Te'mexw Treaty Association
Member Bands
Beecher Bay Indian Band (Scia'new First Nation)
Location
: On Beecher Bay, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. Main community is on Beecher Bay Indian Reserve #1, in East Sooke, 30 km southwest of Victoria. (Eight reserves on 307.7 hectares.)
Number of Band Members
: 235 (Source: Registered Indian Population by Sex and Residence April 2010, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada)
Malahat First Nation
Location
: On the western shore of Saanich Inlet, south of Mill Bay and approximately 30 km north of Victoria. (Two reserves on 241.9 hectares.)
Number of Band Members
: 265 (Source: Registered Indian Population by Sex and Residence April 2010, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada)
Nanoose First Nation (Snaw-naw-AS First Nation)
Location
: On the east coast of Vancouver Island, adjacent to Lantzville, approximately 10 km north of Nanaimo. (One reserve on 53.4 hectares.)
Number of Band Members
: 226 (Source: Registered Indian Population by Sex and Residence April 2010, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada)
Songhees First Nation
Location
: On Esquimalt Harbour, in Victoria. Main community is on New Songhees Indian Reserve #1A. (Three reserves on 137.8 hectares.)
Number of Band Members
: 511 (Source: Registered Indian Population by Sex and Residence April 2010, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada)
T'sou-ke First Nation
Location
: Near Sooke, approximately 30 km southwest of Victoria, at the southern end of Vancouver Island. (Two reserves on 67.2 hectares.)
Number of Band Members
: 222 (Source: Registered Indian Population by Sex and Residence April 2010, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada)
Background
Negotiating status
: Negotiating a comprehensive treaty settlement within the
British Columbia Treaty Commission six-stage treaty process.
Negotiating affiliation
: Negotiating with Canada and British Columbia on behalf of its five member bands. None of the members of the treaty group are affiliated with a tribal council.
Location
: Member bands are located on southern Vancouver Island.
Total Band Members
: 1,459 (Source: Registered Indian Population by Sex and Residence April 2010, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada)
Negotiations
The Te'mexw Treaty Association (TTA) entered the treaty process in July 1995, and is in Stage 4 of the six-stage process, negotiating an agreement in principle.
TTA members are a party to the Douglas Treaties, a series of 14 land purchases from aboriginal people around Victoria, Saanich, Sooke, Nanaimo and Port Hardy, made between 1850 and 1854, by James Douglas, chief factor of Fort Victoria and governor of the colony of Vancouver Island. While the Douglas Treaties addressed land and harvesting rights, the modern comprehensive treaty currently being negotiated between Canada, BC and TTA, deals with a wide range of issues that include governance, land, resources and fiscal matters. TTA negotiations are making steady progress and have successfully resolved a number of difficult issues.
Te’mexw Treaty Negotiations Power Point Presentation
Agreement-in-Principle Chapters (completed)
Other Activities
In October 2008, Malahat and Nanoose First Nations each entered into forest licence agreements with the Ministry of Forests and Range (MFR) to each harvest 3,000 square metres of timber annually over five years in the Arrowsmith Timber Supply Area.
In March 2007, The Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations memberships ratified by a large margin a settlement that resolves a reserve-based specific claim on the site of the British Columbia Legislature in Victoria. The settlement, which was initialed by Canada, BC and the First Nations in November 2006, relates to a lawsuit filed in 2001 which alleged that Canada and British Columbia breached certain duties owed to the First Nations. The claim alleged that the land was originally set aside as an Indian reserve in 1854 by Governor James Douglas, who then took it back for the site of the Legislature without obtaining a surrender of the reserve. The settlement was ratified by both First Nations which, as a result, equally shared a financial settlement of $31.5 million.
In November 2005, Songhees First Nation and the Government of Canada signed a Settlement Agreement respecting a specific claim of 1.13 acres of land. The agreement includes the land and $1,240,000 in compensation.
Planned meetings
As dates are established for open public meetings, they will be publicized through the local media and on the British Columbia Treaty Commission Website Negotiations Calendar.
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Final Agreements
Principle
