Skatin First Nations

The community of Skatin (or Skookumchuck) is located on the east side of the Lillooet River, on the 19-Mile Post of the old Harrison-Lillooet wagon road (about 35 kilometres from the head of Harrison Lake). Before the arrival of European settlers, this community was considered to be the largest on the lower Lillooet River, comparable in size to the pre-contact village of present-day Mount Currie (or Lilwat'ul). A moderately sized waterfall on the Lillooet River, about 1 kilometre north of the community, had a significant effect on the size of the community in prehistoric times as well as today. The fall is now commonly known as Skookumchuck Rapids, but the Ucwalmicw [oo-kwal-MEWK] (Lower Lillooet dialect) word for this fall is qmemps (k-MEMP-sh). This site was and remains to be a very abundant fishery, the most abundant on the Lillooet River. Colonial settlers and ethnographers have noted it in historic documents as early as the late 1850's.

At one time, the people of Skookumchuck (Chinook Jargon for 'swift water', alluding to qmemps) inhabited both sides of the Lillooet River at this point, but the west community has since been absorbed into the east. The earliest reserve allotment for Skatin in historic documentation was made in 1864 by the magistrate at Port Douglas. Reserves were formally surveyed on three occasions by the Department of Indian Affairs - twice by the Reserve Commission in 1881 and 1897, and after the Royal Commission on Indian Affairs in British Columbia in 1916.

While the majority of their reserves lie along the Lillooet River, one of them lies at the southern edge of Glacier Lake, almost 2000 feet above the Lillooet River. This reserve was used for planting crops in the early 1900's. Glacier Lake was also a very important resource acquisition area for the people of Skookumchuck.

One distinctive feature of the community of Skookumchuck is their famed Holy Cross Catholic Church, which stands in the centre of the community. The church was built by members of the Douglas, Skatin and Samahquam Bands between 1895 and 1906. It was initiated by the priests of the order of Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the missionary order that converted the majority of the Lillooet to Christianity. The church is Gothic in style, and is apparently the third church built on or near the site of the first, which was built in the 1860's. The people of Skookumhuck used the money they earned from trapping to pay for the panes of stained glass used for the windows, which were imported from Italy. The rest of this magnificent church is the result of native craftsmanship.

The community of Skatin also supports an elementary and junior high school (grades K-9), known as the Head of the Lake School, for the children of In-SHUCK-ch members, the majority of which are from Skatin and Tipella. Forty-four students currently attend this school. The school also informally supports students taking courses by correspondence.