It was created when the government of the then-Colony of British Columbia established an Indian reserve system in the 1860s.
The Pavilion people are part of both the Secwepemc (Shuswap) and St'at'imc (Lillooet) Nations, and are located at Pavilion in the Fraser Canyon north of Lillooet.
The Pavilion Band is one of three Secwepemc bands that is not a member of either the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council or the Northern Shuswap Tribal Council.
In the St'at'imcets language, Pavilion is called Ts'kw'aylacw or Ts'kw'aylaxw ("frost") (Pavilion is at a high elevation and much of the community is in shade for most of the day in winter, leading to frozen ground).
The people themselves are called the Tsk'waylacw'mc in St'at'imcets, or Tsk'weylecw'mc in Secwepmectsin.