T'sou-ke Nation

The T'sou-ke Nation of the Coast Salish peoples, is a band government whose reserve community is located on Vancouver Island, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. In February 2013, the T'sou-ke Nation had 251 registered members, with two reserves around the Sooke Basin on the Strait of Juan de Fuca at the southern end of Vancouver Island, with a total area of 67 hectares (165 acres). The T'Souk-e people are the namesake of the town of Sooke, British Columbia and its surrounding harbour and basin.

The name "T'Sou-ke" is derived from the Sook tribe of Straits Salishans. Their name was derived from the SENĆOŦEN language word T'Sou-ke, the name of the species of Stickleback fish that live in the estuary of the river. The T'Sou-ke came into contact with Europeans through the Hudson's Bay Company. The anglicized version of the SENĆOŦEN word was first Soke (pronounced "soak") and then Sooke. The name of T'Sou-ke Nation's neighbouring town, river and basin and the main road, are based on the anglicized name, Sooke.

The language of the T'Sou-ke Nation is the T'Sou-ke dialect of the SENĆOŦEN (which linguists call Northern Straits Salish) of the Coast Salish languages, a subgroup of the Salishan language family. Chief Planes states, "At one time all our people spoke the language and it was not English. It was SENĆOŦEN, the language that we share with our neighbours at Scia'new and others around Victoria and Saanich." No one is currently fluent in the language, but language initiatives are encouraged using current technology, including online tools such as First Voices.

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