Skip to content
PG Pulse
PG Pulse

Try searching for

Not finding it? Ask PG Pulse for an AI answer with sources

Lheidli T'enneh territory

Lheidli T'enneh territory and Indigenous Prince George

Prince George is built on the unceded land of the Lheidli T'enneh, the people of the confluence. Here is who they are, how to acknowledge the land, the history every resident should know, and where to find Indigenous services, events and language.

How to acknowledge the landVisit lheidli.ca

PG Pulse compiled this page from public sources, linked throughout. It does not speak for the Lheidli T'enneh or any other Nation. For anything official, go to lheidli.ca. Corrections are welcome.

Whose land is this?

The Lheidli T'enneh are a sub-group of the Dakelh (Carrier) people. Their traditional territory includes the city of Prince George and, in the City's words, much of the area from here to the Rocky Mountains. They were historically known as the Fort George Indian Band.

Lheidli
“The People from the Confluence of the River,” referring to how the Nechako River enters the Fraser at Prince George Source
T'enneh
“The People” Source

The City describes the name as the people from “where the two rivers flow together.” Treaty talks never concluded, so the territory remains unceded. Chief Dolleen Logan and eight councillors were elected in April 2025. Chief and Council

Black-and-white photo of a row of wooden houses on a river terrace, with forest and pale silt bluffs behind
The Lheidli T’enneh village at the confluence, about 1910, a few years before it was burned. Photographer unknown, via City of Prince George. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
  • 900+Nation membersThe Nation's website; Wikipedia lists 928 in 2025, most living off reserveSource
  • 1807Fort George post builtThe Lheidli village beside the post grew into a permanent settlementSource
  • 1913Families moved to ShelleyThe old village was burned so it could not be reoccupiedSource
  • 2000Land CodeThe Nation, not the Indian Act, governs its reserve landsSource
  • 2 votesTreaty declinedMembers voted down final agreements in 2007 and 2018Source
  • 2015Memorial Park renamedFort George Park became Lheidli T'enneh Memorial ParkSource

Acknowledging the land

The Lheidli T'enneh gave the City its own words for this. Start there, say it sincerely, and add something real.

The acknowledgement presented by the Nation

We respectfully acknowledge the unceded ancestral lands of the Lheidli T'enneh, on whose land we live, work and play.
Presented to City Council by Chief Dolleen Logan and the Lheidli T'enneh Council on September 21, 2022, as a plaque in English and Dakelh. The City now opens Council and committee meetings with it. City of Prince George

In Dakelh: School District 57's acknowledgement

Lheidli T'enneh hubeh keyoh whuts'odelhti.

School District 57 - Prince George respectfully acknowledge it is on the traditional and unceded territory of the Lheidli T'enneh.

The opening line of the School District 57 acknowledgement, published in its Lheidli Dakelh phrase guide. The guide notes it was created by language learners and invites corrections. SD57 guide

  • Know why you are saying it

    An acknowledgement recognizes that Prince George is on Lheidli T’enneh land that was never surrendered by treaty. It is a starting point for a relationship, not a formality.

  • Use the Nation’s own words

    The wording the Lheidli T’enneh presented to the City is a respectful default. Say the name carefully: learn it from the Nation or the dictionary audio before you speak.

  • Make it specific

    Say what the land means to your group, what you have learned, or what you are doing: a partnership, a hiring commitment, buying from Indigenous businesses, supporting language work.

  • Host says it, at the start

    The City’s practice is for the host to open meetings and events with it. Online, acknowledge the territory you are personally on.

  • Welcomes are different

    A welcome to the territory is given by Lheidli T’enneh people themselves. If you want one for your event, contact the Nation directly and offer honoraria.

The first three tips and the last are PG Pulse's suggestions, not guidance from the Nation. The fourth follows the City's published practice.

