T'Sou-ke Nation
* New website launched June, 2025
* T'Sou-ke First Nation Newsletter, March 2026
* New Comprehensive Community Plan (CCP) nearing completion + Indigenous Service Canada CCP guidelines
* Opening of Community Complex & Health Centre (Sept. 16, 2025)
* T'Sou-ke Elects Larry Underwood As New Chief (Sooke News Mirror, Feb. 16, 2024)
- Indigenous Relations & Northern Affairs Canada - T'Sou-ke home page
- BC Assembly of First Nations - T'Sou-ke home page
* Registered Population (368) + Census Data 2021
* Audited Financial Statement, March 2025
* Governance
- T'Sou-ke First Nation Land Code (2006)
Te'mewx Treaty
- Currently in stage five of six. Process began in 1995 and has followed the BC Treaty Commission negotiation schedule. The sixth stage (implementation) will deliver modern treaties to each of the five Te'mewx member nations.
* Te'mexw Treaty Association (TTA) home page + this 2022 video featuring T'Sou-ke Councillor Rose Dumont, celebrating the collaborative work of bringing "power and independence" to the five nations through modern treaties.
* This follows the 2023/24 public engagement period and its resultant report, which includes the proposed treaty land map on page 15. The new treaties with the five nations will co-exist with the Douglas Treaties so as to maintain fishing and hunting rights. Summary from the Province here.
* T'Sou-ke proposed treaty lands are parcels at Sooke Mountain Provincial Park and Broom Hill crown lands along with small tracts in Otter Point and at French Beach. No privately held or District-owned land in Sooke is involved.
* Sooke Mountain Park ~ "Sooke Mountain Provincial Park is being considered to become public Treaty Lands as part of the T’Sou-ke Treaty, subject to successful conclusion of the treaty negotiations, and ratification by all parties. Te'mexw Treaty Association and B.C. have a shared interest in maintaining public access and continued recreational opportunities to the park, while protecting the ecological and conservation values. These interests will be detailed in the treaties’ terms and conditions."
SKA'PEȽ I'SOT ALEṈ T'Sou-ke Community Complex and Health Centre
- T'Sou-ke Nation announcement upon centre's Sept. 15, 2025 opening. <clip> "The CCHC serves as a cornerstone for community life with a spacious hall for large gatherings and community events, a fully equipped kitchen for providing meals and training opportunities, and several meeting and community rooms to conduct business and host community activities. The building is home to the Nation’s administration, children and families, health, and lands and environment departments. A key highlight of the CCHC features brand new doctors’ offices and laboratory and medical equipment required to provide holistic health services to T’Sou-ke community members. It provides a well-equipped space to deliver programs to address the physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental health needs of the community ... The Community Complex and Health Centre stands as a powerful testament to the T’Sou-ke Nation’s strength, resilience, and vision. It will serve not only as a place for governance and health, but also as a vibrant heart of culture, learning, and connection for generations to come."
- News Mirror coverage of opening
- T'Sou-ke website health centre page
- "$14m T'Sou-ke Nation Centre Takes Inspiration From Sooke River"
- Health Services website home page
Truth and Reconciliation: Calls For Action
* TRC Calls to Action (94 actions)
* Indigenous Watchdog - TRC Calls to Action Status, March 2026
* Federal Government: Delivering on the TRC Calls to Action (December, 2025 update)
* Progress Too Slow (Global News, June 2024)
* A Decade of Disappointment (Yellowhead Institute)
* Beyond 94 (CBC tracker, 2021)
District of Sooke
- First Nations and Indigenous Relations website page
- New Official Community Plan adopted on Dec. 8, 2025:
- Land acknowledgement (pg. 3) ~
"Central to Sooke’s history is the acknowledgment that Sooke
occupies the unceded traditional territories of T’Sou-ke Nation and
Sc’ianew First Nation, and acknowledgment of these Nations’ ongoing
presence, influence, and rights within the community. The ancestors
of the T’Sou-ke Nation and Sc’ianew Nation have lived in and
stewarded these lands and waters since Time Immemorial.
The District of Sooke makes this land acknowledgment to raise
awareness of ongoing Indigenous presence and land rights in the
territory that includes and encompasses Sooke. It invites us, a local
government, to reflect on how colonial processes are ongoing – and
from which we have benefited – as well as the changes we must
make to honour the Indigenous peoples and their lands that we
inhabit."
