The Kitselas First Nation are helping people understand the Kitselas Treaty through a series of events meant to engage with local members in British Columbia and Alberta.
An ice cream night on Monday Sept. 9 at the Kitselas Firehall in Gitaus was the first stop on their tour. Kitselas members gathered to discuss the treaty over a free sweet treat.
Crystal Wright and Zoe Bevan, who work on the treaty terms as a clerk and intern respectively, welcomed community members and answered any questions and concerns about the treaty at their table.
"I feel cautiously optimistic that our community has a fairly good understanding of what's in this treaty," said David Try, senior treaty negotiator for the Kitselas Nation. "This is the continuation of a very long process for us."
Kitselas has been working toward a modern treaty since 1993 as the six stage process can be lengthy.
The first three stages were a statement of intent, preparation for negotiations and the negotiation of a framework agreement. Stage four, negotiation of an agreement in principle (AIP) was completed in 2015.
On June 24, 2024, the draft Kitselas Treaty was initialled by Chief Glenn Bennett of the Kitselas First Nation, Gary Anandasangaree, federal minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, and Murray Rankin, British Columbia minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation.
They are currently in Stage 5, negotiation to finalize a treaty. At the end of stage 5, members will vote on adopting their new constitution and the treaty.
Chief Bennett said that they are hoping to hold the constitutional vote in early February and then ratify the treaty in the spring of 2025.
"We want to hear from our members and provide them the information with regards to the enrolment process that needs to take place so our people can register for ratification in spring 2025," said Bennett.
Since Sept. 9, the treaty team has also visited members in Alberta in places such as Hinton, Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary. In B.C., they have visited Vernon. The next stops on their tour in September are in Kelowna, Kamloops and Prince George. In October, they will visit members on Vancouver Island.
"Our key goal right now is to help people understand what the treaty [is] as a whole, on a macro level," Try said.
"It's a legal document, so it's our job to try and move that from the legal language, to the language that our average community member will understand," said Try.
A treaty offers the Kitselas a path toward self-governance and getting themselves out from under the Indian Act, which was passed in 1876 without consultation with the Indigenous peoples that lived on the land known today as Canada. The Kitselas were self-governing long before Europeans arrived to Canada.
If the treaty becomes ratified, it means greater opportunities for Kitselas to grow regional economic development and partnerships. It gives them the authority to raise property, sales, business and income tax revenue from businesses and non-members who reside within the Treaty Settlement Lands. This will be possible through a tax treatment agreement with the federal government and government of B.C.
After ratification, Kitselas people would become registered owners of the Treaty Settlement Lands, which are also known as Kitselas Lands. Totalling more than 36,000 hectares, the territory is much larger than the current Kitselas Reserves.
Lakelse Lake Provincial Park will not be a part of these Lands, but part of Kleanza Creek Park will be included.
The treaty team is also going to be taking members on land tours. The first land tour was Tuesday, Sept. 24. Following that, they will do one on Wednesday, Oct. 16 and another on Monday, Nov. 14. Try said that they will schedule dates for land tours in December, January, February and March as well.
Non-Kitselas members will still be able to access the Treaty Settlements Lands for temporary recreational and non-commercial purposes. They will also be able to continue ownership of private lands surrounding the settlement lands, but if an owner chooses to sell a property, the Kitselas Nation will have the first opportunity to purchase the property.
The treaty will also establish the Kitselas Area, which was known as traditional territory. Although Kitselas will not own this area, their people will have rights to hunt, harvest, and participate in planning processes such as environmental assessment and wildlife management.
"We're not trying to convince people to vote yes, we're just trying to encourage people to enrol and vote, doing whatever is in our power to help them have an informed vote," said Try.
For the treaty to be ratified, at least 50 per cent plus one of the eligible voters on the final treaty voters list must cast their vote and at least 50 per cent of those voters must cast their vote in favour of the agreement. Ratifying the constitution will follow.
The next treaty information session is on Sept. 25 at the Kitselas Community Hall that includes dinner. Dinner begins at 6 p.m. and the meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. People can attend via Zoom or in-person.
"We're always open to anybody who has a question about treaty, we've got an open door policy," said Try. "Come drop by, have a coffee, give me a call, let us know, we'll answer your questions. We have no secrets."
