Snuneymuxw First Nation reserve is expanding by 80 hectares under a new interim land-reconciliation agreement with the federal government.
The land being transferred is in south Nanaimo, while other parcels in the Cedar area and on Gabriola Island are the subject of ongoing or possible future negotiations.
The 80 hectares will add to the existing 266 hectares already held as reserve lands by the nation.
The land is designated for a wide range of uses, including on-reserve housing, economic development, infrastructure upgrades and sustainable forestry projects.
Plans call for cultural and commemorative use, a health centre and plenty of green space. The development is to feature a mix of housing types, including single-family, multi-unit and townhouses. Housing for elders and youth is planned, and student housing is possible because of proximity to Vancouver Island University.
Another section will be home to a business innovation and research park to advance entrepreneurship among nation members. The goal is to feature uses that create jobs for nation members and the wider community. The park would be developed with the nation’s own Petroglyph Development Group.
Commercial space, with live-work units, is also envisioned.
Development plans are anticipated to benefit the Snuneymuxw people, the city of Nanaimo and Vancouver Island University.
The parcels have been “used by Western Forest Products, the Department of National Defence, and as the location of the horrific Nanaimo Indian Hospital,” a joint Snuneymuxw and federal statement said. The Indian hospital was located across from Vancouver Island University and operated between 1946 and 1967. “Following this agreement, these lands will be remediated and rightfully returned to the Snuneymuxw People through the additions to the reserve process.”
Chief Mike Wyse said the nation is celebrating “reaching an agreement that honours our people and our pre-Confederation treaty, the strongest agreement available to Canada.”
Negotiations around the nation’s traditional territories, called Camp Nanaimo Lands on Te’tuxwtun, started in 2003, culminating in this historic agreement, he said.
The nation fought for an agreement that reflected the legal authority of the Snuneymuxw Saarlequun Treaty, a trade and commerce agreement of 1854, he said.
Wyse’s late mother Chief Viola Wyse, Coun. William Yoachim and the late Dave Mannix were told at the negotiating table in 2009 that former Department of National Defence lands would not be added to the reserve. But today those lands are part of the agreement.
Gary Anandasangaree, minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, praised the “tireless advocacy of generations of Snuneymuxw people.”
“I am committed to being a partner in supporting Snuneymuxw’s vision of building a better future for the community and beyond.”
The Snuneymuxw First Nation is a large Coast Salish nation whose traditional territory and marine areas include mid-Vancouver Island, the Nanaimo estuary, Gulf Islands and lower Fraser areas.
Snuneymuxw has about 1,900 members.
