The head of the first K’omoks nation on the island of Vancouver says that the members have voted in favor of a treaty and constitution, opening the door to the nation to claim a culture that faced eradication under Indian law.
The first nation, which is composed of just over 350 members, has four reservations on the central island of Vancouver. Its main reserve is located in the Courtenay-Comox area.
The leadership of the Nation has been working for more than three decades in a treaty to affirm the self -government and full property of 35 square kilometers of land in the nation.
The nation says that 83 percent of the votes were in favor of ratifying the constitution of K’omoks, and more than 81 percent of the members voted in favor of the treaty, which allows the joint management of wildlife, parks, water and forests in the area.
The chosen principal director of the Nation, Nicole Rempel, said that the treaty will allow the future generations of the Nation to revitalize their culture.
“To be able to determine who our people of K’omoks are in the future, and not make someone in Ottawa make that decision for us, it is really exciting,” he told CBC News.
Little less than 240 K’omoS members were eligible to vote on the treaty, and there was a 91 percent participation on Saturday.
Rempel said that the Indian law, the federal legislation that ruled indigenous affairs for decades and became widely criticized for its regressive approach to indigenous peoples, was designed to essentially eliminate the way of life of the nation.
“I think it is really exciting to have the opportunity to leave the Indian act,” said Reppel.
“I think that really was what I was passionate about, because our ancestors didn’t have that option. It was pushed on them.”
The treaty must now be ratified by the provincial and federal governments to enter into force, what Reppel estimates will take about three years.
A statement by the first nation says that work in the next three years will imply restructuring its governing bodies and developing laws, while “carefully considering the tremendous economic opportunities that are advanced.”
The Minister of Indigenous Relations of BC, Christine Boyle, congratulated the leadership of the first nation for the successful vote on a treaty that has been in negotiations since 1994.
“I’m still firmly committed to taking this path along with the people of K’omoks,” Boyle said.
Challenge of the close first nation
The K’omoK Treaty has faced the opposition of the first Wei Wai Kum nation, which has overlapping claims of traditional territory on the Central Island of Vancouver.
Chris Roberts, chosen chief of the Wei Wai Kum, filed a court order in the BC Supreme Court last week seeking to stop the treaty vote. He told CBC News last year that the treaty would extinguish the rights claimed by Wei Wai Kum.
The court rejected the request on Friday.
Jaime QuatellHereditary Chief of Wei Wai Kum First Nation, he said that he felt well with the results of the treaty vote and that “he had no qualms” with the overwhelming support he received.
Despite the court order, Quatell said that the first Wei Wai Kum would prefer to maintain the matter outside the courts, and that he wants nations to feel together to discuss how to advance.
“I said: ‘K’omaks, you have your … big house there, let’s sit there. If you don’t want to sit there, then come to ours and sit here,” he said CBC News. “You know, there is a way in which it can be done.”
Rempel said that the K’omoS treaty contains provisions that prevent any impact on other nations and their rights and title.
She said she hoped to celebrate the shared history of nations.
“As a nation, we really want to work with our neighbors and build those relationships,” he said.
“Because when we work together, we work very well together and we are stronger together.”
