Semiahmoo people facts for kids
The Semiahmoo people are an Indigenous group from the Coast Salish family. Their traditional home is in the southwestern part of British Columbia, Canada. Their name, Semiahmoo, comes from their own language and means SEMYOME.
History
The Semiahmoo are closely related to the Lummi and Samish peoples who live south of the border. They are also connected to the Lekwammen and T'sou-ke peoples across the Strait of Georgia. They are different from the Sto:lo and Musqueam peoples, who live further north.
These groups living near the strait share a language called North Straits Salish. They also have a long tradition of using a special fishing method. They used a system called "reef-netting" to catch sockeye salmon. This was important as the salmon swam through the Juan de Fuca Strait and the Strait of Georgia. The salmon were migrating to their spawning grounds in the Fraser River.
Indigenous peoples were very well organized. They lived off the land, which was connected to their Hereditary Chief Names. Each family group, called a House, had a Hereditary Chief Name. This name was linked to their traditional and shared territories. Each House Group was responsible for their homeland. They took care of their families and communities. Laws for the land were decided by the Hereditary Chief in meetings.
Art and symbols, like those on poles, blankets, or even body tattoos, told stories. They showed who owned the land and territory. If you belonged to a certain House, you wore its symbol proudly. Everyone would know who you were. Each House had to act according to the law to uphold its name. Generosity was a key law. People gained wealth by working the land, fishing, harvesting, and hunting freely. Giving in the feast house showed wealth and hard work. It also showed how well all House members worked together.
Society and Daily Life
Semiahmoo society did not have a formal political system. The First Nation was made up of family groups. Each group was independent in terms of politics and money. Each large plank house held several families. These families were connected by family ties. There were also two main groups of free people: an upper class and a lower class. There was also a group of slaves. The upper-class free people had special rights they inherited. Slaves were usually people captured in wars, or their children.
European Contact and Changes
In 1792, Captain George Vancouver explored Semiahmoo and Boundary Bays. He did not meet the Semiahmoo people then. However, he described the remains of a fishing camp on Point Roberts. This camp could have held at least 400 or 500 people.
Around 1850, a smallpox sickness almost wiped out their northern neighbors, the Snokomish. The few survivors joined the Semiahmoo. This meant the Semiahmoo became the owners of the Snokomish territory. This land surrounded Boundary Bay. After this time, the Semiahmoo used Crescent Beach as one of their summer camps.
The Semiahmoo built forts to protect themselves from other First Nations. They also built them because of the Hudson's Bay Company fort at Fort Langley. These forts fell apart after the Colony of British Columbia was formed in 1858. One such fort was found in the 1950s on a cliff in Ocean Park.
In 1857, British Royal Engineers set up Camp Semiahmoo. This camp was later used to survey the international border. Soldiers described the Semiahmoo as "harmless and peaceable." By the 1860s, Roman Catholic missionaries had a successful church among the Semiahmoo. A gold rush also brought many settlers and miners to the area. A new trail was built to connect Semiahmoo Bay with Fort Langley. The 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic and another sickness in 1888 caused many Semiahmoo lives to be lost.
Many Semiahmoo people worked as loggers. They also charged fees for moving logs across their land. Reef-netting also became a business. But a continuous line of traps set by Alaska Packers ended their fishing industry in 1892.
Modern Era
The Semiahmoo Reserve was created in 1887. For much of the late 1900s, over half of the reserve's area was leased. The band leased about 172 acres (0.7 km2) to the Municipality of Surrey for fun activities. This lease ended in 1998. Now, the band makes money from leasing land to different groups and people. A famous Haida artist named Robert Davidson works from a studio on the reserve.
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