The Dakelh (IPA: [tákʰɛɬ]) or Carrier are the indigenous people of a large portion of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada.

Most Carrier call themselves Dakelh, meaning "people who travel by water". The term Carrier is a translation of the name for them used by the neighboring Sekani First Nations people (in reference to widows of the tribe carrying their cremated husbands' ashes, in knapsacks, for a three-year period), which Europeans learned first because they crossed Sekani territory before entering Carrier territory. However, some Carrier elders believe this interpretation was creative nonsense invented to silence endless questions about the Carrier name's meaning.

In earlier times,the Carrier went by the chosen name "dakelh" (shortened from "uda dakehl"), which translated as "people who travel by boat on water in the morning". Mispronounced by early settlers as "takully", "dakehl" is now generally used to refer to all native people who speak a dialect in this language group. And, today, from the northern Carrier comes the generic label "dene" meaning "the people".

The Dakelh (along with the Sekani, Babine, and Chilcotin) are part of the Athabascan language family.

Tribal Council: Carrier-Chilcotin Tribal Council
Tribal Alliance: Dakelh (Carrier)

Alternate Names: Lhoosk'us, Lhoosk'uz.

No.	Name	Location	Hectares
08313	KLUSKUS 1	COAST DISTRICT RANGE 4, AT WEST END ON NORTH SHORE OF THE MIDDLE KLUSKUS LAKE	425.3
08314	KLOYADINGLI 2	COAST DISTRICT RANGE 4, AT EAST END OF THE EASTERN KLUSKUS LAKE	221.7
08315	SUNDAYMAN'S MEADOW 3	COAST DISTRICT, RANGE 4, ON A CREEK FLOWING INTO LOWER KLUSKUS LAKE, 3 MILES EAST OF MIDDLE EUCHINIKO LAKE	32.4
08316	YALADELASSLA 4	COAST DISTRICT, RGE. 4, ON NORTH SHORE OF EASTERLY EUCHINIKO LAKE, BETWEEN LOTS 1821 AND 1940	70
08317	BISHOP BLUFFS 5	COAST DIST. RGE. 4, LOT 2718, 7 MILES SOUTHEAST OF KLUSKUS LAKE	64.8
08318	BISHOP BLUFFS 6	COAST DIST. RGE 4, LOT 2716, 7 MILES EAST OF KLUSKUS LAKE	194.2
08319	KUSHYA CREEK 7	COAST DISTRICT RANGE 4, LOT 2723 3 MILES WEST OF WEST KLUSKUS LAKE	64.7
08320	TSACHLA LAKE 8	COAST DISTRICT, RANGE 3, LOT 1420, ON SOUTH SHORE OF TSACHA LAKE	64.3
08321	UPPER KLUSKUS LAKE 9	COAST DISTRICT, RANGE 4, LOT 2721, ON NORTH SHORE OF UPPER KLUSKUS LAKE	7.4
08322	BISHOP BLUFFS 10	COAST DIST. RGE 4, LOT 2717, 6 MILES EAST OF KLUSKUS LAKE	48.6
08323	CLUCHUTA LAKE 10A	COAST DIST. RGE 3, S.W. 1/4 OF LOT 1212, ON RIGHT BANK OF WEST ROAD RIVER, 3 MILES NORTH OF CLUCHUTA LAKE	64.8
08324	CLUCHUTA LAKE 10B	COAST DIST. RGE. 3, LOT 1421, ON RIGHT BANK OF THE WEST ROAD RIVER, WEST OF AND ADJOINING I.R. NO. 10A	4.5
08325	TZETZI LAKE 11	COAST DIST. RGE3, LOT 1422 AND N. 1/2 OF LOT 1217, ON THE WEST ROAD RIVER, NORTH OF BLUE (TZETZI) LAKE	64.7
08326	KUSHYA CREEK 12	COAST DISTRICT RANGE 4, LOT 2722, 3 MILES WEST OF KLUSKUS LAKE	16.2
08327	CHIEF MORRIS 13	COAST DISTRICT, RANGE 4, LOT 2719, 5 MILES EAST OF KLUSKUS LAKE	129.5
08328	KLUSKUS 14	COAST DISTRICT RANGE 4, LOT 2715 5 MILES EAST OF THE 6 EASTERLY KLUSKUS LAKE	48.6
08329	TATELKUS LAKE 28	COAST DISTRICT, RANGE 4, AT NORTH END OF TATELKUZ LAKE	125.8

Residency	# of People
Registered Males On Own Reserve	50
Registered Females On Own Reserve	44
Registered Males On Other Reserves	15
Registered Females On Other Reserves	15
Registered Males On Own Crown Land	0
Registered Females On Own Crown Land	0
Registered Males On Other Band Crown Land	0
Registered Females On Other Band Crown Land	0
Registered Males On No Band Crown Land	0
Registered Females On No Band Crown Land	0
Registered Males Off Reserve	31
Registered Females Off Reserve	42
Total Registered Population	197

Famous Contemporary People:

Historical Leaders:

Ceremonies / Dances:

Clans:

Clothing:

Communities: The Kluskus First Nation (or Lhoosk’uz) are a Dakelh people located in the Fraser Canyon region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Kluskus First Nation is a member of the Carrier-Chilcotin Tribal Council, which includes both Tsilhqot'in and Carrier (Dakelh) communities (the Kluskus First Nation is Carrier).

Crafts:

Creation Beliefs:

Culture:

Elders:

Geograpical Location: Kluskus First Nation has no year-round road access to a service centre. Access into the area from the access management point on the Gold Road near Lavoie Lake is by horseback, ATV, or walking.

Alternate instructions to reach the village of Kluskus: Travel 115 kilometers west of Quesnel in central British Columbia. At road's end you go perhaps 40 minutes further down a logging road. Then, on something resembling a road, travel another 53 kilometers into the bush. On good winter road, you can leave Quesnel and arrive in just under 5 hours. During spring thaws, it can take from 8 hours to three days.

The Carrier-Chilcotin communities are part of the Southern Carrier Nation and Tsilhqot'in Nation whose territories are in the watersheds of the Chilcotin River, the Blackwater River, the Dean River, the Quesnel River and others. Others will know this territory as part of the Cariboo-Chilcotin in the interior of British Columbia, Canada.

The Kluskus zone includes the Jerryboy Hills in the southeast corner, and the Nechako Range, which crosses from the northwest to southeast corners along the western boundary. The zone is well-accessed and is known as the “bread and butter” area for moose habitat. Tourism activities include guided hunts and a survival school. 

Government: This First Nation is designated Section 10 by the Indian Act by Band. They have a custom electoral system. The tribal government includes the chief and four councillors.

Historical Houses:

Legends:

Pow Wows:

Sacred Places: There are extensive archaeological values in this zone, especially around the large lakes. Kuyakuz Mountain and Tatelkuz Lakes both have sites sacred to the Kluskus Band.

Just to the east of the area in the river corridor there are numerous catalogued village sites, a Nazko battle and legend site and obsidian source. The area is jointly claimed as traditional territory by the Lhoosk’uz (Kluskus) and Nazko First Nations, as well as by Sai’ Kuz (Stoney Creek) First Nation.

Subsistence:

Traditional Territory: Traditional Carrier territory includes the area along the Fraser River from north of Prince George to south of Quesnel, the Nechako Valley, the areas around Stuart Lake, Trembleur Lake, Takla Lake, Fraser Lake, and Babine Lake, the Bulkley Valley, and the region along the West Road River, west to the Coast Range, including the Kluskus Lakes, Ootsa Lake and Cheslatta Lake.

Treaties:

Tribal History:

In the News: