President’s message to Nuu-chah-nulth-aht

Hello everyone. 2023 started off with a bang and so many things are happening, it is sometimes hard to keep up.

As you know, our vice-president Mariah Charleson resigned and we are looking for a new VP. No one put their name in and so we extended the deadline. You have until January 30th to get your name in and voting will take place on Feb. 22nd. This will be for a two-and-ahalf-year term ending September 2025. There is lots of work to do and it is very rewarding work.

There are a lot of different groups working on changing both federal and provincial laws and policies around the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Both governments have passed laws that compel them to change laws to be consistent with UNDRIP.And also to do an action plan where they are to do things other than changing laws. Changes to police acts, water acts, emergency acts and risk reduction are some of the things I have been involved in.

I also attended the first-ever in-person ReconciliationAwards at Government House to honor the honorees from 2021 and 2022. Due to COVID ceremonies were not held until now. It was great to hear how people are working together to right the wrongs of the past as determined by First Nation people. These reconciliation awards are the only ones of their kind in Canada and it was a good initiative of the lieutenant governor.

I also attended and spoke at a two-day First Nation clean energy conference. It was well attended by First Nations people from all around the province. We talked about how everything needs to change with UNDRIP and we need to push the government faster to get more economic opportunities for Nuu-chah-nulth nations. There haven’t been any economic opportunities in many years. There was a lot of discussion around hydrogen as an electricity source and forming our own utilities like BC Hydro or Fortis. Getting the provincial government to live up to its commitment to create economic opportunities in the electricity sector has been an uphill battle.

I am preparing to attend an international conference in a few weeks. It is called IMPAC 5, the fifth international marine protected areas conference. I will be presenting twice and moderating a panel. The conference is about global support for marine conservation efforts, such as networks of marine protected areas and marine spatial planning, to provide an opportunity to celebrate and galvanize global cooperation in marine conservation. The conference also shares what is uniquely Canadian: the vast marine and coastal environment, the rich diversity of local and Indigenous peoples and coastal cultures, our collective efforts, and our world-class ocean science and management regime. Many indigenous people will be at the conference and I am looking forward to promoting Nuu-chah-nulth world views and promoting our right to management and in the exercise of our rights.

There has been a lot of discussion regarding the use of status cards. Some groups are opposed to using status cards to identify First Nations people. Others are in support. ISC is looking at amending the IndianAct and are seeking input on various subjects. The issue of Indigenous identity has become a very contro- versial subject. There have been people who have benefitted from saying they are Indigenous when they are not. These benefits can range from getting positions in employment or with government or getting honours such as an honorary degree - or being the first Indigenous person to hold certain positions, such as judges. The most recent incident dealt with Mary-Ellen Turpel Lafond. She recently returned her honorary doctor of laws to Vancouver Island University due to the controversy. The university if now putting in place a process of how an honorary degree can be taken back and also ways to verify Indigenous identity.

If one had a status card, showing it does provide proof of First Nations status. If you didn’t have status cards, how would a person prove they are registered? In Nuu-chah-nulth, we would get up and give our traditional names, and tell who our parents and grandparents are and identify what community our parents are from. It is an important part of telling people who we are.

Universities and other organizations have allowed for self identification of Indigenous ancestry, thinking that was respectful. We have now run into people who are being called “pretendians” who are saying they are Indigenous and are not. Within the university system there are scholarships, benefits and programs that are set aside for Indigenous people, and if people are claiming to be Indigenous and are not, then they are taking away benefits from Indigenous people.

First Nations across the country are grappling with this issue, these are still issues that arise due to the IndianAct. Maa-nulth Nations have the power to determine their own citizens and I would assume a citizen of one of their nations can ask to verify membership. In the end, it is up to the First Nations to determine how they identify their members.

The BC First Nations Justice Council has been working on opening five Indigenous centres.After Premier Eby was sworn in, he announced funding for another 10 centres. These are places that are available to First Nations to seek legal advice and guidance. There will also be police accountability units where people can seek help when they have been mistreated in any way by police. This is a much-needed service. There will be centres in Nanaimo and Campbell River as the closest centres to PortAlberni and the northern nations. I am not on the board of the First Nation Justice Council, as Nuu-chah-nulth have had so many issues around justice, policing and courts.

Respectfully Submitted, Cloy-e-iis, Judith Sayers