W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council (W̱LC) is an organization working to promote the interests of W̱SÁNEĆ by enhancing recognition of, and respect for, W̱SÁNEĆ’s Douglas Treaty rights and Aboriginal rights and title. W̱LC currently works for Tsartlip and Tseycum but aspires to bring all W̱SÁNEĆ together in collaboration.
This blog is Part Two of a two-part series exploring why W̱SÁNEĆ leaders established W̱LC and how W̱LC helps W̱SÁNEĆ collaborate to reach shared goals. This blog explores the historical context that created the need for an organization like W̱LC. In other words, it explores the why behind W̱LC’s existence. To learn more about how W̱LC brings W̱SÁNEĆ together, head to Part One of this blog series: Working Together as W̱SÁNEĆ: How W̱LC Supports Nation-Level Collaboration.
How Colonization Divided and Weakened W̱SÁNEĆ
At its heart, the need for an organization like W̱LC comes from the division of W̱SÁNEĆ created by colonization, and the way that division limits W̱SÁNEĆ’s ability to protect Douglas Treaty rights and Aboriginal rights and title.
Before the establishment of Indian Bands and the reserve system, W̱SÁNEĆ operated as one people, often living in shared spaces, coming together regarding concerns in the territory, including to meet with Douglas regarding settler use of land in W̱SÁNEĆ. On the contrary, under the current colonial framework, W̱SÁNEĆ are divided into Bands with disconnected governance structures and limited resources. This restricts W̱SÁNEĆ’s ability to come together to protect Douglas Treaty rights and Aboriginal rights and title in two ways.
First, the division of W̱SÁNEĆ dilutes each Band’s financial and human resources and is inefficient, having most topics researched, mapped and met about four times over, possibly creating four different solutions to the same problem.
Every single day, colonial entities such as the Airport, BC Ferries, and Parks Canada make decisions that impact W̱SÁNEĆ’s traditional territory. While these entities may attempt to run these decisions by the impacted Bands through a process called “referrals,” each Band can receive dozens of complicated referrals in any given month, overwhelming available Band staff members. Making matters worse, many of the colonial entities submitting referrals – like BC Ferries – have huge operating budgets and a large staff that dwarf the resources available to each Band of W̱SÁNEĆ.
This dynamic makes it challenging, if not impossible, for any Band on its own to review and respond to referrals before the colonial entity forges ahead, potentially infringing on W̱SÁNEĆ’s rights and title in the process.
Second, the division of W̱SÁNEĆ makes it challenging to address referrals that impact shared or overlapping territories. If, for example, BC Ferries submits a referral impacting shared territory between Tseycum and Tsartlip, there is no mechanism in place to ensure leadership from both communities review the referral, facilitate discussion of the shared impact, and create a plan to keep BC Ferries from infringing on W̱SÁNEĆ’s rights and title in that shared territory. With no such mechanism in place, it is easy for colonial entities to operate on shared and overlapping territories without accountability.
How the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve Led to the Creation of W̱LC
One clear illustration of both problems is the creation of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve (GINPR) in W̱SÁNEĆ’s territory. The GINPR was established in 2003, before the creation of W̱LC, on shared territory. When creating the GINPR, Parks Canada attempted to involve W̱SÁNEĆ by creating a “GINPR Parks Committee.” The Committee included one Chief and one nominated counsellor from Tsartlip, Pauquachan, Tsawout and Tseycum.
However, the small Committee was unable to adequately protect W̱SÁNEĆ’s interests for three reasons. First, referrals received by the Committee were provided merely as notice of work moving forward, rather than an opportunity for meaningful collaboration. Second, the Committee did not have the people power to handle the large number of referrals coming in from a wide variety of entities. And third, no mechanism existed to address shared and overlapping territories. For these reasons, the implementation of the GINPR moved ahead with little consideration for W̱SÁNEĆ’s rights and title.
W̱LC was created in 2018 to ensure the oversight of W̱SÁNEĆ interests experienced during the creation of the GINPR does not happen again. Specifically, W̱LC encourages, supports, and facilitates collaborative initiatives between W̱SÁNEĆ so W̱SÁNEĆ can more effectively interact with large colonial entities – like Parks Canada and the Capital Regional District – in situations where the entity may infringe on W̱SÁNEĆ’s rights and title in shared or overlapping territories.
How W̱LC Supports Collaborative Efforts Among W̱SÁNEĆ
To support this work, W̱LC has assembled a team that is committed to making collaboration among W̱SÁNEĆ easier, more efficient, and more effective. Supports available through W̱LC include skilled staff members – who possess expertise in everything from policy and negotiations to project management and Natural Laws – and a myriad of community members, including Knowledge Holders, Cultural Monitors, members of the Environmental Committee, a Board of Directors, and three committees: an Elders Advisory Committee, Youth Committee, and W̱SÁNEĆ Technical Advisory Committee (WTAC). To learn more about how this team comes together to support collaborative initiatives among W̱SÁNEĆ, head to Part One of this blog series: Working Together as W̱SÁNEĆ: How W̱LC Supports Nation-Level Collaboration.
To learn more about W̱LC’s work supporting W̱SÁNEĆ, be sure to sign up for W̱LC’s newsletter.