Gold Rus ...
and had been the homestead of
Donald McLean, former Chief Trader at
Fort Kamloops
Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the administrative centre fo ...
and one of the combatants and casualties of the
Chilcotin War
The Chilcotin War, the Chilcotin Uprising or the Bute Inlet Massacre was a confrontation in 1864 between members of the Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin) people in British Columbia and white road construction workers. Fourteen men employed by Alfred Wadd ...
of 1864.
Other reserves are:
* Lower Hat Creek 2, 31.6 ha., on
Hat Creek between
Marble Canyon and that creek's confluence with the
Bonaparte River (not to be confused with Lower Hat Creek, or Carquile, which is ''at'' the confluence of the creek and the river).
* Grasslands 7, 207.6 ha., at McLean Lake, in the
Trachyte Hills northwest of Cache Creek
* ''Hihium Lake 6'' (Shared between
Upper Nicola,
Lower Nicola, Bonaparte, and
Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Bands), 31.6 ha.
* ''Hihium Lake 6A'' (Shared between the
Skeetchestn and Bonaparte Bands), on north shore of Hihium Lake near NE corner of
Hihium Lake Indian Reserve No. 6, 2.10 ha.
* ''Hihium Lake 6B'' (Shared between the
Skeetchestn and Bonaparte Bands), on south shore of
Hihium Lake, near its east end, 2.0 ha.
* Loon Lake 4, 24.6 ha., at
Loon Lake
* Mauvais Rocher 5, 40.2 ha., on the
Thompson River
The Thompson River is the largest tributary of the Fraser River, flowing through the south-central portion of British Columbia, Canada. The Thompson River has two main branches, the South Thompson River and the North Thompson River. The river ...
to the east of
Ashcroft Ashcroft may refer to:
Places
* Ashcroft, British Columbia, a village in Canada
**Ashcroft House in Bagpath, Gloucestershire, England—eponym of the Canadian village
* Ashcroft, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia
* Ashcroft, Colorado, ...
* Upper Hat Creek 1, 835.3 ha., on
Hat Creek to the southeast of
Marble Canyon and north of the locality of
Upper Hat Creek.
The reserves were created when the government of the
Colony of British Columbia The Colony of British Columbia refers to one of two colonies of British North America, located on the Pacific coast of modern-day Canada:
* Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866)
* Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871)
See also
* History of ...
, without negotiation or consent of the First nations, and without legally extinguishing First Nations claim to the land, established an
Indian reserve
In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." ...
system in the 1860s.
Population
The Bonaparte Indian Band are also called the
Stuctwesemc in
Secwepemctsín, which means "people of the Valley" (also spelled St'uxwtews). Band population is 815, with 584 living off-reserve.
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - Registered Population
References
External links
Shuswap Nation website
{{Secwepemc First Nations
Secwepemc governments
Bonaparte Country