- OCP Steering Committee comments from the preamble: " The fourth message that emerged from the engagement process is the importance of continuing to build and enhance Sooke’s historic and productive relationship with the T’Sou-ke Nation. This coincides with the opportunity to work with T’Sou-ke Nation to develop Neighbourhood Area Plans. Together with the T’Sou-ke Nation, Sooke will need to focus on infrastructure development in this area to address existing issues with high water tables, seasonal flooding, and the ecological health of the harbour and basin. Honouring and amplifying T’Sou-ke cultural knowledge and presence in our efforts to develop meaningful policies and actions towards environmental stewardship and compact growth is integral to our future as a community."
- Equitable Community Policies and Actions (pp. 145-147)
4.11 Equitable Community
"Sooke strives to be a vibrant place where everyone is respected, belongs and thrives.
Sooke’s diversity of identities and cultures, and our relationship with Indigenous partners, is key to realizing the community’s vision. Currently, however, structural inequities mean that not everyone in our community has access to the same opportunities or experiences.
To support a more just and equitable community, the District will analyze current policies to understand who benefits and who is excluded, and take meaningful action to supporr more positive outcomes. Sooke commits to a strong relationship with T’Sou-ke Nation and other Indigenous communities through initiatives and processes that advance and support reconciliation.
Objective 4.11.1 - Continue to strengthen relationships with T’Sou-ke Nation and other Indigenous communities through initiatives and processes to advance and support reconciliation.
Action 4.11.1.1 - Review and implement applicable Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission reports and Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered
Indigenous Women and Girls.
Action 4.11.1.2 - Through the MoU Working Group between the District and T’Sou-ke Nation, commit to developing an action plan to implement UNDRIP locally.
Action 4.11.1.3 - Collaborate with T’Sou-ke Nation and other Indigenous communities on initiatives that reduce systemic inequities and support self-determination."
Sooke School District #62
- BC First Nations Education Act (2007)
- SD 62 Indigenous Education home page
- Equity In Action
- NA’TSA’MAHT Enhancement Agreement (pp. 17-37, May 27, 2025 board agenda)
"A five-year working agreement developed by our school District, all local Indigenous communities and partners, and the Ministry of Education. The goal of the agreement is to maintain and enhance our collective ownership to improve the success of Indigenous students, create safe, welcoming and inclusive learning environments, and provide learning opportunities based on the First Peoples Principles of Learning for all students, staff, and communities. There are two goals: i) One Mind Goal: To progress individual Indigenous student success K to 12, leading to a Dogwood diploma and supporting pathways to employment beyond graduation that reflect student choice and voice; and ii) One Spirit Goal: To build understanding of Indigenous histories, cultures, and ways of knowing and being, for the purpose of creating safe, welcoming and inclusive learning environments K to 12."
- Traditional Territory Acknowledgements (2025 working paper)
T'Sou-ke Truth For Reconciliation
- Sooke Truth for Reconciliation Group (founded 2018 by Edith and Victor Newman, Margaret Critchlow, and the late Linda Bristol; monthly meetings on T'Sou-ke territory with guest speakers)
- "If you would like to have your name included on an email list to be notified about the monthly book club meetings at the Sooke library, email [email protected]." Newsletters include links to videos, presentations, film nights (at VIRL Sooke) and recommended reading. Examples ...
* How Indigenous Law Can Transform Canada's Justice System (BC First Nation Justice Council, 2025)
* 2025 in Review: 25 Good News Stories from First Nations (Coast Funds)
* Governor General's Address: Survivors' Gathering (Dec. 16, 2025)
* AFN: Accelerated Action Needed Now On Canada's Implementation of UNDRIP (Oct. 29, 2025)
* Mr. Carney, About That Pipeline Deal, We Need to Talk (The Walrus, Dec. 2, 2025)
* What is the Doctrine of Discovery? and The Indian Act: Its ongoing impact on First Nations| TVO – Jul 31, 2024
Community Walk and Gathering, Sept. 30, 2025
- First such walk in Sooke and event at John Philips Memorial Park on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, organized by Katherine Strongwind and friends + Sooke News Mirror and Victoria News coverage
Cowichan Tribes Decision
The BC government and others are appealing on the grounds that private property ownership is sacrosanct. The resultant legal process will take many years. Private property rights remain entirely valid under the BC Land Titles Act. No question this is a complicated matter that will take time to resolve. In the meantime, current fears are stoked by the fringe One BC party and its vocal supporters.
