Dels / Ta'altz
There are many stories associated with Dels, an important winter village site in earlier times. Located at the farthest reaches of the Seymour Inlet watershed at the head of Salmon Arm, Dels is known as a place of origin for the Nakwaxda’xw. It is shown as a winter village named “Ta-altz” on an 1864 Admiralty Survey Map but it may have been abandoned as a major village site around this time.
The oral and written record suggests a catastrophic event took place here, possibly the smallpox epidemic of 1862. In 1883 there were three houses at Dels but it was not surveyed as a reserve until 1925. Dals was misnamed as IR#18 Kuthlo. |
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Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw Nations
gwanaknations.ca |