Stó꞉lō

Stó꞉lō
Stó꞉lō woman with cedar baskets
Total population
8,876 (2017)
Regions with significant populations
Canada (British Columbia)
Languages
English, Upriver Halkomelem
Religion
Christianity, Animism
Related ethnic groups
Coast Salish

The Stó꞉lō (/ˈstɔːl/), alternately written as Sto꞉lo, Stó꞉lô, or Stó꞉lõ, historically as Staulo, Stalo or Stahlo, and historically known and commonly referred to in ethnographic literature as the Fraser River Indians or Lower Fraser Salish, are a group of First Nations peoples inhabiting the Fraser Valley and lower Fraser Canyon of British Columbia, Canada, part of the loose grouping of Coast Salish nations. Stó꞉lō is the Halqemeylem word for "river", so the Stó꞉lō are the river people. The first documented reference to these people as "the Stó꞉lō" occurs in Catholic Oblate missionary records from the 1880s. Prior to this, references were primarily to individual tribal groups such as Matsqui, Ts’elxweyeqw, or Sumas.