- Province Considering A Pause on DRIPA (Times Colonist, April 2) <clip> "Premier David Eby says he will stake his government on suspending sections of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act for up to three years, calling it the "least invasive" way of mitigating its potentially sweeping and unintended impact on the province's laws.Speaking after a meeting with First Nations leaders on Thursday, Eby said his government would pass legislation this session to suspend certain sections of the law that place the province at the greatest legal risk."
- Province of BC: Cowichan Nation land-title legal action update (March 2, 2026). <clip> "For transparency, neither the Cowichan Nation nor British Columbia are seeking to invalidate any privately held fee simple titles on the Cowichan Title Lands throuogh the negotiation or appeal processes."
- Poor Long-Term Governance Led to Cowichan Decision Chaos - Times Colonist, April 1. <clip> "A closer look at the Cowichan decision reveals a deeper source of this chaos. In the 19th-century the Cowichan people had a long-standing settlement at Tl’uqtinus along the Fraser River. Crown authorities were aware of their presence in that territory. The Cowichan and their lands ought to have been protected by the Crown. The land should have been set aside as a reserve. Instead it was surveyed and sold by the very Crown agent responsible for administering the Crown lands – to himself. That parcel of land is now held by private owners, municipalities, government agencies – all operating under the assumption that the land had been legally obtained by the Crown. They, wrongly, trusted that previous governments had done their due diligence. Courts are being asked to solve legal land issues that governments should have resolved, not exacerbated, a long time ago. The Crown has skirted its responsibility, everyone else is stuck trying to clean up their portion of a mess they didn’t make."
* Musqueam Agreements Are A Good Step (Adam Olsen, The Tyee, March 2026)
* Cowichan decision in 'rock-solid law,' won't affect private landowners, expert says (UBC, Feb. 19, 2026) + PDF
* RAVEN Trust: What We Know To Be True (Feb. 4, 2026)
* "Trevor Howard Is Wrong About Land Title and DRIPA" (Adam Olsen, The Tyee, Jan. 5, 2026)
* BC Premier Meets With Indigenous Leaders Amidst Cowichan Tension - CBC, Nov. 4, 2025)
* BC Supreme Court Decision - Aug. 7, 2025 (case first filed on Sept. 9, 2019)
* Cowichan Tribes website statements on the decision + technical backgrounder
* City of Richmond: Notice to Registered Owners - Oct. 2025
* Legal Panel Discussion at UBCM Conference, Sept. 23, 2025
* Coverage of the UBCM discussion (Resource Works) <clip> ""The panel agreed on two points: the Cowichan case is measured, not catastrophic, and it is also massive in significance. Appeals are already underway, and the process could take seven years or more. In the meantime, municipalities, lenders, and governments will be navigating uncharted territory."
* The Cowichan Ruling Doesn't End Private Property, It Tests Our Honour - Vancouver Sun, Oct. 24
* Correcting Misconceptions: The Cowichan Tribes Decision - Kate Gunn, First Peoples' Law
* "It's A Big Deal," says BC Premier - Les Lyne, Vancouver Sun, Oct. 20
* Related: Rising Tide - Haida Land Title Agreement, April 14, 2024
* Fraser Institute - Indigenous Policy (note: "The Fraser Institute is widely characterized as a right-of-centre, conservative, or libertarian think tank. While it describes itself as an "independent, non-partisan research and educational organization", its work consistently advocates for free-market principles and limited government intervention." - Google AI) Its counterpart is the BC Society for Policy Solutions (formerly the BC office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives).
Miscellaneous
* First Nations Tell Aaron Gunn, 'Chillax, Bud.' (The Tyee, March 11, 2026) re: Gunn's Facebook call for governments to stop offering land acknowledgements. Chiefs in the North Island-Powell River area wrote: “Land acknowledgements have never seized private property, cancelled a mortgage, repossessed a pickup truck, or altered a single title deed anywhere in Canada. They are simply people recognizing the history of the place where they are standing.”
