| Common name | Tsekw'mus |
| Language | Shuswap |
| Type | Vernacular |
| Official trade name | No |
| Rank | 3 - (Other common name) |
| Country | Canada |
| Locality | Neskainlith (also spelled as Neskonlith) Indian Reserve near Chase. |
| Ref. | Bouchard, R. and D.I.D. Kennedy, 1975 |
| Life stage | juveniles and adults |
| Sex | females and males |
| Core | |
| 1st modifier | |
| 2nd modifier | |
| Remarks | Means "round face"; used by Neskainlith people as food and said to spawn in May in the Neskainlith area called "pelltseqw'mus" or "sucker place". This fish has firm, white, flaky and sweet flesh which is more palatable than that of white suckers (C. commersoni). These people speared suckers or caught them in gill nets and basket traps, especially during the May moon when they spawned in creeks leading to or from the lakes they inhabit. They were roasted or boiled in pails made of birch bark. Children were however forbidden to eat these fish because the flesh is extremely bony. This prohibition came with stories known as "The Legend of the Sucker" and "The War with the Sky People" (Ref. 10944). These legends recount how the sucker fell from the sky trying to land in the lake but instead falling on a pile of rocks which caused its body to be badly broken and dismembered. It was put together by several animal people who responded to its plea for help. It is said that the cranial bones of the sucker form the shapes of these animal people. |