The Sto:lo are a small indigenous First Nations group whose ancestral home is in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, between Hope and Langley. This land area comprises 8,633.9 hectares, or 21,336.2 acres. Within this area are twenty-four First Nations communities; nineteen of these are full members of the Sto:lo First Nation, and the remaining five are independent.

Currently, the population of the Sto:lo Nation is 3832, made up of 1845 members living on the Sto:lo area in the Fraser Valley near Chilliwack, 238 living on a reserve outside, and 1749 members scattered elsewhere.

Most importantly and foremost in their oral history, the Sto:lo are a river people. Archaeological research confirms that they have lived in their traditional territory in the vicinity of the Fraser and Coquihalla Rivers for at least nine thousand years, dating back to the last ice age and perhaps even before.

The river and life around it feature prominently in their traditions, shaping their way of life for thousands of years and providing a background for a rich oral history and a beautiful creation myth. The word "sto:lo" itself comes from the name that they gave to the river in their language, Halq'emeylem.

The language itself traditionally has no written form. The history of the Sto:lo people is an entirely oral one, passed down by elders through generations for thousands of years. Linguistics courses taught at the University of British Columbia with the assistance of Sto:lo leaders and educators have led to the development of a means to transliterate the language so that it can be written; these conventions have helped to save the language from dying out entirely, preserving traditions and oral history in written form for the future.

Sto:lo oral history takes two main forms: "sqwelqwel", which were true stories or news, and "sxy xwiyam", which were legends and stories from the "transformer period", myths that detailed how the Sto:lo came to be created from the chaos that existed before.

Oral tradition explains that the Sto:lo have always lived in the Fraser Valley, though not always precisely as they are now. Through legend, it is said that long ago the world was confused; that people could speak to animals and trees, and lived in the shadow of the threat of evil beings who wished to hurt or destroy the peaceful Sto:lo people. To make it right, the three sons and daughters of Red-Headed Wood Pecker and Black Bear came into the world to drive out the evil; as a collective, these three were called Xe:Xa:ls.

The period during which Xe:Xa:ls came was called the Transformer Period, because before it all things were transitory and afterward they had been changed into a more permanent form. Xe:Xa:ls travelled through Sto:lo territory, changing all people and things from what they were into what they are today; as they went, they changed some of the people into what are now considered natural resources. Humans became salmon, trees, mountains, stones, and all other flora and fauna native to interior British Columbia in Sto:lo lands. The chaos that existed before things had been converted to their true form had gone, and the people could live in peace.

Since natural resources were once people, they are accorded the same respect as are the people who use them. They are considered to be relatives; they are thought to contain the same life force as humans do. The Sto:lo call this life force "shxweli", and its preservation and protection is one of the most important goals within their culture.

Traditional Sto:lo society was provided with structure through the designation of specific tasks to experts in various fields. Healers and prophets existed side by side with traders, fishermen, and weavers; each person performed the task set for them with consideration given to their innate talents.

Like many First Nations groups of the Pacific Northwest, the Sto:lo practiced the potlatch. This was a traditional feast ceremony the purpose of which was the distribution of gifts from the host to the guests, with the tacit understanding that the favour would be returned at a later date.

The arrival of European explorers in the eighteenth century (called "Xwelitems" in the Halq'emeylem language, which translates literally to "hungry people") changed the traditional way of life. Trading of furs for goods in the heady days of the fur trade meant that trappers became more important in an economic sense than others, as the furs could be exchanged at a trading post for European goods. Encroachment of the expanding railway disrupted Sto:lo life, and prospectors searching for gold in their rivers impacted fishing. Naturally, the European settlers brought with them disease; many of the Sto:lo, not immune to foreign illnesses, sickened and died.

The viciously unfair Indian Act of 1876, following Confederation, had a profound impact on the First Nations way of life in all of Canada. By 1884 its grip had expanded to include the groups of the Pacific Northwest, and it tightened round the throats of the Sto:lo, outlawing many of their traditional practices, including the potlatch. Their spirituality and respect for nature were deemed immoral; their children were taken and placed into residential schools, where they were educated in the institutionally industrial manner of European schools and taught as Christians, regardless of the traditions associated with their culture.

It can be argued that the aim of the Indian Act was one of subtly assimilating the First Nations groups of Canada, and in the case of the Sto:lo it was nearly successful. Their oral history, as the language had no written form, was nearly lost as the youth were taken away from their elders before it could be passed on; it is only in recent years that interest in traditional Sto:lo culture has arisen and scholars studied it with the intent of respectful preservation.

Incidentally, an amendment to the Indian Act removed the ban on the potlatch in 1951. The practice had been carried on covertly during the interim, as the people oppressed by a government bent on assimilation tried desperately to maintain their traditions. This hardiness in the face of impossible odds is mirrored today by Sto:lo self-government and preservation of culture through language and culture programmes in Sto:lo schools.

Sources: http://www.stolonation.bc.ca http://www.skwahnation.net The intent of this writeup was one of admiration and respect for Sto:lo culture; if any of the information contained in it is erroneous, please /msg me with corrections.