The Kluskus First Nation (or Lhoosk’uz) are a Dakelh people located in the Fraser Canyon region of the Canadian province of British Columbia.
Tribal Name: Kluskus First Nation
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Province: British Columbia
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Aboriginal Status:
Tribal Affiliation: Dakelh (Carrier)
Governance:
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 councilors.
Political Organizations:
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).
Reserve: 17 reserves:
| 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 |
Communities:
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.
Treaties:
Population: 197 as of September, 2007
Language: Carrier
The native language is a member of the Blackwater dialect group of Carrier, an Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit language. Its closest linguistic relatives are the Lhk’acho and Ndazko dialects of Carrier. 0.3% of the band members speak their native language as a first language.
Tribal Culture:
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.
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.
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