* The Tyee - Indigenous Relations news archive
* Environics Institute: Canadians on Reconciliation and Relations With Indigenous Peoples (2025 update) + PDF (latest follow-up on survey first conducted in 2016). Key findings:
"i) Growing Awareness & Support: There is increased awareness of the injustices, such as residential schools, leading to stronger support for specific actions like ensuring clean drinking water, adequate housing, and equitable funding for Indigenous education.
ii) Government Action: A majority of Canadians believe that governments have not gone far enough in advancing reconciliation.
iii) Optimism vs. Realism: While roughly two-thirds of Canadians are optimistic about meaningful progress, there is also a recognition that relations are currently strained or negative.
iv) Role of Citizens: A majority of non-Indigenous Canadians acknowledge that they have a personal role to play in reconciliation.
v) Impact of Interaction: Non-Indigenous individuals with close Indigenous friends are more likely to have positive views on relations and be optimistic about reconciliation.
vi) Barriers: Major obstacles identified by both populations include persistent stereotypes, a lack of awareness, and inadequate political leadership."
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United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007) + PDF
"The Declaration addresses both individual and collective rights, cultural rights and identity, rights to education, health, employment, language and others. It outlaws discrimination against indigenous peoples and promotes their full and effective participation in all matters that concern them. It also ensures their right to remain distinct and to pursue their own visions of economic, social and cultural development. The Declaration explicitly encourages harmonious and cooperative relations between States and Indigenous Peoples." (from media advisory)
Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada (Canadian Geographic)
British Columbia Assembly of First Nations website
Assembly of First Nations: It's Our Time Toolkit
22 learning modules including ...
- Pre-Contact
- Impacts of Contact
- Treaties
- First Nations Holistic Life-Long Learning
- Residential Schools
- Timelines and Maps
- First Nation Social/Health Performance Indicator Checklist
- Economic Growth and Employment
- Climate Emergency - 20 Urgent Calls for Action (2022)
- Economic Development Policy Papers - Towards a new GDP for BC
- Housing and Homelessness - 2024 Annual Forum report
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation - Learning Centre
* Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future (summary of the final report)
"The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was a commission like no other in Canada. Constituted and created by the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, which settled the class actions, the Commission spent six years travelling to all parts of Canada to hear from the Aboriginal people who had been taken from their families as children, forcibly if necessary, and placed for much of their child- hoods in residential schools ... Getting to the truth was hard, but getting to reconciliation will be harder. It requires that the paternalistic and racist foundations of the residential school system be rejected as the basis for an ongoing relationship. Reconciliation requires that a new vision, based on a commitment to mutual respect, be developed. It also requires an understanding that the most harmful impacts of residential schools have been the loss of pride and self-respect of Aboriginal people, and the lack of respect that non-Aboriginal people have been raised to have for their Aboriginal neighbours. Reconciliation is not an Aboriginal problem; it is a Canadian one. Virtually all aspects of Canadian society may need to be reconsidered."
* TRC Calls to Action (94 actions)
* Federal Government: Delivering on the TRC Calls to Action (December, 2025 update)
- What We Have Learned: Principles of Truth & Reconciliation
- The Survivors Speak
- Canada's Residential Schools: The History Part 1: Origins to 1939 + Part 2: 1939-2000
- Missing Children and Unmarked Burials
- Canada's Residential Schools: The Legacy
- Canada's Residential Schools: Reconciliation
- Independent Assessment Process: 2021 Final Report
- National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation: 2021 Annual Report
- Residential School Settlement (2007)
- Statement of Apology by PM Harper (June 11, 2008)
National Inquiry Into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
- Reclaiming Power and Place: Final Report Volume 1A + Volume 1B
"In this report, we use hard words to address hard truths like genocide, colonization, murder and rape. To deny these hard words is to deny the truths of the families and survivors, front-line workers, and grassroots organizers. We used hard words because the violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people is a difficult, critically important crisis to address and in which we all have a role." - Chief Commissioner Marion Buller
"The truths shared in these National Inquiry hearings tell the story – or, more accurately, thousands of stories – of acts of genocide against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. The violence the National Inquiry heard amounts to a race-based genocide of Indigenous Peoples, including First Nations, Inuit and Métis, which especially targets women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. This genocide has been empowered by colonial structures evidenced notably by the Indian Act, the Sixties Scoop, residential schools and breaches of human and Indigenous rights, leading directly to the current increased rates of violence, death, and suicide in Indigenous populations."
