What’s that name again?

Tatlyoko Valley

Locals commonly speak of our valley as “Tatlako”, rather than “Tatlayoko”, which is the official name that appears on maps and post office lists. When asked about the discrepancy, most long-time residents will say that Tatlako (without the “yo”) was the old-time name for the valley, and the name that they have always used.  

Many geographical names in the region end with “ko” –  Chilko, Taseko, and Chilanko, for example – a suffix most likely derived from the “qox” suffix of the Tsilhqot’in names – Tsilhqox, Dasiqox, and Tsalhanqox, respectively.  The Tsilhqot’in name for Tatlayoko – Telhiqox – also contains a qox suffix.  But there doesn’t appear to be a Tsilhqot’in syllable that might have become “yo” in the Anglicized version. 

So what’s with the “yo” in Tatlayoko? Where did that come from?  

A decade ago Stu Crawford visited the valley and heard about the name confusion.  When he returned to the University of Victoria, where he was a student, he did some research… read his paper here.