About Us

Leq'a:mel First Nation was once home to seven longhouses that over time were lost. Along with this tremendous loss came a gap in our traditions and culture. We have attempted to re-create life in the northwest coast longhouse and share the rich cultural, spiritual and communal knowledge in contemporary format with the Canadian public. The images used may not always be representative of the Leq'a:mel First Nation specifically, but we hope that they open a window into the past complexity, strength and skill of the Northwest Coast First Nations during the longhouse era.

Although we have not completely evolved in reviving our culture in our community, we are moving forward in small steps. One way has been to revert to our traditional name. We as the Leq'a:mel First Nation were named by the Indian Agent as Lakahahmen Indian Band as that was how they interpreted the pronunciation. In 1997 the Leq'a:mel Cultural Society was formed, and to date has a very active membership. Our community is committed to reviving our traditional ways and culture.

Leq'a:mel First Nation mission is to promote and preserve the Cultural, Economic and Community Balance; by encouraging membership's, communication and participation in achieving a healthy lifestyle and social harmony within the Nation. Leq'a:mel is also committed to establishing and promoting sound relationships with local municipalities and governments.

Many different communities and organizations have recognized our First Nation to be stewards of the Land. Leq'a:mel takes special interest in the environment, our culture leads our way into paying extra attention to the environment and doing our part to help correct the problems that we face with pollution in our air and water sheds, as well as in the wildlife habitats. LFN is involved in many partnerships such as, the Advocates of Nicomen Ecological Watershed (ANEW) and the Fraser River Scientific Development and Selective Harvest Partnership (FRSD&SHP). We are also one of the many voices speaking against the Sumas Energy 2 (SE2). At Leq'a:mel we believe that all of us must create an understanding of the environment and join as one in order to defeat the problems that we face today with pollution in our environment.

The Leq'a:mel First Nation (LFN) is located in the Lower Fraser Valley near Chilliwack and is signatory to the Sto:lo Nation.