Red Dress Day (May 5 annually)
aka National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People
- Prayer from T'Sou-ke Elder Jackie (Sooke School District #62 video, 2023)
- Canadian Encyclopedia
- Jaime Black's REDress Project Installation
- REDress Project Artwork Gifted to the District of Sooke by Rotary Club (Nov. 2022) + news article
- Native Women's Association of Canada - REDress educational toolkit
National Indigenous History Month (June)
Weekly themes (2023):
- June 1 to 6: Women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people
- June 5 to 11: Environment, traditional knowledge and territory
- June 10 to 18: Children and youth
- June 19 to 25: Languages, cultures and arts
- June 26 to 30: Reconciliation
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation/Orange Shirt Day (September 30)
"National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a day for all Canadians to commemorate the history and legacy of the residential school system. It’s a day to honour the resilience, dignity and strength of survivors and intergenerational survivors and remember the children who never came home. It's a chance to engage and educate people about B.C.'s colonial history and how it has and continues to impact Indigenous communities." (Province of BC)
Government of Canada page: "The day honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process ... Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day intended to raise awareness of the individual, family and community inter-generational impacts of residential schools, and to promote the concept of “Every Child Matters”. The orange shirt is a symbol of the stripping away of culture, freedom and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations."
- National Day for Truth and Reconciliation funded projects across Canada
T'Sou-ke Nation
"The word T'Sou-ke (tsa-awk) is the name of the stickleback fish (found in the estuary of the Sooke basin) in the SENĆOŦEN language of the T'Sou-ke Nation. The anglicized name of T'Sou-ke is Sooke." (from signage for the District of Sooke's Stickleback Urban Trail).
T'Sou-ke website home page
- Chief and Council
- Fisheries and Marine
- Lands, Forestry and Environment
Government of Canada - T'Sou-ke Nation page
T’Sou-ke IR 1 - 26.3 hectares
T’Sou-ke IR2 - 40.9 hectares
~ Memorandum of Understanding with the District of Sooke first drawn up in 2007 (updated since; the current council has met with its T'Sou-ke counterparts four times since 2019 with alternating visits hosted by each local government)
T'Sou-ke Solar City
~ Towards Total Transition: The Tyee, 2018
~ Trailblazer: T'Sou-ke First Nation Solar and Greenhouse Initiatives (KAIROS Canada)
- Solar Energy to Strive for Net Zero (2012 video)
- T'Sou-ke Solar presentation by Andrew Moore (2012 video; no longer available online)
~ T'Sou-ke Indigenous Housing Solutions Lab: IISAAK OLAM Foundation (2021)
~ T'Sou-ke Health and Community Centre (Times Colonist story; construction begins in 2023/24)
~ T’Sou-ke Centre for Sustainability Housing Innovation (skills training in the creation of energy efficient housing for BC indigenous communities)
~ Transport Canada's Maritime Awareness Situational Analysis Initiative is a monitoring and data-collection partnership with coastal First Nations, T'Sou-ke and Pacheedaht included. The T'Sou-ke station will monitor maritime traffic, identify sensitive habitats, track orca and salmon populations, document weather, tides and currents, and chart marine hazards and navigational aides.
~ Oceans Networks Canada and the T'Sou-ke are collaborating on water-quality monitoring in the basin, which is currently home to 4 million oysters following nearly a decade of aquaculture development. The T'Sou-ke wish to again harvest clams, oysters and crab.
~ T'Sou-ke vision of a 100-year managed forest agreement with TimberWest in the Sooke Hills. Chief Planes notes that elders have always spoken of the need to "enhance the forest environment every year"
Salmon Conservation and Enhancement
- T'Sou-ke Chief Gordon Planes on significance of wild pacific salmon (Save Our Salmon SOS video, 2023)
~ Sooke Salmon Enhancement Society
- Jack Brooks Hatchery (Gov. of BC press release)
~ Charters River Salmon Interpretive Centre
Videos
- Site of Significance: T'Sou-ke Nation's Connection to Long Spit (District of Sooke)
- Connection to Local Food Sources on T'Sou-ke Nation Territory (District of Sooke)
- Connection to Land and Forest on T'Sou-ke Nation Territory (District of Sooke)
- T'Sou-ke Territory Shoreline Clean-Up (Coastal Restoration Society)
- T'Sou-ke First Nation Trailcam Seminar (Coexisting with Carnivores Alliance)
- T'Sou-ke Nation First Solar City, Housing and Innovation (Creatively United presentation by Larissa Stendie from Clean Technology Community Gateway)
- University of Victoria Environmental Studies Class Visit to T'Sou-ke Nation (2016)
Treaties
Government of Canada: About Treaties
https://temexw.org
"The First Nations of British Columbia are in a unique situation with regard to treaties. Most of the province (about 95% of the land base) is unceded, non-surrendered First Nation territories. In 1871, when B.C. joined Confederation, the government of the colony of B.C. declared that Aboriginal title had been extinguished.
