As Tla’amin (Sliammon) First Nation members prepare to vote on a treaty, some community members are raising concerns with the document as well as the process leading up to the vote.
The Peak recently sat down with a group of band members who expressed a wide range of concerns.
Doreen Point said there should have been a referendum after the AIP (agreement in principle) was voted down in 2001. “They overstepped their bounds in ignoring our no vote and starting up treaty again,” she said. “They didn’t put a referendum out to the people that treaty should continue.”
Point also questioned why Tla’amin became a part of the BC Treaty Commission process. “They have taken our right to speak,” Point said. “Our voice was not spoken from the very beginning.”
Some people feel that the Sliammon Treaty Society is using young people to get through to their parents. “My grandson who is 14 asked me why I was against treaty,” she said. “We want something that’s going to benefit Sliammon as a whole, not just today or tomorrow, but generations down the road.”
Tla’amin entered into the treaty process in 1994, when it filed a statement of intent, the first stage of the six-stage process. In 1995, the community held a referendum to obtain approval to enter the process. The result was over 90 per cent in favour of negotiating a treaty.
The first vote on the AIP was held in 2001. It was narrowly defeated, with 51 per cent voting no and 49 per cent voting yes.
Negotiators went back to the process and the community voted on a different AIP in 2003. This time the vote was 63 per cent in favour of it and 37 per cent opposed.
Tla’amin, Canada and BC negotiators initialled Tla’amin’s final agreement on October 21, 2011. Negotiators actually shook hands on the final agreement in June 2010. Tla’amin and BC quickly signalled they were ready to initial the document, but it was stalled in Ottawa for over a year as the federal government reviewed it.
Voting on the treaty takes place between June 8 and 16. The approval threshold is 50 per cent plus one of all eligible voters.
Brandon Peters said he was concerned that the treaty society was given $500,000 to promote a yes vote. “That’s unbalanced,” he said. “Why does the government want us to sign this agreement so badly that they’re willing to give an incentive of $500,000 to promote it?”
Peters also pointed out that some first nations require a 70 per cent approval rate on a treaty vote. “We require 50 plus one,” he said. “That does not scream absolute approval. That screams of a one per cent approval rate. If it ends up being in the 50s, the 60s, it should go back to vote again on the final process.”
Tracy Timothy said he was concerned about eligibility requirements, because people who are not living in the community have a vote. People who are of Tla’amin ancestry through either their mother or father can apply to be enrolled as a member and vote on the treaty. “People are voting who are not really from here,” he said. “People are not from here and they’re voting on our future.”
Peters added that band members who have lost their status are also being allowed to vote on the treaty. “Registered band members who are 18 and older should be allowed to vote,” he said. “But if you are not a band member, it’s a no-no...You should be a status native person in order to vote on our treaty.”
Jason Galligos said chief and council and the treaty society are forgetting that they work for the community, the people. “They work for us,” he said. “We voted them in there. They’re supposed to do what we want. Just because chief and council say this is the way they want it, it doesn’t have to be that way. We’re allowed to speak up as people, as a community. We don’t agree with this.”
Robert and Elizabeth Blaney said they do not agree with the settlement. “It will not be enough to last generations to come,” they said in a written statement. “We are worried about our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren. Our status and our rights will no longer exist. The history of leadership running our band has left us in huge deficit, our community is not prepared to take on the responsibility of self government, we do not have qualified people to look over our business.”
They also wrote that they were opposed to having to pay property taxes. “What right does treaty have to negotiate on behalf of all Sliammon people to take away our rights, our lands, property and most importantly our ‘status?’”
Roy Francis, Tla’amin chief negotiator, said the community has been in the treaty process for 17 years and there have been information sessions throughout that time. “Many of the concerns that are being raised are topics that have been discussed at great length at those sessions,” he said.
Another provision some people don’t like is the requirement to enrol to vote. Some people are offended that they have to enrol, even though they are band members.
Part of the community promoted the idea that everyone should be automatically enrolled, Francis said. “There was a whole lot of dialogue about that. There was a real loud message that came out through the community consultation that people should have the choice to enrol, that it’s not for anybody to decide on anyone’s behalf. People should have that choice.”
Some people are choosing not to enrol, Francis said. “That choice should remain theirs.”
There is a significant amount of money that is committed to explain what is in the treaty, Francis said. “The treaty itself is beyond 3,000 provisions, there are attached appendices that are bigger than that and there is a whole set of sub-agreements. The whole idea about information sessions is to get information about the content to the people in the community.”
The money is used to produce pamphlets, Francis explained, to develop the society’s website, to hold information sessions, to go door-to-door in the community and for travel to areas beyond Tla’amin, including Vancouver, Victoria and Tacoma, Washington. The treaty society did link to a youth incentive program to organize an information session, Francis also said. “Youth received incentive money for areas other than treaty as well. There was a week-long set of activities before treaty.”
The money is well spent, according to Francis. “It’s about the importance of the decision that we’re asking people to make and it’s about getting good information into people’s hands. There’s no doubt there is a cost to doing that work, but I see it as a huge investment in our community.”
Treaty provisions
Tla’amin (Sliammon) First Nation’s treaty includes the following provisions:
• About 8,322 hectares of treaty settlement lands.
• About $29.7 million in capital transfers over 10 years.
• About $6.9 million in economic development funds.
• About $250,000 for a fishing vessel fund.
• About $1.7 million for the design and construction of an administration, culture and heritage building.
• About $663,000 annually for 50 years under a resource revenue sharing agreement.
• One-time federal funding of $4.6 million.
• Ongoing federal funding of about $8 million a year for five years.
• Ongoing provincial funding of about $446,000 a year for five years.
• Forestry and fisheries allocations.
• Self-government, including law-making powers for matters related to lands, resources and other areas of governance.
More information about the treaty is available on the Sliammon Treaty Society’s website,