From the confluence to today

  1. Time immemorial

    The people of the confluence

    Lheidli T’enneh families live and travel across a territory reaching from the Prince George area toward the Rocky Mountains, with the rivers at its heart. Source

  2. 1807

    Fort George trading post

    Simon Fraser builds the Fort George fur trading post near the confluence. The Lheidli T’enneh become its trading partners, and many families settle in a village beside it. Source

  3. 1839

    A village of 187 people

    A count records 187 people living in the Lheidli village near the post. Source

  4. 1863

    The shortcut north

    A Lheidli guide leads prospectors over a low trail toward Summit Lake. The route later becomes known in English as the Giscome Portage. Source

  5. 1883

    Fort George Indian Reserve No. 1

    The reserve is set aside around the village at the confluence. Its footprint later becomes the land the railway wanted. Source

  6. 1911

    Reserve sold under pressure

    After years of pressure from the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and federal officials, the band agrees on November 18 to sell Reserve No. 1 for $125,000. Source

  7. 1913

    Moved to Shelley; village burned

    Families move to the new reserve at Shelley in September. The old village is burned so it cannot be reoccupied. The cemetery remains, now within Memorial Park. Source

  8. 1915

    City of Prince George incorporated

    The new city is incorporated on March 6, following the borders of the land acquired by the railway. Source

  9. 1922–1976

    Lejac Residential School

    The residential school at Fraser Lake, west of Prince George, operates for 54 years. Most students are Carrier (Dakelh) children. Source

  10. 1999

    First Nations land management

    Lheidli T’enneh is one of 14 First Nations party to the Framework Agreement on First Nation Land Management, which Canada ratifies through the First Nations Land Management Act on June 17, 1999. Source

  11. 2000

    Lheidli T’enneh Land Code

    The Land Code gives the Nation jurisdiction over decisions about its reserve lands and natural resources, in place of the Indian Act land rules. Source

  12. 2006

    First final agreement in the BC treaty process

    On October 29, the Lheidli T’enneh, BC and Canada initial the first final agreement reached under the BC treaty process. Source

  13. 2007

    Members vote no

    On March 30, members reject the treaty, 123 votes to 111. Source

  14. 2015

    Host Nation; the park is renamed

    The Lheidli T’enneh are the Official Host First Nation of the Canada Winter Games in Prince George, and Fort George Park becomes Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park. Source

  15. 2016

    Ancient Forest/Chun T’oh Whudujut

    The rainforest east of the city, on Lheidli T’enneh territory, becomes a provincial park on May 19. Source

  16. 2016–17

    Reconciliation Framework and MOU

    City Council adopts a Reconciliation Framework on June 21, 2016. A year later the Nation, City and Regional District sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation and Communication. Source

  17. 2018

    Second treaty vote

    An updated treaty is initialled in May. After five weeks of voting, members reject it in June, 185 votes to 137. The parties have since pursued other arrangements. Source

  18. 2018

    Memorial Park pavilion opens

    The pavilion opens with four days of public events, June 21 to 24, drawing about 2,500 people. Source

  19. 2019

    First potlatch in 73 years

    In November the Lheidli T’enneh host their first potlatch (balhats) in 73 years. Source

  20. 2022

    Territorial acknowledgement plaque

    Chief and Council present the City with its acknowledgement, in English and Dakelh. Source

  21. 2024

    MOU renewed

    The Nation, City and Regional District sign an updated MOU on June 21. Source

  22. 2025

    Chief Logan re-elected

    On April 9, Chief Dolleen Logan is elected to a third two-year term with eight councillors. Source

1910 survey map showing the Fort George Indian Reserve between the Nechako and Fraser rivers, with the townsites of Fort George and South Fort George beside it
A 1910 map: the Fort George Indian Reserve sits at the confluence, where downtown Prince George was later built. Map: F. E. Runnalls collection. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Read the full story of the reserve sale and removal in our guide, Lheidli T'enneh First Nation: People of the Confluence.

Places to know

The confluence, the site of the old village, the community at Shelley, and the schools and services where Indigenous people in Prince George gather and get support.

Tap a marker for details. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark street addresses or named features from OpenStreetMap.

Indigenous Prince George by the numbers

In the 2021 census, 11,470 people in Prince George identified as Indigenous: 15.3% of residents, about 2.6 times the share across BC.

