Introduction to Land Stewardship Planning

INTRODUCTION TO

TAHLTAN LAND STEWARDSHIP PLANNING Our Tahltan Declaration of 1910 states,

“We claim the sovereign right to all the country of our tribe — this country of ours which we have held intact from the encroachments of other tribes, from time immemorial, at the cost of our own blood.”

To achieve this in today’s world, we need to have: 

The legal authority to make decisions about our lands;



Plans that describe how we will ensure proper stewardship of our lands;



The understanding and ability to manage our lands; and,



The internal capacity to do all these things at a level as good as or better than outside governments.

TAHLTAN STEWARDSHIP INITIATIVE – INTRODUCTION TO TAHLTAN LAND STEWARDSHIP PLANNING

TSI is working to build these core elements, and others, so that we can fulfil our inherent stewardship responsibility to our homelands. This responsibility is entrusted to us as Tahltan people by our Creator, Ahdigi dene ti’e.

Stewardship planning is an important part of the TSI and an important tool that will help us meet our stewardship responsibility.

There are two main plans that we are working on under the land stewardship planning component of the TSI, a Tahltan Land Stewardship Plan and a collaborative Tahltan-BC Land Use Plan.

1. Tahltan Land Stewardship Plan: !

This plan will build on previous planning work to create a Tahltan approved stewardship plan for Tahltan Territory by August 2022. It describes how we want to take care of our lands so that it remains healthy into the future and can continue to support our relationship, and the way we live with our lands.

2. Tahltan-BC Land Use Plan: !

This plan will be built and approved by the Tahltan and the Province of British Columbia.

It is targeted to be done by April 2023 and will be one of the key tools that will inform land use decisions under a new Government-toGovernment (G2G) decision making relationship between the Tahltan and British Columbia.

The following table summarizes important parameters for each of these plans:

PLANNING AR EA

Tahltan Land Stewardship Plan

TahltanBritish Columbia Phase 1 Land Use Plan

 All Tahltan Territory

PLAN B UILT BY

 Tahltans

P L A N A P P ROV E D BY

 Tahltans

OV E R A L L PURPOSE OF THE PLAN

 Describes how the Tahltan want to take care of Tahltan Territory  Will be the Tahltan’s decision making tool if the joint plan or the G2G decision making relationship do not materialize

 Tahltan Territory excluding areas that overlap with neighbouring First Nations’ territories and the Klappan Plan area but includes the Sheslay  Phase 2 is planned to include the rest of Tahltan Territory if the Tahltan & BC agree to proceed and the Tahltan have worked out arrangements with neighbouring First Nations

 Tahltan and British Columbia with input from additional Stakeholders

 Both Tahltan and BC governments

 Becomes the main tool that will support land use decision making under a new governmentto-government Tahltan-BC decision making relationship (supplemented by local research for specific projects)

TAHLTAN STEWARDSHIP INITIATIVE – INTRODUCTION TO TAHLTAN LAND STEWARDSHIP PLANNING

METHOD USED TO CREATE THE PLAN

PLAN CONTENT WILL INCLUD E

PLAN WILL BE US E D TO

 A Tahltan-made methodology that is developed by Tahltan, reflects the Tahltan way of seeing and knowing the land, and fully engages the Tahltan community

 Information collected from Tahltan, including previous planning processes, supplemented with additional information collected from Tahltan during this process

 Provide a way for Tahltans to have a say in how to take care of Tahltan Territory

 Informing Tahltans’ participation in the joint Tahltan-BC planning process

 Educate Tahltans about Tahltan Territory

 Helping Tahltan people become more grounded in, and better understand Tahltan Territory

 A jointly agreed (to be developed) methodology  Expected to be based on much of the Tahltan-made methodology for the Tahltan Land Stewardship Plan (which can inform the Province’s Modernizing Land Use Planning Initiative)

 Most of the content in the Tahltan Land Stewardship Plan (except confidential information)  Additional content to support governmentto-government decision making across all land use sectors

 Ensure that the Tahltan stay strongly connected to the land through supporting cultural, spiritual, sustenance and economic uses

 Support G2G decision making.  Align thinking and create shared understanding on values and land stewardship between Tahltan and the Province

P L A N P ROV I D E S OT H E R B E N E F I T S S UC H ASV

PLAN WILL BE UN IQ UE B EC AU SE

 It will use a Tahltanmade planning methodology  It will be mainly focused on how to take care of the land

 Supporting the development of internal Tahltan planning capacity  Allowing Tahltan to better direct the joint Tahltan-BC planning process

 Clearly establishes that other parties are outside of the Tahltan-BC governmentto-government relationship  Establishes the Tahltan as a competent and equal partner in land use planning

 It will show the provincial government how to plan for ecosystem health and maintaining Indigenous relationships on the land  It is expected to move away from historical negotiated trade-off land use planning processes

TAHLTAN CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – S U MMER NEWSL ETTER 2021

“The Tahltan Nation will fulfill its inherent stewardship responsibilities for all lands, water, wildlife, fish and natural resources in Tahltan Territory.”

79