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Scouts Canada donates land to Tla’amin Nation

Organization gifts 74 acres to complete plot southeast of Lund
scouts donate land
RETURNING LAND: Will Van Delft, council commissioner for Scouts Canada’s Cascadia council, presented Tla’amin Nation hegus Clint Williams with a gift of 74 acres of land near Lund at the nation’s treaty-implementation celebration on Saturday, April 9. Jason Schreurs photo

It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that could not be passed up, according to an official from Scouts Canada.

Representatives from the national scouting organization, including Will Van Delft, council commissioner for Scouts Canada’s Cascadia council, presented Tla’amin Nation with a gift of 74 acres of land near Hurtado Point, just southeast of Lund, at the nation’s treaty implementation celebration on Saturday, April 9, at Evergreen Theatre.

“It’s a nice gesture,” said Tla’amin hegus Clint Williams. “We really appreciate Scouts Canada acknowledging the traditional territory of the Tla’amin people. It’s humbling to see this.”

Scouts Canada has owned the parcel of land, legally referred to as Lot A of District Lot 3879, since 1974 when it was willed to the organization from the estate of Oscar Orpana.

Van Delft noted that he thought this gift could be one of the first times homesteaded land was being given back to a first nation in North America.

“We came up with the idea that it would be a real symbolic gesture, once the treaty comes around, to give it to them,” said Van Delft.

According to local historian Barbara Lambert’s 2015 book, Homesteading and Stump Farming of the West Coast 1880-1930, the parcel was part of the Orpana family’s homestead on the Malaspina peninsula in 1906. John Orpana, possibly Oscar’s father, died in 1940. 

Van Delft said after looking into Oscar’s life he was unable to determine why the man had given it to Powell River Scouts, which celebrated its 100 year anniversary in 2013.

“Scouting has been here a while,” he said. “It could have been that he was an old scouter. I’m not sure, but he must have known about Scouts and taken a liking to the idea.”

Van Delft explained that when he moved to Powell River four years ago, one of things he was directed to investigate was the Orpana land and what it could be used for.

“There’s no road up to it,” he said. “The only value the land would have would be to adjoining landowners.”

Those landowners happen to be the Tla’amin people. The adjacent district lots of 3879, 3880 and 2815 are all treaty settlement land, said Williams.

“This actually tidies up the district lot and squares off a corner for us,” he added.

The land nearby to Orpana Lake can be reached by walking into it from the Hurtado Point trail, which Van Delft did.

“I traipsed through the property looking for the graves of Oscar and his mother,” said Van Delft.

While he did not find the final resting place of the family, he did find a haven for the local black bear population, a few beaver dams, a stream of full of cutthroat trout and fields of wild cranberries.

After his search, he looked into the provincial archives to learn that Oscar had been cremated with his ashes scattered on the property. He said he is not sure if Oscar’s mother’s grave is located there, “but it’s been more than 40 years and a lot has changed,” he said.

The parcel’s value was appraised at between $75,000 to $125,000.

“Once we realized we didn’t need the money, it was easy to give away,” said Van Delft.

With the help of Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons, Van Delft and Tina Bevans, group commissioner for First Powell River Scouts, were introduced to Williams in November 2015.

To show appreciation, Williams said Van Delft and Bevans were invited to a Tla’amin community dinner; one of the nation’s drum groups performed an honour song for them and they were given traditional button blankets.

Van Delft said the experience has stuck with him since.

“I’ve still got the blanket here on my chair,” he said. “It’s wonderful to be able to be a part of what’s happening here. This was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up.”