On November 23rd and 24th, IPinCH’s Secwepemc Territorial Authority case study came to fruition in a historic gathering that brought together Secwepemc land defenders with several of Canada’s leading scholars on Indigenous Peoples’ rights and relations.
Over the course of two days spent at Quaaout Lodge in Skwlax (Little Shuswap Indian Band) Territory, near Chase, British Columbia, this unique collaboration addressed some of the most pressing challenges facing the Secwepemc peoples today through a dynamic, evolving, and genuine dialogue.
The group of about 25 included elders, ceremonial leaders, elected chiefs and councilors, activists, and others who practice and defend Secwepemc heritage, as well as allies from Syilx Territory (Okanagan). The Secwepemc joined in conversation with a selection of Canada’s highly distinguished anthropologists, archaeologists, legal scholars, and political thinkers working in the realm of Indigenous rights and relations between Indigenous peoples and settlers in Canada. They were brought together by project leaders and co-facilitators Dr. Brian Noble, Dalhousie University professor of Social Anthropology and IPinCH affiliate, and Arthur Manuel, former Chief of Neskonlith Indian Band and spokesman for the Indigenous Network on Economies and Trade.
It was a bold experiment from the outset, dodging any set objectives in favour of allowing the discussion to unfold genuinely and move the gathering in the right directions. This meant putting a lot of trust in the people in the room to fully engage with this alternative method of research, build a mutually respectful dialogue, and generate productive outcomes together. We started from a firm understanding that Secwepemc peoples have economic, political, and legal authority within their territory. From that core premise, we then looked at a number of past and current cases to examine how we would approach matters related to the care of and authority over Secwepemc heritage and what the relationship between Secwepemc and non-Secwepemc people should be in respectfully addressing these matters.
To begin, we broadened the category of cultural heritage to become what Brian Noble termed ‘people’s heritage’. This new category helped us to move away from conventional and colonial concepts of culture, to encompass Secwepemc peoples’ laws, morals, ways on the land, economies, and their heritage of welcoming and making political relations with newcomers to their territory. From here, we developed a kind of narrative through four case studies—which we termed ‘encounters’—each dealing with a different element of Secwepemc heritage. First, we examined what happened when a Canadian Pacific Railway construction team encountered a Secwepemc ancestral burial site. Next, we discussed political heritage in the Laurier Memorial—a letter written in 1910 to Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier by Secwepemc, Syilx, and Nlaka’pamux Chiefs laying out a generous model of just relations with settlers and the Crown. Third, we addressed environmental encroachments on Secwepemc peoples’ berry picking and medicinal harvesting. Finally, we looked at existing and proposed mega-mining projects that impinge on Secwepemc lands and rights.
Conversation oscillated between the most minute, practical matters, such as changing the archaeological permitting system, to the most overarching philosophical tenets, such as how Indigenous peoples and settlers might enshrine the kind of sharing and reciprocity laid out in the Laurier Memorial. We listened and learned together that the Secwepemc have endured so much wrongful treatment, even while continuing to be open to welcoming newcomers into their lands.
All told, we learned together how the Secwepemc lived on the land well and are still striving to keep living in that way. We learned how they have trusted that the Queen and the Crown would honour their lives all across their territory. And we also learned how successive Provincial and Federal governments have gone astray from honouring that trust, undermining the practice of Secwepemc people’s heritage. Through all of this, we acknowledged that the Secwepemc are the original people in their lands, and also that their authority and jurisdiction relates to all Secwepemc heritage and is articulated in that heritage.
The gathering concluded with a powerful sense of partnership and a shared commitment to tell the story of the gathering among our own respective communities through formal materials such as a forthcoming report as well as informal conversations and teaching opportunities. This important story challenges the conventional colonial narrative around how the relationship between Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous settlers can unfold.
Top Photo: The group sharing a meal together.
Bottom Photo: L to R, Chief Wayne Christian (Spallumcheen First Nation), Ernie Philip (Little Shuswap Band), and Henry Saul (Neskonlith Band), at the Secwepemc Gathering. (Photos: Tania Willard)
By Brian Noble (Dalhousie University), Arthur Manuel (Neskonlith, Indigenous Network on Economies and Trade), and Emma Feltes.
For more information, contact:
Dr. Brian Noble: bnoble@dal.ca
Arthur Manuel: amanuel@telus.net
Emma Feltes: erfeltes@gmail.com
