Representatives from the province and the Sts’ailes First Nation recently gathered to celebrate the major reconciliation agreement signed earlier this year.
On March 11, the province announced the agreement, which includes transferring 167 hectares of Crown Land along the Chehalis River back to the Sts’ailes people and $4.35 million from the province over the course of the next five years to support the First Nation in self-governance and a number of projects. These projects include exploring new tourism and recreation opportunities, building a Sts’ailes Guardian environmental program and creating social programs such as restorative justice.
Though the signing itself was on Feb. 28, the celebration of the agreement was postponed until Aug. 23 due to COVID-19 restrictions. Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Murray Rankin and local MLA Kelli Paddon attended the celebration on Tuesday, Aug. 23.
“The work we’ll continue together will help make life better for everyone and is an example of our commitment to finding new, innovative and flexible approaches to reconciliation,” Paddon wrote on a social media post.
In the initial announcement, Rankin said the Sts’ailes community and the province have a long history of partnership.
“This new agreement strengthens our relationship, supports Sts’ailes’ goals and vision for their territory and strengthens their participation in the regional economy,” he stated.
The agreement reached this spring builds upon the previous agreements signed in 2011 and 2018, which were a memorandum of understanding and a letter of commitment, respectively. The Sts’ailes First Nation and province negotiated the major agreement without needing to involve courts.
Sts’ailes territory is approximately 100 kilometres east of Vancouver and includes the Chehalis River watershed as well as Harrison Lake.
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