Saik'uz First Nation

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A small totem outside the Saik'uz Potlatch House

Saik'uz First Nation (English: Stoney Creek) is a Dakelh nation whose main community is located on a reserve 9km South-east of Vanderhoof, British Columbia along Kenny Dam road.

The reserve is home to one store called G&F market which has a gas bar, and sells canned goods, pizza and fresh milk.

Saik'uz has many facilities including a band administration office where Chief and council make decisions for housing, education and foresty. The multiplex community hall is a building for traditional native dancing and annual general meetings (which all members of the community must attend). It is also used by kids to play volleyball, basketball and floor hockey. A health station is one block away from the band office. This facility provides the community with drug and alcohol counselling, parenting programmes, and a community kitchen. The reserve also has a volunteer firehall in case of bush fires or house fires.

There are currently twenty-one elders living on reserve. One of the nation's most famous elders was the late Mary John, Sr. The reserve also has a memorial park for veterans of the two world wars and the Korean War.

There are three water pumps located in various parts of the reserve where people found water before electricity. Today, water is stored in a water tower on the reserve.

[edit] The potlatch house

The Saik'uz potlatch house was built by the Stoney Creek Elders' Society in the years 1995-1996 on the shore of Nulki Lake. The potlatch house is a big log building which can hold 200-250 people, big enough for holding weddings, dances, meetings, and education courses. Upstairs are the main hall, a small kitchen, and two bathrooms. Downstairs are a larger kitchen and several offices.

Cabins along Nulki lake, near the Potlatch House

Aside from the house itself, surrounding facilities consist of eight cabins, a shower house, a boat launch, a smoke shack and a workshop.

There are six people hired year round to keep the camp ground and potlatch house running smoothly, including a manager, a bookkeeper, a cook, a cook's helper, and two campground maintenance men.

One of the sources of revenue for the potlatch house is Bingo which is held every Wednesday. The Bingo night was started in the late 1980s by two women from the Saik'uz reserve. Past jackpots have included a truck and cash prizes up to $20,000. Other sources of revenue are the campgrounds and the boat launch, which hold an annual fishing derby which usually happens on May Long Weekend in the spring. In 2006, the 16th annual derby offered the highest prize to date: $5000. Other prizes are donated by various business in Vanderhoof and surrounding areas.