1864 TSILHQOT'IN CHIEFS MEMORIAL
This monument marks the gravesite of five Tsilhqot'in chiefs who were executed under crown authority at Quesnellemouth on October 26th, 1864.
Accused of massacring a road-building party, these chiefs were tried, convicted, hanged and buried side by side near this site by the colony of British Columbia.
The Tsilhqot'in object to the chiefs being tried as criminals and continue to maintain that this was a territorial dispute between two warring nations. It was Chief LHATSAS?IN who said before he was killed:
"WE MEANT WAR, NOT MURDER"
This commemorative plaque has been raised to honour those who lost their lives in defence of the territory and the traditional way of life of the Tsilhqot'in and to express the inconsolable grief that has been collectively experienced at the injustice the Tsilhqot'in perceive was done to their chiefs.
A sixth chief, Kwutan, was executed in New Westminster in July 1865. This plaque was dedicated with respect to the honour of:
Head War Chief LHATSAS?IN
Chief BIYIL, Chief TILAGHED, Chief TAQED, Chief CHAYSES
Source: , , , Provincial Government of B.C. and the Tsilhqot'in National Government, 1864 Tsilhqot'in Chiefs Memorial, 1999. Notes: Text from a plaque mounted at the presumed burial site of the hanged Tsilhqot'in by the Province of British Columbia and the Tsilhqot'in National Government in 1999.