Nlaka'pamux


The Nlaka'pamux 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, Knife Indians and Couteau Indians, are an Indigenous First Nations people of the Interior Salish language group in southern British Columbia. Their traditional territory includes parts of the North Cascades region of Washington.

Other names

Frontier-era histories and maps transliterate the name Nlaka'pamux as Hakamaugh or Klackarpun; they were also known as the Kootomin, or Couteau. or Knife Indians. In the dialect of the Thompson language used by the Ashcroft Indian Band, the variant Nl'akapxm is used.
The Nlaka'pamux of the Nicola Valley, who are all in the Nicola Tribal Association reserves refer to themselves as Scw'exmx and speak a different dialect of the Thompson language. Together with the Spaxomin people, a branch of the Okanagan people who live in the upper Nicola valley and also belong to the Nicola Tribal Association, they are collectively known as the Nicola people, or Nicolas.

Ethnobotany

are used in pies.

Religion

The Nlaka'pamux were the object of both Anglican and Roman Catholic missionary efforts in the nineteenth century, resulting in the vast majority belonging to one of the two denominations by the beginning of the twentieth century.

Governments

The Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council despite its name does not include all Nlaka'pamux people, but is one of two main tribal bodies within the region, the other being the Nicola Tribal Association. The Lytton First Nation or Lytton Band, focussed on the town of the same name, which is named Camchin or Kumsheen in the Nlaka'pamux language and is one of the largest Nlaka'pamux communities, does not belong to any of the three tribal associations. While the Upper Nicola Band is affiliated with the it is a Syilx community and part of the Okanagan Nation Alliance it is not Nlaka'pamux and has a different traditional territory than the other Nlaka'pamux Bands.
None of the Nlaka'pamux governments are in the British Columbia Treaty Commission process at present.

Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council

The Nlaka'pamux speak an Interior Salishan language named , usually transliterated as Nlaka'pamuxtsn and known in English as the Thompson language. The Scw'exmx of the Nicola Valley speak a dialect also called Scw'exmx.