Keyoh is a Dakelh word meaning (ᗸᘏᑋ, territory, village, trapline). The Keyoh system is the land governance system amoung the central and southern Carrier in the central interior of British Columbia. The Keyoh is the principal area which a certain indigenous corporate family group or band has customary use, occupancy, stewardship and ownership rights. The Keyoh system is strongly patrilineal.

Keyoh is also applied to designate areas such as countries and settlements such as towns and a trapline in the non-native sense, that is the area within which a certain person has the right to trap, but the common translation "trapline" is misleading both in that it is not restricted to the right to trap and it is independent of the provincial system of trapline registration created in 1925. Indeed, one source of disparity between provincially registered traplines and keyoh, is that provincially registered traplines were held by a single individual who for many years had to be male.

The hereditary chief of a Keyoh is known as the keyohwhudachun,[1] Keyoh Holder or noble. The term keyoh is used in reference to Indigenous rights as on the web site of the Maiyoo Keyoh[2]. One notable Keyohwhudachun was Chief Kwah.

Keyohs predate the Indian Act statutory creations of Indian Bands, such as Nak'azdli Band, and keyohs continue to persist to the present.

The word takes the form keyah in the more western dialects.[3]

It is also the name of one of the student residence halls at the University of Northern British Columbia. UNBC defines Keyoh as "our community", and Neyoh, the name of another hall, as "our home" [4]

References

  1. ↑ Poser, William J. (2010) Saik'uz Whut'en Hubughunek (Stoney Creek Carrier Lexicon). Saik'uz First Nation Sixth edition.
  2. ↑ The Maiyoo Keyoh
  3. ↑ Yinka Dene Language Institute - Comparative Carrier Vocabulary
  4. ↑ UNBC Residence web site


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