An Indigenous tribe that was previously declared extinct by the Canadian government is now requesting to be included in land management decisions on their claimed homeland – the Columbia River basin – but Premier David Eby says that consultation with the Sinixt Confederacy is not required.
Eby and the Syilx Okanagan Nation issued a joint statement on Oct. 7 that said government consultation with the Washington-based Sinixt Confederacy is not necessary, as the tribe's needs are already represented by the Syilx Okanagan Nation.
Specifically, Eby said that his government will continue to consult with the Syilx Okanagan Nation on an expansion project at the Big White ski resort, on land that has historically been under the jurisdiction of the Westbank First Nation.
Despite having been declared extinct in Canada in 1956, people of Sinixt descent continue to live primarily in Washington State within Colville Confederated Tribes, and in the Okanagan, after having been displaced from the Columbia River Basin region in the 1800s.
"We were kicked off the land and declared extinct. Now we want come back and re-declare as a people who have rights to the land," said Colville Confederated Tribes chairman Jarred-Michael Erickson, who is an Indigenous person of both Syilx and Sinixt descent.
Since 2023, Sinixt people from the Colville Confederated Tribes, now represented by the Washington-based Sinixt Confederacy, have requested to be consulted on land-use developments and management on their homeland of the Columbia River Basin, which spans both sides of the border – and includes the Big White expansion project located southeast of Kelowna.
The Confederacy began speaking out about its rights after the Supreme Court of Canada acknowledged the existence and history of of Sinixt people in Canada, for the first time since 1956.
In the 2021 decision on Canadian Indigenous hunting rights, the Supreme Court stated the Sinixt are an aboriginal people of Canada and have the right to hunt on their ancestral territory in B.C.
This decision served as a basis for the creation of the Sinixt Confederacy, which advocates for transboundary ancestral rights in Canada and the USA, including the right to be consulted on land-management.
Conversely, the Syilx Okanagan Nation and Eby say that the Sinixt Confederacy should not be consulted on any matters within Canada's borders.
"First Nations located in B.C. must always be the priority and primary focus of all levels of government including the province of B.C.," read the joint statement.
Big White has declined to comment on the situation and neither Eby nor the B.C. NDP have responded to requests from Black Press for further information.
“It is nonsense. They are not separate or distinct,” said Louie, explaining that both the Sinixt and Syilx people speak the same language, nsyilxcən. "We are all one," said Chief Robert Louie of Westbank First Nation, which is a part of the Syilx Okanagan Nation.
He said that the Sinixt people are and have always been part of the Syilx Okanagan.
Erickson, however, disagrees with the sentiment, saying that while the language is the same, the Sinixt people use a unique dialect and have a different culture from the Syilx people.
Louie said that since time immemorial, the Syilx Nation, which he says includes Sinixt people, have always asserted the right to the area where the Big White project is proposed. Responsibility for the land has historically fallen under the jurisdiction of Westbank First Nation.
Louie said engaging in consultation with the Confederacy could cause "serious harm," including economic loss to the Okanagan Nation.
Louie noted that the Sinixt people have not been declared a nation, like the Okanagan Syilx, they have simply been recognized as an aboriginal people of Canada who have hunting rights.
Issues regarding rightful claim to ancestral territories are not a new issue in Canada after borders created by colonization and regulation regarding self-determination stemming from the Indian Act separated Indigenous people from their culture and their land.
In the 1800s, during the period of colonialism, border creation, the imposition of reservations and widespread disease, many Sinixt people died or were forced to move from their lands in the Columbia River Basin. Some moved either to the Okanagan where they joined the Syilx people or south to the U.S., where they were included in the Colville Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington.
A small group of Sinixt people remained in the Slocan Valley, on the Oatscott Reserve. However, after the final resident died in 1953, the Canadian Government declared the Sinixt people extinct in 1956.
Erickson said that prior to colonization and the creation of borders, the Sinixt people were nomadic and travelled through the waterways throughout entirety of the Columbia River Basin, from the Kootenays to the Okanagan and down to Washington by canoe to hunt, fish and gather food.
Even after the Sinixt were declared extinct, Erickson said those remaining continued to quietly hunt on their traditional lands in both the U.S. and Canada.
In the 2021 Supreme Court of Canada decision, people of Sinixt descent were granted hunting rights on their traditional land in B.C. after a Sinixt man with American citizenship was arrested while hunting near Castlegar.
Louie and the Syilx Okanagan Nation say that the implications of the Supreme Court decision are limited to hunting rights, not the right to be consulted on land-use in Canada.
Louie said that consulting with the Sinixt Confederacy could have "huge ramifications," for similar cases of transborder Indigenous peoples across the country.
“It would hurt the economy,” said Louie.
He fears that if the government begins consulting with Indigenous people based in the United States, money would be flowing south instead of staying local.
“They do not have an aboriginal title claim to the land and they do not have the right to funds generated by land," said Louie.
"It's going to get right out of hand," said Louie.
The Sinixt Confederacy, however, sees the decision as a step toward being granted rights and autonomy as a sovereign nation on their ancestral territories, like the Syilx Okanagan Nation have.
In Canada, when an Indigenous group is consulted they are paid either by the government, industry or both and typically receive proceeds flowing from the project.
Erickson gave the example of dams located on Sinixt ancestral territory that generate revenue.
While he says the Confederacy is not financially motivated and they have tribal money to spend, "some of those funds should be coming to us so we can continue to do conservation work," said Erickson.
He said the Confederacy wants to exercise their rights as an Indigenous people from Canada and advocate for their culture, for conservation and for their ancestors whose remains are buried in the region.
Further, he said that the Sinixt Confederacy has not yet received money from the provincial or federal government in Canada.
Chief Louie said that the Sinixt people will always be welcome in the Okanagan, as "they are a part of part of the Okanagan Syilx people," but reiterated that they should not have the right to be consulted on land management in B.C.
"They are trying to convince everyone that they are separate. No, they are not. It doesn’t work that way," said Louie.
Conversely, Erickson said the Colville Confederated Tribes, which he and many Sinixt people are members of, left the Okanagan Nation Alliance because they were being "misrepresented" as Syilx, not as a distinct people.
"We fought the government and now we’re fighting other Indian people," said Erickson.
“It is sad that other Indigenous groups are pushing against us.”
