A $49-million settlement isn’t the end of a Nanaimo First Nation’s fight for its traditional territories. The Snuneymuxw First Nation is also negotiating a side deal with the federal government for the return of land, chief negotiator and acting chief Doug White said.
The federal government is holding several parcels of land for the purpose of reconciliation and repatriation, he said. Among them are about 100 acres in Cedar, 900 to 1,000 acres on Gabriola Island and 180 south of Vancouver Island University, on the former site of Camp Nanaimo.
“They were acquired for the purpose of reconciliation with Snuneymuxw, and we’re now going to sit down and talk about those lands and negotiate the transfer of them,” White said.
The settlement of $49.1 million, ratified by members of the nation last weekend, is the largest specific-claim settlement in B.C. history. Specific claims deal with past grievances related to Canada’s obligations under historic treaties, other agreements or the way it managed First Nations’ funds or other assets.
The deal is compensation for 79 acres of former reserve land in the middle of downtown Nanaimo that was taken by the Crown in the 1880s.
Only one-third of Snuneymuxw people now live on-reserve due to the lack of land. The band has the smallest reserve land base per capita in the country, White said.
In addition to the financial compensation, the agreement includes an “additions to reserve” clause recognizing the right of the Snuneymuxw to negotiate 79 acres of replacement reserve land and an accelerated process to get it.
White, who is also director of the Centre for Pre-Confederation Treaties and Reconciliation at Vancouver Island University, said the decision shows expanding recognition of aboriginal land titles and the value of those lands.
Although the parcel itself is relatively small, the settlement is larger than many offered through treaties, he said. “So it shows you how out of alignment the treaty process is with the emerging law and evaluations, with what the real value of these lands are.”
Former chief Jim Johnny said the compensation opens the way for what members of the nation always wanted: land.
Johnny began working on the land claim about 20 years ago and was only the second in a string of chiefs to do so, he said.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he said.
“When I was chief, back that many years, my elders were all telling me: ‘The most important thing is land; we want land.’ ”
He said Snuneymuxw living off-reserve want to come home, but there’s no more property to build on. This settlement will change that.
Robert Janes, who practises aboriginal law in Victoria, said negotiators involved in other land claims on Vancouver Island are watching.
“It sets a benchmark,” Janes said. “It creates expectations. So if there is another large claim around, people will go, ‘My claim looks a little like that.’ ”
Antonia Mills, a professor emeritus at the University of Northern B.C. with expertise in First Nations land claims, called the Snuneymuxw deal significant. “It’s important. It’s a recognition that injustice was done,” Mills said.
— With files from Cindy E. Harnett
