Chief Lynda Price - Full of Heart in Anahim Lake

Undertaking her second consecutive term as chief of Ulkatcho (ul-kat-cho) First Nation (UFN), Chief Lynda Price preserves her heritage and culture while looking toward the future of her people and the beautiful place she calls home on the Anahim Lake plateau.

“My great-great grandfather is Chief Domas Squinas and he was Nuxalk, his family are from Stuie and they utilize this area, the Anahim Lake plateau, and that’s where I was born and raised. In our community, the Ulkatcho First Nation, our Indigenous community, we call ourselves sui generis [meaning ‘one of a kind’] because we are Nuxalk (new-hawk), Carrier and Tsilhqot’in (tseelh-coht-een).”

Firmly focused on improving the lives of the people she leads, Chief Price also maintains her connection with the land and all that inhabit it. Sometimes that means getting above it all by visiting the sacred site of Anahim Peak.

“I was standing there with my son and we’re out looking around, and we saw how beautiful our UFN territory is and that was a beautiful moment…I’m a leader here in my community and I know that we need to look out for our traditional territory and we also need to protect our resources and that includes our wildlife.”

Working with UFN elders who lead with traditional ecological knowledge, Chief Price knows that by working as a team everyone can benefit. 

“I love this region because it’s beautiful, we have our mountains, we have our fresh water, and we’re unique, we’re sui generis, and we love it here because we were born and raised here.”