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The shíshálh Nation, formerly called the Sechelt Indian Band, takes its name from the she shashishalhem word shíshálh, the name of the people who first settled the area. Stone tools found on the Sunshine Coast show that people have lived here continuously for up to 10,000 years. The shíshálh swiya (territory) covers about 515,000 hectares, from Roberts Creek in the southeast to Jervis Inlet in the north and Lang Bay in the southwest. The territory is unceded, and no treaty was ever signed.

On February 11, 1925, four main clans were united as one band:

• sxixus
• xenichen
• ts'unay
• tewankw

In 1986, under elected chief Stan Dixon, the Nation became the first in Canada to govern itself outside both the Indian Act and a treaty. The self-government law was modernized with Royal Assent on June 23, 2022. The Nation negotiates land and resource use outside the B.C. treaty process, and it signed a Foundation Agreement with the Province in 2018.

Community life is rooted in language, culture and the land, and members continue practices like harvesting and fishing. The Culture Department runs programs to revitalize culture and language. The Nation's business interests include the Tsain-ko Village Shopping Centre, a cultural complex, a longhouse, a share in a gravel mine and leased waterfront land. To learn more, visit the shíshálh Nation website.