Chief William Sepass (known in Halkomelem language as K'HHalserten, meaning "Golden Snake") (c. 1840s – 1943[1]) was born at Kettle Falls, Washington but migrated with his tribe into the Chilliwack and Fraser Canyon area of British Columbia after an epidemic.
As a boy, Sepass accompanied his tribe north into the Fraser Canyon which was experiencing the Cariboo Gold Rush.
His father built and operated a cedar log freight canoe to transport miners and supplies across Chilliwack Lake near the US/Canada border.
[2] The Canadian Indian Affairs Department encouraged Sepass to act as a spokesman for natives, which included his representing the Stó:lo people to the 1913 Royal Commission over land claims.
Sepass was partially literate and, being concerned that his people were losing their heritage, when seventy years old[1] he decided he wanted his stories preserved "in the Whiteman's book".