Frequently Asked Questions
What Secwépemc Communities are part of the Qwelmínte Secwépemc Collective?
The Qwelmínte Secwépemc is a collective of 8 signatories from the Secwépemc Nation, Adams Lake Indian Band, Skwlāx te Secwepemcu’lecw [formerly known as Little Shuswap Lake Band], Simpcw, Skeetchestn, Splatsin, High Bar First Nation, Whispering Pines Clinton Indian Band, and Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, working collaboratively and committed to engagement across a spectrum of land and resources (Tmícw).
Is Qwelmínte Secwépemc a decision-making body?
Qwelmínte Secwépemc, as a collective, is NOT a decision-making body. As a hub of leadership and technical expertise, we are strengthened by the collective wisdom of our representatives. We share knowledge and offer insight to each other as well as the Province of B.C. on what has worked. We are focused on ensuring informed decision-making for the Secwépemc signatories.
While leadership and technicians from each of the Secwépemc Signatories are actively part of Qwelmínte Secwépemc, it is the signatories who ratify the decisions through their respective governance structures and processes respecting a decentralized governance model.
How did Qwelmínte Secwépemc Office come into being?
Qwelmínte Secwépemc Office and the B.C. Government entered into a Letter of Commitment on March 14th, 2019. The Letter of Commitment followed the expiry of a Secwépemc Reconciliation Framework Agreement entered into in April 2013.
The Secwépemc Reconciliation Framework Agreement of 2013 was created in response to conflict and litigation, where, yet again, Secwépemc were required to defend their rights and jurisdiction when it came to resource development - this time in regards to a timber license transfer. Over time, the Reconciliation Framework Agreement became a catchment for resource and land development questions involving 5 communities. The Reconciliation Framework Agreement expired in April 2018.
The Original Letter of Commitment includes seven Secwépemc First Nations (The Secwépemc) signatories including Adams Lake, Skwlāx te Secwepemcu’lecw [formerly known as Little Shuswap Lake Band], Shuswap Indian Band, Simpcw, Splatsin, Skeetchestn and Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc. The Ministries of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation (MIRR), Forests Lands Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRORD), Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources (MEMPR), and Environment and Climate Change Strategy (MoE) are the provincial signatories signed into the Letter of Commitment.
The objectives of the Letter of Commitment are to make sustained, substantive progress towards:
· Developing a shared path to long-term reconciliation;
· Developing structures and processes that can facilitate consensus seeking outcomes;
· Supporting Secwépemc with building law and land management capacity; and
· Eliminating the socio-economic gaps faced by Secwépemc by securing a central role for Secwépemc as partners in the regional economy and developing a new fiscal relationship.
Is Secwépemc involved in any major projects such as the Transmountain Pipeline expansion project? Does Qwelmínte Secwépemc’s work cede or surrender any Secwépemc title and rights?
No part of the March 14th, 2019 Letter of Commitment, or any dealings with the B.C. Government as the Qwelmínte Secwépemc collective, has or will ever have dealings regarding the Transmountain Pipeline and its expansion project. Frankly put, it is out of scope. Any major project is also out of scope.
The Qwelmínte Secwépemc signatories are also very clear that no part of the Letter of Commitment is regarding ceding or surrendering any Secwépemc title and rights. It is about investigating opportunities for our collective good, as the very foundation of the Letter of Commitment comes from the 2013 Secwépemc Reconciliation Framework Agreement, with reconciliation and mutual benefit at the heart of the Reconciliation Framework Agreement.
Why does Qwelmínte Secwépemc use the term Division or Campfire? What is it referring to?
Qwelmínte Secwépemc conducts its work consistent with the Divisions or Campfire and this concept of yecwemínem relating to our territorial areas of responsibility within Secwepemcúl’ecw. We affirm that we are a part of, but not the entirety of, the Secwépemc Nation.
Under the Letter of Commitment, we uphold our role within our historic Divisions or Campfires of the Secwépemc Nation which include: Stk’emlupsemc te Secwépemc Nation: comprised of Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc and Skeetchestn; Simpcwemc: comprised of Simpcw First Nation; Lakes Division: comprised from the Pespésellkwe – Adams Lake Indian Band, Splatsin, Little Shuswap Lake Band, Fraser Division: comprised of Whispering Pines Clinton Indian Band and High Bar First Nations.
Understanding that we are not stuck in history and evolving, we stand with the Shuswap Indian Band for their desire to now refer to themselves as the Columbia Basin Division or Campfire, underlining their clear role as caretakers of such a significant watershed.
