W̱SÁNEĆ Land Trust Society Holiday Giving Campaign Exceeds Expectations

The W̱SÁNEĆ Land Trust Society (“WLTS”) raised over $35,000 in its first-ever holiday giving campaign.

Since its founding in 2021, WLTS – now a registered charity and approved Ecological Gifts Recipient – has served as a powerful, legacy-building tool for the return of land to the W̱SÁNEĆ community, facilitating the return of over 50 acres of land to W̱SÁNEĆ: 9.67-acre SISȻENEM (Halibut Island) and the 45.7 acres of land situated in the heart of ȾIKEL (Maber Flats).

WLTS seeks to continue this important work to help mitigate the harm caused to the W̱SÁNEĆ community by colonization. In the words of J¸SITEN / John Elliott (W̱SÁNEĆ Elder):

. . . the way that the colonizers developed the lands and made up their laws and rules, they left us out of it, intentionally left us out of it.

They tried to wipe out our histories. They tried to wipe out our language with boarding schools.

They killed and punished our generations before us like my mother’s family and families before that.

They took away all of their kids. They made the laws and regulations so that [there is] fee simple title [for] people on the outside of the reserve…

We couldn’t be part of that system….

That’s a racist law and that is still here today. And it’s caused our people to be impoverished to the point where our young people have no place to build a house.

That’s why, before 2023 ended, WLTS launched its first giving campaign to fuel continued land-back initiatives in 2024 and beyond. The campaign emphasized the importance of land-back as a means to provide a better future for W̱SÁNEĆ youth, better care for the climate, provide much-needed housing security, access traditional foods and medicines, and restore unceded, wrongfully claimed lands. WLTS sought to raise $10,000 by December 31st, 2023.

The campaign immediately exceeded expectations, raising over $1,000 in the first day, and – with the help of over 120 contributors – more than doubling the $10,000 goal within one week of the campaign’s launch. Over the 17 days of the campaign, WLTS raised a staggering $35,677 from 200 donors.

This overwhelming success means WLTS can move forward more quickly than expected with its 2024 goals, creating a greater impact for current and future generations of W̱SÁNEĆ, including work to:

secure the return of several sites within unceded W̱SÁNEĆ territories,.
begin work to remediate polluted lands and waters, restore ecological balance at ȾIKEL and elsewhere
Restore the Sacred relationship between W̱SÁNEĆ and the land and waters, by repairing broken access and indescribable cultural damage.
Re-establish access to traditional foods, medicines and materials.
Ensure new and future generations of W̱SÁNEĆ have access to Cultural knowledge and spaces for Cultural practices.
Ensure land returned stays in the hands of W̱SÁNEĆ community and future generations.

Want to support WLTS’s efforts? It’s not too late. Donations are encouraged among community members and settlers alike. In the words of Chief Don Tom, Tsartlip First Nation and W̱SÁNEĆ Lands Trust Society Director:

Everyone living in W̱SÁNEĆ Territory is a subject to the Douglas Treaties. W̱SÁNEĆ people have Douglas rights and Aboriginal rights and title, and settlers have obligations to protect and honour those rights. This means that reconciliation is everyone’s responsibility.

You’re invited to make a financial donation on WLTS’s giving page, or, to donate land, contact W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council Director of Operations Gord Elliott gord.elliott@https://wsanec.com/.

Most importantly: keep an eye out for an opportunity to become a key contributor through WLTS’s new monthly giving campaign for ongoing support, coming soon.