Semiahmoo people

The Semiahmoo (/ˌsɛmiˈɑːmuː/ SEM-ee-AH-moo), or SEMYOME are a Coast Salish indigenous people whose homeland is in the Lower Mainland region of southwestern British Columbia, Canada.

History

The Semiahmoo are more closely related to the Lummi and Samish peoples south of the international border, and to the Lekwammen and T'sou-ke peoples across the Strait of Georgia, than they are to the Halkomelem-speaking Sto:lo of the Fraser Valley and of the Fraser's delta to the north of themselves, the Musqueam.

The peoples of the strait are united by their North Straits Salish language and by their tradition of using an elaborate reef-net system to catch sockeye salmon as they entered Juan de Fuca Strait and the Strait of Georgia from the south, on their migration to spawning grounds in the Fraser River.

Indigenous Peoples of the Americas were very well organized and survived off the lands which were tied to their Hereditary Chief Names. Each House would have a Hereditary Chief Name and with the out line of their Traditional Territory and Shared Territories. The House Group was responsible for their Homeland and took care of their own families and communities. Laws governing what took place on the land were decided by the Hereditary Chief in Meetings.