Photograph Courtesy of the Chilliwack Museum and Archives.
The boundaries between culture, especially between newcomers and Stó:lō people, became apparent in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. With the emergence of Christian missionaries in the Sto:lo territory. Anthropologist, Dr. Gordon Mohs explains that Sepass, “[h]e saw the first missionaries come to the valley and witness the gold rush when 30,000 white people settled in the Chilliwack area.” Chief Sepass saw early settlers and the colonial assimilation policies, such as the Anti-Potlatch law in 1884.
A good example is an 1898 letter from an Indian agent Frank Delvin to Chief K’HHalsten:
…There is another matter that I would be glad if Chief Louis and you would take in hand. I am told that Bill Uslick and old Charley Shamlatch (a Cowichan) who is living at Tzeachten are having Tamawas dancing and Potlaching. Louis and you are Chiefs of Tzeachten and if these fellows will not take your advice and quit Tamawas dancing and potlaching, if you let me know I will attend to them. Of course I don’t want you to be hard on them, simply let them quit their old habits.
To ensure that assimilation amongst the Sto:lo was achieved, the Canadian government developed and implemented bylaws to prevent the Sto:lo members from practising their cultural and spiritual traditions. This is one example of strategies employed by the Canadian government, other tactics prevented them from having restricted or no access to their territorial fish, hunting and gathering sites.
References
Department of Indian Affairs. New Westminster. Letterbooks, 1898. RG. 10. Volume 1452. p. 652.
Freedman, Robert. “Sepass Window to the Past” The Chilliwack Progress. July 19, 2005.
https://theprogress.newspapers.com/image/81409116/
Media Sources
Photograph Courtesy of the Chilliwack Museum and Archives. [1987.089.012] Front View of the Skowkale Church on Chilliwack River Road.