Photo: E. Cleven

Aerial pic from Photos by Kat

Shalalth

Shalalth (pronounced Sha-LATH in English) - is properly spelled Tsalalh in the St'at'imcets (Lillooet) language and pronounced something like "Chelath" - simply means "the lake", which also is the name of Seton Lake itself - " The Lake", as it were, although there are scores of lakes in the Lillooet country.  Today one of the most remote communities in southern British Columbia, Shalalth was in the past one of the main transportation hubs of the southern Interior, being the only point of access to the Bridge River Goldfields for many years.  The geography that today isolates it formerly endowed it with critical importance to the region's economy due to its location at the foot of Mission Pass, which was the only relatively easy egress from the Bridge River Country before the opening of the Bridge River Canyon road to Moha in the 1950s.
This close-up of the colour picture above gives a better view of the Shalalth area. despite the haze.  The main rancherie (residential area) of the Seton Lake Indian Band - Shalalth proper - begins at the triangular point on the right shore and stretches back towards the foreground.  The nearer side of the next point (towards the viewer) is called Ohin - "frostbite" in St'at'imcets (pron. OO-hwin, with a pronounced and almost guttural 'h').  On the farther shore of the bay beyond the point are the powerhouses and townsite of the Bridge River Hydroelectric Development, called today "South Shalalth" and in the hydro construction era known as "Bridge River".  The zig-zag mark on the mountainside above the rancherie and the townsite is the Mission Mountain Road, which leads to the Bridge River goldfield towns as well as to the Bridge River Canyon and from there down to the town of Lillooet via Moha.  The white building at centre-left above the townsite is the community hall of the Seton Lake Band, which also has three residential areas in nearby Seton Portage (out of sight to the left).  The powerline-cut visible on the mountainside at near left is not connected to the power project, but is one of three lines carrying power from the WAC Bennett Dam in the Peace River Country, hundreds of miles to the north.  The opaque jade-green of the lake is the result of the diversion of the glacier-milk waters of the Bridge River through penstocks which pierce the mountaside (not clearly visible here.  The BCR (PGE) line runs along the right-hand (north shore) of The Lake.	Aerial pic from Photos by Kat
Photo: E. "Andy" Cleven	Photo: E. "Andy" Cleven
These two 1950s vintage aerial photos show the series of distinct fan-shaped peninsulas of the main Shalalth reserve (Slosh IR No.1) and the headland bench-pastures that are one of the community's hallmarks, each and every one of them enjoying a stunning view of the lake that unfortunately casual visitors will never see short of an invitation to visit the Reserve.  The Lakes Lillooet defy the usual assumptions about property ownership in pre-Contact native society (i.e. that there wasn't any), as each of the headlands by long tradition belonged to a certain family and remain in their hands today, albeit not under the usual concepts of titled ownership.  Seemingly immune from outside aggression, Shalalth nonentheless was vulnerable from raids by Chilcotin war parties coming over Mission Pass.
Photo: Mike Cleven	I'm not sure exactly where this spot is in Shalalth - just past the first point, I think, before the first main village, which would  be around the bend to the left.  In spite of the mountainous terrain, the fan-formations which line the lakeshore beneath the crags of Mission Ridge contain a surprising amount of habitable arable land.

Photo: E. Cleven

Shalalth Point

BC Archives # I-20552  (Photo: Boucher 1946)			BC Archives # I-20553   (Photo: Boucher 1946)
Although today barely more than a band office, a school, a small store, and some resort cabins, the vicinity of Shalalth Point in its heyday was the nerve-centre of the Bridge River country.    The complexities of getting in and out of the Bridge River Valley usually included having to stay overnight (or, for freight, to trans-ship through).  One of the most famous hostelries was Seton House, pictured at right, run by the notorious Ma Struthers; the picture at left is taken from the train stop for one of the other main hostelries, Shalalth Lodge, the main building of which is a private cabin today (Seton House burned down long ago).  Both of these pictures are from the BC Archives.
Photo: E. Cleven

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