Protocol give nation a seat at the table

The Nuxalk Nation has signed on to the Coastal Reconciliation Protocol, though the decision is a controversial one in the community, said elected Chief Spencer Siwallace.

Any agreement with the province would be viewed suspiciously, he explained, given Nuxalk’s long history of fighting BC over jurisdiction and control of the territory.
Nuxalk becomes the sixth Indigenous nation to sign onto the protocol, joining the Gitga’at First Nation, the Heiltsuk Nation, Kitasoo Indian Band, Metlakatla First Nation and Wuikinuxv Nation, which all signed the document in December 2009.

Among the benefits is that Nuxalk now has a seat at the table of any development in their territory from the moment the discussions begin, rather than after the province has issued permits in the territory.

The protocol puts politics aside, said Siwallace, as the province acknowledges Nuxalk’s rights and title to the territory, without the nation having to surrender or cede lands or jurisdiction over those lands.

“We were very hesitant to sign the protocol with the province… but with Canada endorsing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the province finally acknowledging that Nuxalk rights, title and interests exists, we are cautiously optimistic that the “new relationship” may have some merit,” reads a press release from the Nuxalk.

The release is filled throughout with such “cautious” support of the protocol, and states clearly that the Nuxalk Nation has never surrendered, ceded or sold its territory to the Crown. Nuxalk takes great pains in the statement to assert its sovereignty over the “entire ancestral territory.”

The Nuxalk Nation has famously protested against unapproved activity in their territory, including logging at King Island, located about 50 km south of Bella Coola.

In 1997, International Forest Products Ltd. (Interfor) was given permission by the Ministry of Forests to harvest timber and build roads on King Island near the origin site (ISTA) of the Nuxalk people. ISTA is the place where the first woman descended to earth.

The nation blockaded the work site and prevented clear-cutting of their forests that summer. It was the second such protest against government and industry. In 1995, three hereditary chiefs were among those arrested for direct action to prevent logging in the area.

The protocol is but a step in a process which allows the Nuxalk a forum to express their concerns and opinions about development in the territory, Siwallace said.

Logging is no longer taking place in the territory, and the protocol will allow Nuxalk to take advantage of the work done by the other five nations, including selling carbon offsets on the open market to benefit the nation.

He said the protocol does not limit other avenues that may be required to thwart unwanted development in the territory. It does not prevent the Nuxalk from taking the province to court on an issue, or from engaging in direct action again.

“We agree that we will sit and meet,” Siwallace said of the nation’s obligation in the protocol.

What is hoped is that industry wishing to do business in the territory will come to discuss the proposal with the Nuxalk first, and if the development benefits the nation then it would proceed to provincial agencies for approvals.

Nuxalk leadership will now initiate a community information campaign to clear up any misconceptions about the protocol with a skeptical citizenship.