A 2008 report on Pukaist history describes how our people relied on both the riverine lands along the Thompson River and the high meadows of Highland Valley. The riverine lands and highland meadows were used together. The river lands provided water, fishing, and cultivated ground. The highland meadows offered hay, grazing for cattle, and trout fishing in the mountain lakes.
The report describes how the reserves and the highland areas were used together. Moving between river and highland was part of how the land was used.
In 1913, Cook's Ferry testimony to the McKenna-McBride Commission described the Highland Valley reserves (numbers 12 through 15) as hay and meadow lands. People cut hay there, wintered cattle, and returned to the home village in spring. This seasonal pattern is described in the 1913 testimony.