Note: Aboriginal title refers to the inherent right to land or a territory.
The Canadian legal system now recognizes Aboriginal title as the unique collective right to the use of and jurisdiction over a group's ancestral territories. And the courts have been increasingly firm that the Crown in B.C does not have clear title to the land and its resources.
Treaties signed with First Nations in Canada between 1701 and 1923 are commonly referred to as historic treaties. In BC, there are Douglas treaties, signed with First Nations on Vancouver Island, and Treaty 8 covering a portion of northeastern BC.
Treaties signed today are called modern treaties, and cover where there are no historic treaties, and can also deal with matters not addressed in historic treaties.
65 self-identifying First Nations, representing 109 current and former Indian Act bands out of all 200 Indian Act bands in BC, are participating in, or have completed treaties through, the treaty negotiations process. This is 54.5% of all BC Indian Act bands."
Resources:
- BC Treaty Commission’s interactive map - https://www.bctreaty.ca/map
- Treaty 8 Tribal Association http://treaty8.bc.ca/
- Nisaga’a Treaty https://www.nisgaanation.ca/understanding-treaty
HISTORICAL TREATIES
"James Douglas of the Hudson’s Bay Company made 14 purchases of First Nations land between 1850 and 1854 at the request of the British Crown. These transactions are known as the Douglas Treaties and were made with the following tribes: Teechamitsa, Kosampson, Whyomilth, Swengwhung, Chilcowitch, Che-ko-nein, Ka-ky-aakan, Chewhaytsum, T’Sou-ke, Saanich (South), Saanich (North), Saalequun, Queackar, and Quakiolth. Many of the descendants of the signatories of these communities continue to proudly assert and exercise their Douglas Treaty rights."
"Sooke Tribe - North-West of Sooke Inlet
Know all men, we, the chiefs and people of family of Sooke, acting for and on behalf of our people, who being here present have individually and collectively ratified and confirmed this act. Now know that we, who have signed our names and made our marks to this deed on the first day of May, one thousand eight hundred and fifty, do consent to surrender, entirely and for ever to James Douglas, the agent of the Hudson's Bay Company in Vancouver Island, that is to say, for the Governor, Deputy Governor, and Committee of the same, the whole of the lands situated and lying between the Bay of Syusung, or Sooke Inlet, tot he Three Rivers beyond Thlowuck, or Point Shirringham, on the Straits of Juan de Fuca, and the snow covered mountains in the interior of Vancouver Island.
The conditions of our understanding of this sale is this, that our village sites and enclosed fields are to be kept for our own use, for the use of our children, and for those who may follow afer us and the land shall be properly surveyed hereafter. It is understood, however, that the land itself, with these small exceptions, becomes the entire property of the white people for ever; it is also understood that we are at liberty to hunt over the unoccupied lands, and to carry on our fisheries as formerly.
We have received, as payment, Forty-eight pounds six shillings and eight pence.
In token whereof, we have signed our names and made our marks at Fort Victoria, on the first day of May, one thousand eight hundred and fifty.
(Signed)
Wanseea his X mark
Tanasman his X mark
Chysimkan his X mark
Yokum his X mark
Chiefs commissioned by and representing the Sooke Tribe here assembled."
MODERN TREATIES
Many nations are at different stages in the treaty process. Look up a specific nation to see where they are at in the process - https://bctreaty.ca/negotiation-update.
- Douglas Treaty
Te’mexw Treaty Association is a non-profit society formed of five Coast Salish Nations – Beecher Bay (SC’IA⁄NEW), Malahat, Snaw-Naw-As, Songhees and T’Sou-ke. The Te’mexw five member Nations joined to support one another and to work together under one organization to negotiate five Nation-specific modern treaties with the federal and provincial governments in the British Columbia Treaty Process. - Maa-nulth Treaty
The five First Nations, were former Indian Act bands, and become self-governing through the Maanulth Treaty, which is being implemented by the five independent governments: Huu‑ay‑aht First Nations, Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k’tles7et’h’ First Nation, Toquaht Nation, Uchucklesaht Tribe, and Yuułuiłath Government (Ucluelet).
