"The St'át'imc are the original inhabitants of the territory which extends north to Churn Creek and to South French Bar; northwest to the headwaters of Bridge River; north and east toward Hat Creek Valley; east to the Big Slide; south to the island on Harrison Lake and west of the Fraser River to the headwaters of Lillooet River, Ryan River and Black Tusk."1
| First Nation | Population | Fluent Speakers | Understand or Speak Somewhat | Learning Speakers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas First Nation2 | 242 | 11 | 5 | 10 |
| Lil'wat Nation3 | 2116 | 48 | 406 | 459 |
| N'Quatqua4 | 295 | 10 | 25 | 20 |
| Nxwísten (Bridge River)5 | 420 | 9 | 3 | 65 |
| Samahquam Nation6 | 303 | 7 | 59 | 11 |
| Sekw’el’wás (Cayoose Creek)5 | 193 | 2 | 3 | 35 |
| Skatin Nations6 | 384 | 10 | 77 | 14 |
| T’ít’q’et First Nation7 | 579 | 1 | 93 | 294 |
| Tsal'álh (Seton Lake)5 | 648 | 18 | 6 | 89 |
| Ts'kw'aylaxw5 | 529 | 12 | 3 | 82 |
| Xaxli'p First Nation5 | 959 | 9 | 12 | 59 |
| Total | 6668 | 137 | 692 | 1138 |
"The Upper St’át’imc are the original inhabitants of the territory which extends west of the Fraser River from the mouth of Pavilion Creek (Sk’elpáqs), down to Texas Creek into the mountains above the Bridge River and west through the valleys of the Seton and Anderson Lakes toward Duffey Lake. To the east of the Fraser, the Upper St’át’imc territory includes the Three Lake Valley and the adjacent mountains extending toward Hat Creek. For countless generations, the Upper St’át’imc have lived in close harmony with the Lower St’át’imc to the south. Both speaking the St’át’imc language, the two peoples have always maintained deep bonds through marriage, political allegiance and trade. Today the Upper and Lower St’át’imc are considered one Nation."8
The Lil’wat First Nation call their language, Ucwalmícwts. Others have called this dialect Lower St'át'imc because all the communities that speak this dialect live lower on the Fraser River than those who speak the Upper St'át'imc dialect. These dialects are mutually intelligible and all the communities consider themselves to be of one Nation.
"Linguists, working together with Lil’wat have created a writing system with which the Lil’wat community is recording and teaching its language and history. Today, regional schools teach the language to our youth. Additionally, Simon Fraser University in cooperation with Lil’wat offers courses in Ucwalmicwts linguistics. Through our thoughts and actions, we are committed to keeping Ucwalmicwts a living language."9