MAY 10, 1911

DECLARATION OF THE LILLOOET TRIBE AT SPENCES BRIDGE

The Declaration of the Lillooet Tribe is important in the history of relations between First Nations and the governments of Canada and the Province of British Columbia (BC). Signed in Spences Bridge, BC, by a committee of the chiefs of the St’at’imc peoples, it is an assertion of sovereignty over traditional territories. Additionally, it served to protest against the alienations of land by settlers at Seton Portage, BC. Like the Nisga’a Declaration of the same period, this Declaration reflects the rising organization of Native politicians in the lead-up to World War I.

Source:

“Throwback Thursday: The Declaration of the Lillooet Tribe,” Pemberton Museum. Retrieved 10/26/2023, Throwback Thursday: The Declaration of the Lillooet Tribe (pembertonmuseum.org) 

Photo: Padraic Ryan, 11/11/2007.  Aboriginal War Veterans Monument, Ottawa, Canada.  Permissive Use.