The Nicola people are 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 ...

political and cultural alliance in the

Nicola Country The Nicola Country, also known as the Nicola Valley and often referred to simply as The Nicola, and originally Nicolas' Country or Nicholas' Country, adapted to Nicola's Country and simplified since, is a region in the British Columbia Interior, S ...

region of the Southern Interior of the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

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 ...

. They are mostly located in the

Nicola River The Nicola River , originally French Rivière de Nicholas or Rivière de Nicolas, adapted to Nicolas River, Nicola's River in English, is one of the major tributaries of the Thompson River in the Canadian province of British Columbia, entering the ...

valley around the area of Merritt and are an alliance of Scw'exmx, the local branch of the

Nlaka'pamux The Nlakaʼpamux or Nlakapamuk ( ; ), also previously known as the ''Thompson'', '' Thompson River Salish'', ''Thompson Salish'', ''Thompson River Indians'' or ''Thompson River people'', and historically as the ''Klackarpun'', ''Haukamaugh'', ''K ...

(Thompson) people, and the Spaxomin, the local branch of the

Syilx The Syilx () people, also known as the Okanagan, Suknaqinx, or Okinagan people, are a First Nations in Canada, First Nations and Native Americans in the United States, Native American people whose traditional territory spans the Canada–United St ...

Okanagan people The Syilx () people, also known as the Okanagan, Suknaqinx, or Okinagan people, are a First Nations and Native American people whose traditional territory spans the Canada–US boundary in Washington state and unceded British Columbia in the Ok ...

. The combined population of the communities composing the Nicola people is approximately 3,492, with around 1,250 of these members living on-reservation. The name Nicola is not a derivation of Nlaka'pamux or its variants, but is taken from the usual English name of the chief who forged the alliance, Nicola (''Hwistesmexte'qen'', "Walking Grizzy Bear"), which then included the Secwepemc communities surrounding

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 ...

. He had been dubbed "Nicholas" by the Métis voyageurs of the fur companies (pron. French way as Nico-LA, but in general BC usage as NICK-ola, also known in English as Nicholas or Old Nicholas). A "nativized" adaptation of Nicola in common use today is N'kwala.

Government

The Nicola have a separate tribal council from the rest of the Nlaka'pamux, the

Nicola Tribal Association Nicola may refer to: People * Nicola (name), including a list of people with the given name or, less commonly, the surname ** Nicola (artist) or Nicoleta Alexandru, singer who represented Romania at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest * Nicola peopl ...

, which also includes the Siska Band of the

Fraser Canyon The Fraser Canyon is a major landform of the Fraser River where it descends rapidly through narrow rock gorges in the Coast Mountains en route from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia to the Fraser Valley. Colloquially, the term "Fraser Ca ...

. The Douglas Lake Band, which is the home of the Spaxomin group, are also members of the

Okanagan Nation Alliance The Okanagan Nation Alliance is a First Nations Tribal Council in the Canadian province of British Columbia, spanning the Nicola, Okanagan and Similkameen Districts of the Canadian province of British Columbia and also the Colville Indian Reserva ...

as well as the Nicola Tribal Association.

The Nicola Athapaskans

"Nicola" is used by linguists and ethnographers to refer to an Athapaskan people and their language who formerly lived in the area, but were extinct by the later 19th century.

References

External links

Nicola Watershed Governance Partnership''The Thompson Country'', Mark Sweeten Wade
{{authority control Syilx Nlaka'pamux First Nations in British Columbia

Government

The Nicola Athapaskans

See also

References

External links