Loon Lake Lahal
Secwépemc: íswell or íswelh (loon)
The Bonaparte Indian Band a.k.a. Bonaparte First Nation, is a member band of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council of the Secwepemc (Shuswap) people. The Bonaparte Indian Band are also known as the Stuctwesemc in Secwepemctsín, which translates to "people of the Valley" (also spelt St'uxwtews).
Located west of Cache Creek on about 1,878 hectares of land. The band is separated into nine (9) sections, and has a membership of about 900. Currently their Band Office Is Located approximately 7 km out of Cache Creek, they also have a traditional territory at present day Loon Lake. When Emile Becker applied for water rights on an as yet officially unnamed lake, he referred to it as Loon Lake (translating its Shuswap Indian name, 'iswelh').
The Stuctwesemc hunted birds and deer that wandered the forest. The people gathered the lush flora such as wild raspberries and strawberries harvested the roots, and fished along shores of Iswleh or Iswell. A place for gathering, perhaps the precontact game of lahal, or Sllekméw'es was played by the shores of the water where the loon cries out. Sllekméw'es a guessing or a gambling game that involved two teams seated across from one another. Lahal is a game for two teams of six or more players.The object of the game is to get all the sticks from the opposing team. There are six sticks on each side to start off the game.
There is a Doctor on each team. He makes the decisions. For example, he picks the "shooter," who guesses where the white bones are, for each side. The two teams' Doctors compete for possession of the Kick Stick (Extra Stick).
In the game, there are four bones. They're typically small enough to fit in your palm and aren't particularly distinct from one another save for color. The bones are either white or striped. The two pairs of bones begin with Team A (Team A). The "Shooter" for Team B then uses hand signals and guesses where the bones are.
The winner is determined by the shooter's guess whether or not the bones may be held. When one team has stolen all of the sticks from the other, the game is over.
Rules for Sllekméw'es:
When you are ready to display the bones, you can't alter it; otherwise, you give them away to the opposing team. You cannot switch teams between games, but only play for one team.
There are no restrictions on the length of the game; many can last for more than an hour. In these critical games, a judge was sometimes employed to maintain fairness. Some teams have their own bones, which they believe are lucky. If, when the pointer points, one of the opposing team's members is holding two bones in one hand, the game will be forfeited.
The team that has control of the bones is the team that sings their stick game song(s). So, it is up to the players to stay focused on the game.
Researched and written by Brandy Cooper-Chardon
Sources:
https://landwithoutlimits.com/places/land-of-hidden-waters/loon-lake/
https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/bib88420.pdf
https://www.bonapartefirstnation.ca/
https://fnp-ppn.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/FNP/Main/Search/RVDetail.aspx?RESERVE_NUMBER=07166&lang=eng
http://www.skeetchestn.ca/files/documents/Governance/memorialtosirwilfredlaurier1910.pdf
https://www.firstvoices.com/explore/FV/sections/Data/Secwepemc/Secwepemctsin/Secwepemc/search/?query=loon&page=1&pageSize=10
https://bc.ruralroutes.com/orr_city_page.cfm?city=Deka%20Lake
http://secwepemc.sd73.bc.ca/sec_village/sec_gamefs.html