Secwépemc
indigenous people of North America
The Secwépemc ( shəkh-whep-MIKH; Secwepemctsín: [ʃəˈxʷɛpməx] or [səˈxʷɛpməx]), also known by the exonym Shuswap ( SHOOSH-wahp), are a First Nation people residing in the interior of British Columbia in Canada. They speak Secwepemctsín or Shuswap, an Interior Salish language.
Secwepemcúĺecw, the traditional territory or country of the Shuswap people, ranges from the eastern Chilcotin Plateau, bordering Tŝilhqot'in Country, and the Cariboo Plateau southeast through Thompson Country to Kamloops. It spans the Selkirk Mountains and Big Bend of the Columbia River to include the northern part of the Columbia Valley region. Their historical territory is the largest in Southern BC and covers ~145,000 square kilometres. Traditionally, they depended on hunting, trading and fishing to support their communities. They have an oral history that spans back ~10,000 years.
History, language and culture
They speak one of the Salishan languages. Based on 2006 statistics, the Secwepemc are likely the most numerous of the Interior Salish peoples of British Columbia.
Their traditional language is Secwepemctsín (Salishan pronunciation: [ʃəxwəpməxtˈʃin]).
The public source identifies “Secwépemc” as indigenous people of North America. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Secwépemc, indigenous and people.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q337550. The Library of Congress control number is sh85122170. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2006.
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This entry incorporates text from “Secwépemc” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.