Yearly Archives: 2019

Climate Science & Traditional Knowledge Illustration of ÁLEṈENEȻ (homeland) image by Artist David Underwood. The Southern Gulf Islands are disproportionately impacted by the climate emergency declared by the Capital Regional District and the Islands Trust. They are particularly vulnerable to risk of wild fire, drought affecting food production, seasonal water shortage and shoreline erosion caused by sea level rise and increased coastal storm surges. The ṮEṮÁĆES Climate Action Project will develop and deliver 3 five-day (30 hour) intensive educational programs that combine current climate science with Traditional Knowledge of the W̱ SÁNEĆ people to inform and support decision-making [...]

South Island First Nations from Nanaimo to Saanich come together to sign a historic Accord. On November 27th, 2019, after over a year of negotiations, talks and culturally appropriate ceremonies, the IEȽȻIȽTEL or Nuts’a maat kws ‘i’ shul’ hwilasmut tu Skwul ‘i’ kwthe’ Accord was signed. The Accord unites the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council (representing the Tsartlip First Nation, Tsawout First Nation, and Tseycum First Nation), the member bands of the Historic Cowichan Nation (Cowichan Tribes, Stz’uminus First Nation, Lyackson First Nation, Halalt First Nation, and Penelakut Tribe), and Malahat First Nation, Snuneymuxw First Nation, and Pauquachin First Nation. The [...]

The WLC environmental committee rolls out four projects to restore and reclaim native plants within the territory. Native plants in the W̱SÁNEĆ territory have been subject to disregard, mismanagement and neglect since colonization.  The environmental committee, a newly formed and still growing dedicated body, has been appointed by the WLC to reassert Douglas Treaty rights in order to repair this legacy of ecological damage.  Comprised of appointed members from three of the W̱SÁNEĆ villages, each committee member brings wisdom of the W̱SÁNEĆ natural laws and plant life to the initiative. The environmental committee will help to execute one the WLC’s [...]

The WLC is proud to have secured funding under the Nation Rebuilding Program, with the aim to unite the W̱SÁNEĆ people once again. Since the onset of colonialism, the W̱SÁNEĆ Nation has been actively divided: first by the creation of reserves and the promotion of agriculture; next by the imposition of the border between the US and Canada; and finally by the dispossession of W̱SÁNEĆ territory and the criminalization of W̱SÁNEĆ harvesting methods*. This division of the W̱SÁNEĆ Nation has caused severe fracturing of families, identities, and the W̱SÁNEĆ relationship to the land and water. W̱SÁNEĆ ancestors and elders have [...]

The WLC is committed to serving the best interests of each member of the W̱SÁNEĆ Nation.   The WLC is pleased to provide a number of exciting and culturally appropriate opportunities for community members to be involved. The WLC has had a productive initial year, rolling out a number of projects and initiatives under the umbrella of the broader mandate.  As the organization grows and matures, the WLC is continually seeking and acting on feedback to better serve the broader community in achieving our mandate.  As such, we’ve dramatically streamlined our Get Involved process. You spoke. We listened. Once of [...]

The WLC is pleased to welcome Shauna Johnson to the team! Learn more about Shauna and how her expertise and training will help fulfill the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council's mandate. Click play to view the short interview, or read the transcript below. https://youtu.be/wmgtJA8r6pY Shauna: My name is Shauna Johnson and my mother is Roberta Pelkey from the Tsawout First Nation. My father is Terry Johnson from the LaxKwala’ams Indian band. I've mostly grown up in the Tsawout reserve. My role at the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council is a Marine use planner, I just started October seventh. Interviewer: Can you tell [...]

The WLC is pleased to celebrate further progress in reclaiming traditional Language, Arts and Culture across W̱SÁNEĆ territory, this time on Mayne Island.  SENĆOŦEN language expert, J,SIṈTEN (Dr. John Elliott), has worked with The Mayne Island Museum and The Mayne Island Agricultural Society for months to create interpretive outdoor signage. The signs feature W̱SÁNEĆ art and are written in both SENĆOŦEN and English. Installations describe the area and its cultural significance, historic context, SENĆOŦEN name and uses of various sites by W̱SÁNEĆ people.  “This area is called Á,LELEṈ, meaning village place in SENĆOŦEN, the original language of the people here. [...]

The W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership council, representing Tsartlip, Tseycum, and Tsawout Nations, is pleased to co-host a historic herring advocacy event tentatively titled HELIT TŦE SȽOṈ,ET (Let the Herring Live), this November.  The history of W̱SÁNEĆ and herring: Herring have been under increased pressure from commercial fishing interests since the 1960’s when their numbers reached a critical low. Since then, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and Coastal First Nations, including the W̱SÁNEĆ, have been unable to agree on policies that prioritize the health of the herring population over commercial fishing interests.  Herring, once one of the most abundant fish [...]

New WLC Marine Use Planner The W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council is excited to announce Shauna Johnson as our new Marine Use Planner starting on October 7, 2019. Shauna is dedicated to W̱SÁNEĆ self-determination, in-depth community engagement, and she brings a wealth of experience to the table. Check out her bio below! Shauna Johnson is Coast Salish from the Tsawout First Nation on her mother’s side and Tsimshian from Laxkwala’ams on her father’s side. She has a Master of Science degree in Indigenous Community Planning (ICP) and has specialized expertise in providing planning support for indigenous communities to revitalize and [...]