  • Indigenous identity

    11,470

    15.3% of Prince George

    5.9% of BC

  • First Nations

    6,620

    8.8% of Prince George

    3.7% of BC

  • Métis

    4,395

    5.8% of Prince George

    2.0% of BC

  • Inuk (Inuit)

    70

    0.1% of Prince George

    0.0% of BC

Share of the population with Indigenous identity

Prince George15.3%

British Columbia5.9%

  • First Nations
  • Métis
  • Inuit, multiple and other Indigenous responses

Scale runs 0 to 16%. Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population, 25% sample data for people in private households; counts are rounded. Census counts are self-identified and are not Nation membership figures. Census Profile · More on the people dashboard

Neighbouring Nations

Prince George is a gathering place and service hub for First Nations across the north. Many Dakelh Nations to the west belong to the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, headquartered downtown. To the north are the Tse'Khene, “People of the Rocks,” at McLeod Lake.

CSTC members as listed by CSTC; McLeod Lake details from MLIB. Links go to each Nation's website, or to the Province's First Nations listing where we could not confirm one.

Support and services

Need to talk now?

Free and confidential. In an emergency, call 911.

  • 1-800-721-0066Indian Residential School Survivors Society crisis line24 hours, BC. For Survivors and their families.Website
  • 1-866-925-4419National Indian Residential School Crisis Line24 hours, Canada-wide, free. For former students and their families.Website
  • 1-800-588-8717KUU-US Crisis Line24 hours, BC-wide Indigenous crisis and support line for all ages.Website
  • 1-855-242-3310Hope for Wellness Help Line24 hours, for all Indigenous people in Canada. Online chat too.Website
  • 9-8-8Suicide Crisis HelplineCall or text, 24 hours, anywhere in Canada.Website

Nations and governments

Health and wellness

Community and family

Education

Housing

Phone numbers and addresses checked against each organization’s website on September 30, 2026. Call ahead: hours and programs change.

Gatherings through the year

  • Sep30National Day for Truth and ReconciliationSeptember 30 · Lheidli T'enneh Memorial ParkHonours residential school Survivors and the children who never came home. In 2026, from noon: a guided Reconciliation Walk through the traditional burial site, a reading of the 94 Calls to Action, then a 2 p.m. ceremony with a drum-in for Survivors. Wear orange. Details
  • Jun21National Indigenous Peoples DayJune 21 · Lheidli T'enneh Memorial ParkA free day of artisans, musicians, drummers, dancers, food and family activities on the summer solstice. In 2026 it ran 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a free shuttle from City Hall. Details
  • Jul11Moccasin WalkJuly (2026: July 11) · Prince GeorgeA community walk with 8.7 km and 4 km routes. All proceeds go to the Lheidli T’enneh Elders Society. Details
A band plays under the Lheidli T'enneh Memorial Park pavilion, with Lheidli T'enneh banners behind them
National Indigenous Peoples Day at the Memorial Park pavilion, June 21, 2019. Photo: Bob Steventon for Coldsnap Festival. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

September 30 has been a federal day of observance since 2021 and a BC statutory holiday since 2023. It grew out of Orange Shirt Day, begun in 2013 after Survivor Phyllis Webstad shared her story in Williams Lake. Background · Current Lheidli T'enneh events · All Prince George events

A few words in Dakelh

Carrier is a Northern Athabaskan language, and the Nation says it is seeing a resurgence thanks to its Elders. These words come from the Nation and the School District 57 Lheidli Dakelh guide. Listen to speakers in the dictionary before you try them out loud.

Lheidli T'enneh: Our language (dictionary, school program, resources)FirstVoices: DakelhSD57 Lheidli Dakelh phrase guide (greetings, seasons, animals, counting)First Peoples' Cultural Council

Learn more

From the Nation

Local government and partners

Truth and reconciliation

On PG Pulse

A large carved and painted drum standing upright outdoors
The Legacy Prayer Drum, built by Clint George in 2015 for the Canada Winter Games and the Lheidli T’enneh vision of unity. Photo: MVict. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Help us get this right

If you are a member of the Lheidli T'enneh or another Nation, or work with an organization listed here, and something is wrong, missing, or should not be shared, please tell us. We will correct it quickly and defer to the Nation’s own guidance.

Email hello@princegeorgepulse.ca

Last checked September 30, 2026.

Add PG Pulse to your home screen

Your browser installs apps from its Share menu.

  1. Tap Share in the browser toolbar (at the bottom of the screen on iPhone, at the top on iPad).
  2. Scroll down and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add. PG Pulse opens from its icon like any other app.