story and photos By Mark Forsythe

The ceremonial cutting of a rawhide ribbon on Tuesday marked the launch of a new park project to honour Chief Cexpe’nthlEm, a revered leader and peace-maker in the Lytton region. 

Cexpe’nthlEm, also known as Spintlum, was the key figure who convinced his people and neighbouring First Nations to pursue a truce with American miners in conflict with Indigenous peoples during the Fraser River gold rush of 1858. This decision averted a full scale war that could have dramatically altered the course of history in what became British Columbia. Cexpe’nthlEm descendants were among those in attendance.

Ernie Michel sings beside the Spintlum memorial that will be part of a new park.

People gathered above the confluence of the Fraser and Thompson Rivers at the Splintlum memorial for a ceremony punctuated by traditional songs, prayer and speeches. Wind gusts through the canyon prompted singer Ernie Michel to remark that ancestors were in attendance too, "they’re telling us that they’re here.”  

The park project has been a dream since 2007 when the New Pathways to Gold Society began collaborating with the Lytton First Nation, the Village of Lytton and St Barnabas Anglican Parish. Over the last 17 years the Society has generated almost $8 million for projects in Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities along the corridor stretching from Hope to Barkerville. Seed money for the Chief Cexpe’nthlEm Park Project has come from the Province of British Columbia.

Councillor and former New Pathways to Gold Society board member Byron Spinks and Amy Charlie prepare to cut the rawhide ribbon.

Work will begin immediately on creating a park that will feature a new lookout, interpretive signage to share the Cexpe’nthlEm story, and landscaping for a new community gathering space. Lytton First Nation Chief Niakia Hanna told the gathering there are many different interpretations of the Spintlum legacy and that he had to fight his own people — and the miners marshalled against them.

Councillor Byron Spinks said women were behind the decision to opt for peace because going to war during the salmon season would have left people starving the following winter. Lytton mayor Denise O’Connor said the park project will, "help educate people about this important part of a shared history ... and the park will be a place for people to come together.” Work is expected to be completed in the spring of 2025.

The Spintlum Memorial sits high above a breathtaking view of the Fraser and Thompson Rivers.

Lytton First Nation Chief Niakia Hanna