The Sts'ailes are a First Nations people in the Lower Mainland

Lower Mainland

The Lower Mainland is a name commonly applied to the region surrounding and including Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. As of 2007, 2,524,113 people live in the region; sixteen of the province's thirty most populous municipalities are located there.While the term Lower Mainland has been...

 of the Canadian province of British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. They are a Halqemeylem-speaking people but are distinct historically and politically from the surrounding Sto:lo

Stó:lo

The Sto:lo , alternately written as Stó:lō, Stó:lô or Stó:lõ and historically as Staulo or Stahlo, and historically known and commonly referred to in ethnographic literature as the Fraser River Indians or Lower Fraser Salish, are a group of First Nations peoples inhabiting the Fraser Valley of...

 peoples. Their band government is the Chehalis First Nation

Chehalis First Nation

The Chehalis First Nation or Chehalis Indian Band is the band government of the Sts'Ailes people, whose territories lie between Deroche and Agassiz, British Columbia...

, and is located at the Indian Reserve

Indian reserve

In Canada, an Indian reserve is specified by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not...

 community of Chehalis, British Columbia

Chehalis, British Columbia

Chehalis, British Columbia is a small forestry, agricultural and First Nations community in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia located on Highway 7 on the west bank of the Harrison River between the town of Mission and the resort community of Harrison Hot Springs.Chehalis is the site of...

, which is named after them and is located on the Harrison River

Harrison River

The Harrison River is a short but large tributary of the Fraser River, entering it near the community of Chehalis, British Columbia. The Harrison drains Harrison Lake and is the de facto continuation of the Lillooet River, which feeds the lake....

 between the towns of Mission

Mission, British Columbia

Mission, the core of which was formerly known as Mission City, is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is situated on the north bank of the Fraser River overlooking the City of Abbotsford and with that city is part of the Central Fraser Valley. Mission is the...

 and Agassiz

Agassiz, British Columbia

Agassiz is a small community located in British Columbia's Fraser Valley. The only town within the jurisdiction of the District Municipality of Kent, it contains the majority of Kent's population.-References:...

.

Their name means "beating heart". Their usual English name, Chehalis, is identical to that of the much more numerous Chehalis people

Chehalis (tribe)

The Chehalis people are a native people of westernWashington state in the United States. They should not be confused with the similarly named Chehalis First Nation of the Harrison River in the Fraser Valley area of British Columbia....

 of southern Puget Sound

Puget Sound

Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...

 in Washington. By Sts'ailes tradition, the southern Chehalis were separated from their homeland as a consequence of the Great Flood.