What is Qwelmínte Secwépemc’s Scope of Jurisdiction?
Secwépemc jurisdiction is often spoken about in relation to yecwminúl’ecwem – meaning take care of the territory/land [Tmícw]. In accordance with Secwépemc law, and within the system of Secwépemc collective ownership and access to the lands and resources that comprise Secwepemcúl’ecw, there existed and continues to exist the caretaker or stewardship role (yecwemínem). This responsibility is upheld by an interconnected network of families (kwséltkten) over particular areas within Secwepemcúl’ecw, in relation to their seasonal rounds. This collective title and inherent connection with Secwepemcúl’ecw reflects a relationship not only to each other as Secwépemc but all our relatives throughout Secwepemcúl’ecw, including tmícw.
Qwelmínte Secwépemc, as a collective, is NOT a decision-making body. It is the Qwelmínte Secwépemc signatories who ratify the decisions through their respective governance structures and processes respecting a decentralized governance model.
What is Qwelmínte Secwépemc and the B.C. Government’s Shared Goal?
Qwelmínte Secwépemc and the B.C. Government, as represented by the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation (MIRR), Ministry of Forests (MoF), Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low-carbon Innovation, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategies (MoE), and Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship (WLRS), have a shared goal. This goal is to develop a pathway to long term reconciliation that will enable our two governments to work collaboratively to preserve Secwepemcúl’ecw in a state consistent with traditional importance to Secwépemc people; and to maintain those practices for future generations.
To create a positive, beneficial and harmonious relationship to protect and care for the tmícw (land, resources, and everything on the earth), Qwelmínte Secwépemc and B.C. have committed to work together toward a comprehensive Recognition and Reconciliation Agreement.
Do Secwépemc have a history of reaching agreements with external groups and other Nations?
The Secwépemc have a long history of reaching agreements with external groups and other Nations. From Ancestral peace-making agreements such as the Fish Lake Accord to the White Arrow of Peace and the Story of Balancing Rock, the Secwépemc have continued to exercise this authority. This has continued since colonization, including the authorization of peace and friendship treaties and agreements with Japan and the Maori, the recently affirmed Peace and Cooperation Treaty with the Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en, and the Secwépemc Unity Declaration. Secwépemc continue to develop and confirm arrangements and agreements both intra-nationally and internationally.
Below are examples of past and current agreements with Secwépemc at the collective level, Division/Campfire level, and community level.
Multiple / Collective
o Columbia River Treaty Memorandum of Understanding
o BC Hydro Protocol Agreement
o Elephant Hill Working Group / Wildfire Recovery Initiative
o Secwépemc Unity Declaration (All)
o Secwépemc Lands & Resources Law Research Project (Shuswap Nation Tribal Council)
o Secwépemc Nation Building Initiative (Shuswap Nation Tribal Council)
Division/Campfire Level
o Mining and Minerals Agreement (Stk’emlupsemc te Secwépemc Nation)
o Economic and Community Development Agreement (Stk’emlupsemc te Secwépemc Nation)
o Government to Government Framework Agreement (Ajax) (Stk’emlupsemc te Secwépemc Nation)
o Declaration of Pípsell (Jacko Lake) as a Secwépemc cultural keystone area (Stk’emlupsemc te Secwépemc Nation)
o Letter of Intent regarding Letter of Understanding for Cultural Heritage / Archaeology with Forests Lands Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development/ Archaeology Branch (Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwépemc Nation)
o Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure Corridor Wide Agreement (Pespésellkwe/Lakes)
o Sun Peaks Reconciliation Initiative (Pespésellkwe/Lakes )
o Shuswap Trails Round Table (Pespésellkwe/Lakes)
o Scotch Creek watershed stewardship planning (Pespésellkwe/Lakes)
o Indigenous Tourism and culturally based economic development (Pespésellkwe/Lakes)
o Labour Market partnerships (Pespésellkwe/Lakes)
o Secwépemc Landmarks Project (Pespésellkwe/Lakes)
Community Level
o First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund Revenue Sharing Agreements (Splatsin)
o Memorandum of Understanding: Hullcar Water Quality (Splatsin)
o Day Scholar Initiative (Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc)
o Simpcw’ulecw Signature Destination Trail Initiative Phase II (Simpcw)
o Memorandum of Understanding between BC Parks and Skeetchestn
o Moose watershed study (Skeetchestn)
o Partnership with Sun Peaks to develop a cultural centre (Little Shuswap Lake Band)
o Campground feasibility study (Splatsin)