MISSION STATEMENT

Helping our people build strong, healthy, successful individuals and communities through an honourable agreement with the people of the Cariboo-Chilcotin, Canada and British Columbia.

We joined the BC Treaty Process December of 1993, with the development of our Statement of Intent. At that time, most of our government were comprised of delegated positions, funded by the Department of Indian Affairs (DIA). Although we had begun to regain control of our health and education programs, we had very little involvement in provincial or regional land or resource management. Our people were using, and managing, the land for fishing, hunting and gathering plants and berries, but many of the court cases that clarified our rights to these resources had yet to be judged. Our Elders encouraged us to take back responsibility for the land, the people and the resources of Secwepemcul'ecw. We felt that it was finally time to negotiate an agreement over lands and self-governance that we had been lobbying for since 1910.

We had to do a lot of research, and learn how to negotiate in this new process along the way. By 1997, we agreed with Canada and BC on the topics of negotiation and how we would negotiate. Court cases such as Delgamuukw had strengthened our position in treaty negotiations, and required the provincial government to consult with us over land and resource use, and to consider that aboriginal title exists. This led to the beginnings of our Traditional Use Studies (TUS), where we developed maps and documents of our use, occupation and management of the land from the distant past to the present time.

The TUS work demonstrated our strong, lasting connection to the land, despite the challenges brought by Euro-Canadian settlement and the cultural displacement we experienced on the land. Since 1998, we have been working on an Agreement-In-Principle (AIP) with Canada and BC. This document will clarify our rights to lands and resources, and self-government, within the region, the province and Canada.

Treaty rights, under the Canadian Constitution, will protect our rights to develop health, social development, education, and community justice systems that can respond to our specific needs and interests, to protect our language and culture, to manage and benefit from our own lands and resources, to participate in regional and provincial fish, wildlife, land, forestry and parks management, to function as an independent First Nations government, to develop relationships with all other levels of government, and to economically benefit from the use of our lands and resources on our traditional territory.

Once the principles are agreed upon by our membership, Canada and BC, we will develop a Final Agreement (FA) for ratification by the parties. This will clarify our rights and will make it possible for us to fully exercise the rights our Elders have kept in their hearts, our chiefs have maintained, and that the courts have confirmed. To date we have agreed, in detail, on: Education, Environment, Marriage, Health, Parks and Protected Areas, and Social Development. We have also achieved agreement on major points in Lands, Forestry, Economic Development, Fish, Wildlife, Justice, and Inter-Governmental Relations. Upcoming negotiations will focus on Lands, Fish, Forestry, Parks, and Cultural Heritage.

The First Nations Summit is working for all treaty tables on Certainty and Fiscal Relations. Our treaty negotiations have supported our capacity building in natural resources, computer mapping, archaeology, community justice and cultural research. Our negotiations have considered our expanding role in health, education, and forest management. We are working to support economic development in our communities (upcoming projects include a tourism feasibility study which may lead to joint venture projects). Today, over 20 community members work in treaty and self-government, and as a result, have developed extensive skills in public administration, research, reporting, negotiating and financial management.

Our population is growing at 3% annually, compared to a regional average of 1.75%. We are here to stay, and to prosper alongside the larger community of the Cariboo-Chilcotin. We anticipate capacity building and provincial participation in land use and parks planning and tourism, increased benefits from forestry tenures, substantial agreement on land settlement, better inclusion of our off-reserve members, further improved relationships with regional/municipal government, increased support for Elders and more opportunities for Youth.

This site was developed by Cary Morin (NSTS Public Relations/Communications Coordinator) with the assistance of Emoda Design. Any use of any materials from this site must be done with the expressed approval of the Northern Shuswap Treaty Society.

Northern Shuswap Treaty Society ©2006

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