- Council of the Haida Nation
The Council of the Haida Nation (CHN) table is negotiating tripartite reconciliation agreements. On August 13, 2021, CHN and the governments of Canada and British Columbia signed the GayG̱ahlda "Changing Tide" Framework for Reconciliation agreement.
Capital Regional District: First Nations Relations
- CRD First Nation Relations home page
- Special Task Force on First Nations Relations Final Report (2018)
- Modern Treaties
- CRD Statement of Reconciliation
- Territorial Acknowledgement Guidelines
- Committee Terms of Reference
- Indigenous Employment Project + wise practices (April 2023)
- Indigenous Relations Operational Update (Sept. 2022)
- First Nations Communications Framework (April 2022)
- Ecological Asset Management Plan (Feb. 2022)
- Inclusive Governance and Decision Making + Honoraria policies (May, 2021)
- First Nation Relations Mandate Refresher (slide deck) + FN Inclusion in CRD Governance + Economic Development Partnership Model (Sept. 2020)
- Economic Development Model Feasibility Study (2020)
- Forum of All Councils (Nov. 2019 - CRD directors and First Nations joint session)
- FN Inclusion on CRD Standing Committees (Nov. 2019)
- Overview of Neighbouring First Nations + Archeology Policies & Procedures (Feb. 2019)
Declaration of the Right to a Healthy Environment
~ Sooke's Finn and Chloe Unger on the Declaration of the Right to a Healthy Environment (the BlueDot initiative passed by DOS council in February, 2015 as a relatively early adopter to a document now signed by more than 300 municipalities across Canada).
- United Nations Declaration of the Right to a Healthy Environment (July 26, 2022)
* Sooke Family Resource Society - Reconciliation Statement
Miscellaneous Extras
Canadian Public Opinion on Aboriginal Peoples (Environics Institute, 2016)
"Five groups of non-Aboriginal Canadians with a distinct worldview. Two of the groups (making up 41% of the population) have a distinctly positive orientation, one of which is well-informed (Connected Advocates) and one notably less so (Young Idealists). Two other groups (35%) are much more negative in their perspective, one of them being generally knowledgeable about many of the issues (Dismissive Naysayers) and the other mostly uninformed and disengaged (Disconnected Skeptics).
The fifth and final group (Informed Critics – 23% of the population) includes among the most informed non-Aboriginal Canadians when it comes to Aboriginal peoples, while their orientation is mix of positive and negative opinions. This typology sums up the spectrum of non-Aboriginal perspectives about Aboriginal peoples, and provides a valuable foundation for future communications and education initiatives." + 2021 update
- Recognition and Implemention of Indigenous Rights Framework: Engagement Guide (Government of Canada, 2018)
Previously unpublished post circa 2019/20
Doing my research and preparing notes for tonight's intra-council meeting between Team Tait and the T'Sou-ke Nation council of Chief Gordon Planes and his cohorts Rose Dumont and Allan Planes. The T'Sou-ke council hosted us in the spring in the band hall at Reserve #1 (the beautiful red blanket I received that night is doing excellent service around my knees as I type now that the winter damp is creeping in). Now it's our turn at the Municipal Hall to return the favour and build more of a collaborative listening/working/co-creating relationship with a neighbouring local government.
During our Strategic Plan sessions, we discussed how Sooke/T'Sou-ke has the potential to be a model reconciliation community for a number of reasons: i) We have a long history of cooperation between settlers and First Nation; ii) the T'Sou-ke have much to show us in leading the way forward; iii) the times we live in call for us to return to stewardship, sustainability and sanity on multiple levels.
We also can build on the foundation established these last three years by the Sooke Reconciliation Group led by Edith Newman, Jackie D and Margaret Critchlow. Its third season got underway last week as Chief Planes shared unscripted thoughts in the Lazzar Building, then led 50 or so of us over to Pemberton Pool, a T'Sou-ke Village site on the Sooke River (aka Big River) purchased in 2016 by the Capital Regional District for use as a capture spot by the Sooke Salmon Enhancement Society.
