Sxwoxwiyám te S’olh Témexw – A Transformer Story of Our Land
In the Halq’eméylem language of the Stó:lo, Mt Cheam is named “Lhileqey”, also referred to as the “Mother Mountain” as she is the mother of “Séyowòt”, “Óyewòt”, and “Xomó:th’iya,” who are smaller mountains below her. She was originally from here and she left husband “Kwelxá (Mt. Baker) and she returned home to the Fraser Valley. Xexá:ls changed her mountain and gave her responsibility to watch over the people, the river and salmon.
Sxwoxwiyám te Lhílheqey
Well, Mt. Cheam is a lady and Mt. Baker is a man – this is an old legend – Mt. Baker comes over and looks for a wife and he finds Cheam is a nice looking girl, so he takes her over this country. They live there and they have three boys – Mt. Hood, Mt. Shahata (Shasta) and Mt. Shuksahn and they have three girls. But the boys are the oldest ones – after the boys grew up; then she had three little girls, she says “I had better go back home”, she say to my people on the Staw-loh (Stó:lo) – so she comes back and says “I’ll stand and guard”, she says “I’ll stand and guard the Staw-loh, that no harm comes to my people and no harm comes to the fish comes up to feed them;” – Then she takes her three children and she stands up there. If you are coming down from up the road there are three little points and those three little points are her children. They say she holds the smallest one, I-oh-way (Óyewòt), in her hand, and behind her – towards the south is the dog’s head – the head of the dog that followed her. She told the dog to go back home – but it stood there and stayed there. So now if the snow isn’t all off you could see the dog’s head. It’s really and honestly a dog’s head when the snow is just off, you can see it. You can see the ears and it looks like it’s just above water. It’s really a dog head but it wouldn’t go back to the family – The man family.
Mrs. Amy Cooper to Oliver Wells on February 8, 1962
The word Lhilheqey comes from Ihélqi = “rehydrate” (soak in water) something (berries, meat, fish) that’s been dried. Mt. Cheam was called this because there was lakes, especially one that was frequently used, where this soaking of dried food was done. Fish was especially noted as being soaked here. Probably during long berry gathering expeditions made to Mt. Cheam, an important gathering place, dried food was soaked at the camping place made by the lake.