The Shishalh people, at the time of the first European contact had a population near 26,000. Shishalh women were famous for their beautiful cedar woven baskets, using materials gathered from the roots of the cedar tree, cannery grass and birch bark for the design.

The Sechelt First Nations settlement included four villages on the Sunshine Coast, two in Jervis Inlet

Jervis Inlet

Jervis Inlet is a principal inlet of the British Columbia Coast, about northwest of Vancouver.-Geography:It stretches from its head at the mouth of the short Skwakwa River to its opening into the Strait of Georgia near Texada Island...

, and one each in Pender Harbour and Sechelt Inlet

Sechelt Inlet

Sechelt Inlet is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast and the third of such inlets north from the 49th parallel north, the first of which is Burrard Inlet, Vancouver's harbour. The inlet is significant in that it almost makes an island of what is instead the Sechelt Peninsula,...

. As the Europeans settled in the region, the Shishalh people experienced numerous changes. Diseases (especially smallpox) became rampant, and resulted in a severe decrease of the Sechelt population at the various traditional settlements.

The language  of the Shishalh is called sháshíshálh (indigenous). Shashishalhem is considered the most practical English spelling of this word. Sháshíshálh is a Coast Salish language.

External links

• Sechelt (shíshálh) First Nation