Some of the season's first returnees were jumping in the slow-moving river when we arrived in a light rain by the pools, which as the Chief told us are effectively unchanged from when he was a boy who took great delight in plunging into the river after sliding down a rock wall.
I scribbled notes as he spoke and trust I captured his word accurately. Links here results from research after the fact.
* Forest Conservation: The Chief shared a moving vision of a preserved Sooke Hills that see managed forestry operations and a re-established/revitalized forest that balances safeguarded old-growth with selectively harvested second-and-third growth (cut after a minimum of 60 years, not half that as is currently sometimes the case.)
- The Chief is concerned with logging in the Sooke Hills off Butler Main. He'd like to see (effectively unprofitable) forestry operations stopped, pockets of old-growth protected and the creation of a managed second/third growth forest that allows the forest to re-establish itself.
T'Sou-ke have three woodlots
- Muir Creek
- Big Mountain
- Bluff Mountain (Sacred Mountain)
- Calls for a 30 year moratorium on second/third growth
- Currently a 30-year harvest on some trees -- these are relative toothpicks
- Vision of a 100-year managed forest
- T'Sou-ke elders spoke of the need to "enhance the forest environment every year"
- "Long-term view - take the greed out of it."
- "If you're not making any money out of it, then give it back ... and we'll turn it into a park, enhance it."
- TFL licenses surrendered in 2006
- Timberwest have so far honoured an agreement with the Chief not to log old-growth in the Sooke Hills
- Odd to log a vast area for half-a-dozen jobs
First Nation Crown Lands Gathering, first week of November: In partnership, the Province of British Columbia and the First Nations Leadership Council, have reserved November 5 & 6, 2019 to hold the 5th annual BC Cabinet and First Nations Leaders’ Gathering in Vancouver at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
* Ocean Guardianship: Transport Canada's new Maritime Awareness Situational Analysis Initiative is a monitoring and data-collection program involving 10 First Nations on the west (T'Sou-ke and Pacheedaht included) and east coasts, in the Arctic and along the St. Lawrence River. The T'Sou-ke station will monitor maritime traffic, identify sensitive habitats, track orca and salmon populations, document weather, tides and currents, and chart marine hazards and navigational aides.
* Water quality in the Sooke harbour and basin: Oceans Networks Canada and the T'Sou-ke are collaborating on water-quality monitoring in the basin, which is currently home to 4 million oysters following five years of aquaculture development. The T'Sou-ke wish to again be able to harvest clams, oysters and crab as in the past. Chief Planes noted that a sewer extension eastward across the Sooke River is essential in guaranteeing a clean harbour.
* Sewers to Kaltasin to protect environmental health of the harbour
- 4 million oysters in the basin
- desire to harvest clams, oysters and crab as in the past
- The Olympia Oyster is endangered
- learning centre and light footprint park
Static data does not change significantly over time. It could include:
- nautical information such as marine hazards and navigation safety marks
- charts showing sea bottom topography
- sensitive habitats
- cultural sites
- vessel and port databases
Dynamic data which changes over time. It could include:
- weather, tides and currents information
- information about movement of vessels
- information about potential pollution events
- Collaborations with ...
DFO
Transport Canada
National Energy Board
Trans Mountain Pipeline
Conservation groups
Miscellaneous subjects ...
- Meetings around rocks ... big rocks are gathering places
- Camp Bernard - council rock
- Little River rock near future crossing
- "Rock-onciliation"
- Pronunciation: Tsaaaaa-ouk
- "Our language came from the nature - the sound of the the river, a salmon's jump, the breeze in trees. The elders say that if you want to reclaim the language, go to the forest."
- Burning question: "What kind of world will we leave our children?"
- Coast Salish see the natural world as animate; a great divide in this mechanistic modern world.
- Deer driven out of mature forests ... leading killer and cause of accidents on our roads
- 11,000 animal-related collisions in BC annually
- 650 people injured; 3 killed
Kudos to ...
- Bob Hansen, Parks Canada
- Coexisting with Carnivores Alliance
- Wild Wise Sooke
- Pemberton Pools is a village site
- Seals come up as far as here
- As a child, the Chief would slide down the rock into the river
- "Nothing has changed, the environment is intact -- how will these trees look in 100 years?"
- Spring Salmon Place
- old growth
- blasting and punched a road further in
- Dr. Nancy Turner, ethnobotanist
- Muir Creek
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