Governance
“Yecwmínte re tmícw!” (Let’s take care of the land!) is at the core of Qwelmínte Secwépemc (QS) Signatories Governance.
Historically, the Secwépemc Nation consisted of over thirty (30) ancestral communities or bands associated with regional Campfires/Divisions. Present day, the Secwépemc Nation is comprised of a diversity of contemporary and traditional governance structures, reflecting our resiliency and unremitting recovery from the disruption to our way of life, and the revitalization of Secwépemc jurisdiction and authority.
Each regional Campfire/Division is comprised of Secwépemc people from local regions within Secwpemcúl’ecw and associated Secwépemc bands – which emerged from prior existing Secwépemc communities (nowadays often termed First Nations) that in the past were the de-facto caretaker or stewardship units over their lands and resources / Area of Responsibility within the Secwépemc Nation. Campfires/Divisions in the Secwépemc language describe and group together the people of a particular geographic region within Secwepemcúl’ecw (larger Secwépemc Nation Territory).
QS Signatory communities affirm that they are a part of, but not the entirety of, the Secwépemc Nation, which includes the following eight (8) QS Signatory communities and their respective Campfire/Divisions:
1. Pespésellkwe te Secwépemc (PteS) Campfire/Division, comprising, but not the entirety of:
- Adams Lake Indian Band (Sexqeltqin),
- Skwlāx te Secwepemcúl’ecw [formerly known as Little Shuswap Lake Band],
- Splatsin.
2. Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwépemc (SSN) Campfire/Division, comprising of:
- Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, and
- Skeetchestn Indian Band.
3. Simpcwemc Campfire/Division, comprising of:
- Símpcw First Nation.
4. Cariboo/Fraser River Campfire/Division, comprising of:
- High Bar First Nation (Llenlleney’ten), and
- Whispering Pines / Clinton Indian Band (Pellt’iq’t).
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: 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, Skwlāx te Secwepemcu’lecw; Fraser Division: comprised of Whispering Pines Clinton Indian Band and High Bar First Nations.
Qwelmínte Secwépemc is part of the Secwépemc Nation, but does not represent the Secwépemc Nation as a whole. Qwelmínte Secwépemc acts as a decentralized governance structure built upon the collaboration with and between the signatory communities and the BC Government. The Secwépemc Signatories’ responsibilities are in relation to collective ownership and land use, Rights and Title, and jurisdictional authority.
The BC Government is represented at the Qwelmínte Secwépemc Government to Government table by five provincial ministries: the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategies (ENV), the Ministry of Forests (MoF), the Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Low Carbon Innovation, and the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation (MIRR) and Ministry of Water, Lands, and Resource Stewardship (WLRS).
Representatives from Secwépemc signatory communities and Ministries of British Columbia at the signing of the Letter of Commitment in 2019, thus forming the QS-BC Government to Government agreement & collective.
Qwelmínte Secwépemc and the Province of British Columbia entered into a Letter of Commitment on March 14th, 2019. The Letter of Commitment followed the expiry of a Secwépemc Reconciliation Framework Agreement (SFRA) entered into in April 2013.
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.
A key piece of this collaboration is implementing the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). In British Columbia, Bill 41, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) was given royal assent on November 28, 2019.
The Qwelmínte Secwépemc Government to Government table collectively works at:
Supporting the reconciliation between the Province and QS signatories, supporting the implementation of the UNDRIP & DRIPA, recognition of inherent jurisdiction of QS and rights to participate in decision making matters that would affect those rights; collaboration within the G2G relationship consistent with the UNDRIP and DRIPA,
Supporting engagement with other initiatives and government institutions including other Indigenous Nations and groups within the Secwépemc Nation, and with other provincial ministries and agencies.
Foundational to this shared parth are the development of tools such as the Joint Intentions Paper. The Joint Intentions Paper describes the proposed framework of the shared path of Qwelmínte Secwépemc and BC to recognize and reconcile their respective jurisdictions, governance, laws, interests and responsibilities. The BC Declaration Act and the Joint Intentions Paper will inform each other on the path forward.
Central to this Government to Government collaboration is the concept of Walking on Two Legs, a concept grounded in Secwépemc ancestral tellings and principles. Walking on Two Legs refers to respecting and incorporating both Indigenous and Western ways of being and knowing. The work at Qwelmínte Secwépemc is guided by this concept, as a shared path to reconciliation relies on the equal recognition and cooperation of two governance structures.
By standing up Secwépemc Law and upholding Ancestral teachings and working collaboratively in a G2G relationship in a way which respects both Indigenous and Western legs, the QS is poised to affect transformation within natural resource management and realize the UNDRIP in Canadian legal systems.