Tsay Keh Dene First Nation
The Tsay Keh Dene First Nation is one of the Sekani bands of the Northern Interior of British Columbia. Tsay Keh Dene means "People of the Mountain". While they have an office in the City of Prince George,[1] their territories, settlements, and Indian Reserves are all to the north, in the area of Williston Lake.
Indian Reserves and Settlements[]
Indian Reserves and Settlements under the jurisdiction of the Tsay Keh Dene First Nation are:[2]
- , on the left bank of the Parsnip River at , 34.20 ha.55°08′00″N 122°55′00″W / 55.13333°N 122.91667°W[3]
- , 4 miles east of the Finlay River, 15 miles northwest of Fort Grahame, 129.50 ha.56°47′00″N 124°47′00″W / 56.78333°N 124.78333°W[4]
- , on left bank of the Parnsip River at Fort Grahame, 37.30 ha.55°26′00″N 123°12′00″W / 55.43333°N 123.20000°W[5]
The Tse Keh Nay, formerly known as the Ingenika, live at the north end of the Williston Reservoir in the community of Tsay Keh Dene.[6]: 5 They have lived in the "Rocky Mountain Trench for many generations."[6] In 1824 Samuel Black, an early fur trader visited the region and kept a journal of his visit there with Tse Keh Nay Chief Methodiates and his followers. He described the historic use of the resource rich Amazay/Thutade/ Kemess area.[6]: 5 Duncan (Amazay) Lake – known as Amazay Lake in Sekani – is a natural 6 kilometres (3.7 mi)-long long wilderness fish-bearing lake with rainbow trout and whitefish populations, located at the headwaters of the Findlay watershed.[6]: 76 57.0693921,-126.8010853,2830
"Amazay Lake is well known to the Tse Keh Nay, and like Thutade Lake, is a site for hunting, fishing and gathering that is rich in oral history. Amazay in Sekani means “little mother lake” or “very superior mother.” It is, according to the Tse Keh Nay, “right in the centre of our Tse Keh Nay territory.”
— Tse Keh Nay 2006
Amazay Lake was the calving ground for caribou in the month of May.[6]: 40
"There was so much caribou up there. Amazay Lake they call it because there’s lots of caribou around that area. They say about 300. Sometimes, they say they all go around it. Now there’s nothing. You go there and nothing. They don’t see nothing anywhere around that area."
— Tse Keh Nay 2006
References[]
- ^ Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - First Nation Detail Archived 2011-12-24 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - Reserves/Villages/Settlements Detail Archived 2012-05-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ BCGNIS entry "Parsnips Indian Reserve 5"[permanent dead link]
- ^ BCGNIS entry "Police Meadow Indian Reserve 2[permanent dead link]
- ^ BCGNIS entry "Tutu Creek Indian Reserve 4"[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d e Littlefield, Loraine; Dorricott, Linda; Cullon, Deidre (May 2007), Tse Keh Nay Traditional and Contemporary Use and Occupation at Amazay (Duncan Lake): A Draft Report (PDF), retrieved 16 December 2014
External links[]
 | This First Nations-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by . |
- First Nations stubs
- First Nations governments in British Columbia
- Northern Interior of British Columbia
- Dene governments