THE CEMETERY: Link to Ancestors
"Indian Reserve No. 12 is an historic cemetery site administered
by Sto:lo Nation." - Fraser Valley Regional District
This graveyard holds a tiny glimpse of the generations and
thousands of people who once lived along the Fraser. Remnants have
been found of aboriginal occupation of Sumas Mountain. The area
contains a number of documented archaeological habitation sites
adjacent to the Fraser and Sumas Rivers. The cluster of sites at
Liyomxetel, or ‘Devil’s Run’, at the confluence of the Sumas and
Fraser Rivers was a major settlement.
Sumas Mountain is home to the Sumas First Nation, part of the
traditional territory of the Sto:lo people. The Sto:lo believe they
have occupied these lands since the beginning of time. They believe
their ancestors witnessed the transformation of their world from
chaos to order. According to Sto:lo beliefs, the transforming of
the world is evident in the landscape, including Sumas Mountain
which is told in the oral histories (sxwôxwiyám) describing the
transformations. Many of the transformation stories involve
Xexá:ls, agents of the Creator, “whose actions…account in part for
‘making the world right’.”
“In one sxwôxwiyám, for instance, people survived a devastating
flood by tying their canoes to the top of Sumas Mountain. When the
flood began to subside, the canoes drifted gently down. People took
refuge in a cave on the side of the mountain and waited for the
waters to completely recede. When they did, Xexá:ls visited these
survivors and showed them the right way to live, work and
pray.”
THE CACHE:
This is a 2 stage multi. The cache is at the second stage.
Stage 1: Let the number of large red objects equal A.
Stage 2: Cache is at N 49° 0A.771 W 122° 11.(2xA)57
THERE IS NO CACHE IN THE CEMETERY.
THE SERIES:
Special thanks to LegacyPac for their encouragement to set this
cache.
Their guidelines: "Please do not use the BC Spirit Quest name
without coordinating with us first to prevent confusion. Thank-you
and enjoy the history. We did not invent the Spirit Quest idea,
just brought it to BC."