Sinixt Mountains

Forested mountains rise around the long waters of the Arrow Lakes in the upper Columbia basin. The Sinixt homeland encompasses the Monashee and Selkirk ranges as well as the lakes and rivers between them. Salmon ascending the Columbia provided a vital food, while the mountains and valleys formed part of a larger country used by Sinixt communities. In 1811 the surveyor and fur trader David Thompson traveled upstream through their territory.