ÃÂEsdilagh First Nation (), formerly Alexandria First Nation, is a First Nation community in the North Cariboo region of British Columbia, Canada. It is the smallest of the six member communities that form the Tsilhqot'in National Government. Formerly, the people of this region were known as ÃÂElhdaqox-t'in, the people of the Sturgeon River (Where ÃÂElhdaqox refers to what is now called the Fraser River - ÃÂElhdachugh being sturgeon, and Yeqox being the river). Today, the community goes by the name ÃÂEsdilagh, which in TÃ Âilhqot'in language means peninsula.
As a member of the TÃ Âilhqot'in National Government, ÃÂEsdilagh chose to opt-out of the British Columbia Treaty Process, instead fighting in the BC (and later Canada) Supreme Courts to prove unextinguished Aboriginal Title - see Tsilhqot'in Nation v British Columbia. After their win against the crown, the TÃ Âilhqot'in Nation has been undergoing negotiations with the Province of British Columbia under the "Nenqay Deni Accord" which will lead to the establishment of Category A "Title-like lands" and Category B "co-management" lands.
The history of this region is best told by the oral traditions of the Tà Âilhqot'in elders â whereby stories are told in the traditional language after the sun goes down.
Formerly, the people of this region were known as ÃÂElhdaqox-t'in, the people of the Sturgeon River (Where ÃÂElhdaqox refers to what is now called the Fraser River - ÃÂElhdachugh being sturgeon, and Yeqox being the river). Today, the community goes by the name ÃÂEsdilagh, which in TÃ Âilhqot'in language means peninsula.
During the time of the fur trade in British Columbia, many other First Nations settled in the region in order to trade with the nearby Hudson's Bay Company's Fort Alexandria. However, after two serious waves of Smallpox decimated TÃ Âilhqot'in populations in the late 1850s and early 1860s, the TÃ Âilhqot'in Nation decided it would be safest to extradite all non-TÃ Âilhqot'in peoples from their homeland. The threat of an intentional third wave of smallpox by one of Alfred Waddington's road crewmen in Bute Inlet was the trigger for the so-called Chilcotin War of 1864.
ÃÂEsdilagh was the birthplace of Chief Alexis who was himself ÃÂElhdaqox-t'in, and who the community of Alexis Creek, and the official name of the Chilcot'in Community of TÃ Âideldel (Alexis Creek Indian Band) is named.
A new health centre was constructed in 2016, named after former ÃÂEsdilagh Chief Frank "Chendi" Joe. The community has been developing agriculturally as well - with a new community/market garden and a commercial sized root cellar.