Illecillewaet

Illecillewaet is the river valley descending from the glaciers of the Selkirk Mountains to the Columbia. The river's steep, forested country opened onto the much larger Columbia corridor, which led south toward the Arrow Lakes. The junction linked a mountain watershed with routes used by Indigenous communities.

The surrounding lands were used by Sinixt, Secwepemc, Syilx and Ktunaxa peoples. These overlapping connections describe the country better than any fixed boundary. Rivers, lakes and seasonal access to mountain country supported travel and the use of local resources. In 1811 David Thompson explored this stretch of the Columbia as fur traders extended their activities through the interior. His passage belongs to the wider river corridor; it does not establish a European settlement up the Illecillewaet valley. Through the early nineteenth century the valley remained primarily Indigenous country and waterways, with the newer fur-trade route passing its mouth.