Despite roughly 20 years of negotiating, over a myriad of subjects and needs, between a nation, a province and a First Nation, the thing the public seems to care the most about is – land.

That was made evident Oct. 28 during a public informational meeting at the Heritage Inn in Cranbrook. Similar meetings have already been held in Invermere (Oct. 1), Golden (Oct. 11) and Fernie (Oct. 10).

More than 60 people attended the ‘Ktunaxa Kinbasket Treaty Negotiation Update’ meeting, which provided an overview of the treaty process up to now, by Kathryn Teneese, Chief Negotiator for the Ktunaxa Kinbasket Treaty Council (KKTC), Senior Federal negotiator Sena Paradis and Provincial negotiator Mark Lofthouse.

KKTC Side Table Negotiator Garry Merkel provided an extensive update on the status of the Ktunaxa Nation Agreement-in-Principle.

However, attention spans sharpened when provincial negotiator Marty Osberg led a slideshow/tour of the parcels (polygons) of land that have been offered to the Ktunaxa Nation (KN) in the treaty, and accepted last February.

More than 30,000 hectares encompass the offer, with parcels spread throughout the KN territory. (An exact figure detailing the entire land package was not made available and requests by e-KNOW for the figure has not yet been answered.)

Efforts were made to address the locations of the existing reserves, cultural/heritage values, economic opportunity and wilderness interests, Osberg said, adding all three parties worked closely in the effort.

The process began with a look at the traditional KN territory, which encompasses 6.6 million hectares.

Private land, steep slope terrain, land 50 km beyond accesses and other criteria were considered, which narrowed their focus to 1.8 million ha. Closer inspections resulted in potential land being whittled down to 180,000 ha.

“Selections” from that 180,000 ha had to be made, Osberg said.

The process of identifying suitable lands involved applying methodology seeking out seven of the “key elements” in the ‘Agreement-in-Principle. Along with ‘land,’ the others are: certainty, eligibility, ratification, governance, natural resources, fiscal arrangements and access.

The process of identifying land parcels was laborious and painstaking, Merkel said.

“This treaty is much more than a real estate deal. These are very wide ranging governments and this treaty ties to deal with that span,” he said, pointing out that First Nations “do not own the reserve lands.”

As a result of that, they cannot establish laws and bylaws, as other governments do.

“It is really hard for us to do business on these lands,” Merkel said, because the Indian Act (http://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/home/government-policy/the-indian-act.html) supersedes all.

For example, Merkel said, if a First Nation wanted to pass a dog bylaw, it would have to go through the federal government for approval.

“We have to build working relationships to move ahead,” he said. By securing a variety of land around their traditional territory, the Ktunaxa will be able to better achieve that goal.

Merkel explained the land identified are comprised of existing Crown land and existing Ktunaxa Indian Reserves. Additionally, the lands will be owned fee simple and “will provide a base for community expansion, economic development, wilderness interests and protection of cultural heritage resources.”

The four KN member bands taking part in the treaty negotiations are located around the region, from the U.S. border north to the Invermere area, and as far west as Creston.  The member bands are: Akisq’nuk / Columbia Lake First Nation; Yaqan nu?kiy / Lower Kootenay Indian Band; ?Aq’am / St. Mary’s Indian Band; Tobacco Plains Indian Band and their reserves cover 18,233.4 hectares.

The Shuswap Indian Band at Invermere was originally part of the treaty negotiations but withdrew from the process in 2009 and their decision was accepted by the BC Treaty Commission.

Public access will continue on lands where recreational activities occur, as well as for neighbouring fee simple land owners and provincial tenure holders. The province will retain ownership of forest service roads and public utilities and tenure holders will continue to carry out authorized works.

“We are not trying to restrict access to people,” Merkel stated. “These are not islands. In fact, they are probably less restrictive than Indian Reserves.”

The treaty will also provide access to natural resources, for the Ktunaxa, which will own the timber, plants and subsurface resources on the identified lands.

Canada and B.C. will continue to hold jurisdiction for fish/wildlife, migratory birds and water.

Where applicable, water rights will be established by the KN and become part of reserve lands.

While noting that “a couple of fairly significant issues” need addressing, with all three sides “highly motivated” to solve them, Osberg showed a series of slides depicting maps of the land parcels identified.

The largest parcel is located in the Goat River (west of Cranbrook), with four sub-drainages compiling 17,000 ha.

There is another 1,700 ha of land, in various parcel sizes, to the north, south and west of Cranbrook. Eastern parcels were not identified because of concerns about conflict with the Community Forest, Osberg said.

Heading into the Elk Valley, Osberg pointed out a 3,000 ha piece in the Flathead River Valley, between the Flat River and Sage Creek along the U.S. border.

“The Flathead has huge significance to the Ktunaxa,” Osberg said.

Nearby, there are two pieces in the Wigwam/Snowshoe Lake, comprising 1,000 and 1,300 ha.

The parcel closest (350 ha) to Fernie is partially adjacent to Mount Fernie Provincial Park.

“This piece has value to the Ktunaxa in the longer term,” Osberg said. “It is an opportunity to provide the Ktunaxa with growth and expansion” in Fernie’s tourism industry.

There is also a small piece of land north of Elkford, on the east side of the Elk River.

“We looked hard to find a parcel in the eastern portion” of the Ktunaxa territory, Osberg said. The parcel selected is included in mine plans for the area.

“We felt including something like this creates a relationship opportunity” and business potential, he explained.

The Koocanusa area features a variety of land parcels, including three parcels from Tobacco Plains, along the border, to the reservoir compiling 400 ha.

There is a parcel at Big Springs, currently a Reserve-operated campground, a piece at the old “Flagstone” area and a 228 ha piece in the Dorr Road area, situated on a grand bend.

Osberg explained that parcel will provide “good development potential in the long term.

There is another parcel at Elk River Springs (17.7 ha) that will provide economic opportunity, he said, mentioning water bottling potential.

North of Kikomun Provincial Park are two parcels, on each side of the river/reservoir. The eastside parcel is 136 ha, while a piece directly across on the west side, north of the boat launch, is about twice the size.

The rationale for those two pieces is potential development potential on the east side with the west side parcel to be used to “control the viewscape,” Osberg said.

Moving on with the slide show, Osberg headed into the Columbia Valley.

There is a 105 ha piece to the north and northwest of the current recreation site at Whitetail Lake, west of Canal Flats and two parcels on the west side of Columbia Lake. One (45 ha) is lakeside, southeast of Hardie Creek and Columbia Ridge Estate.

“It is one of the areas where they could acquire ownership that has critical wildlife values. It’s not there for development purposes,” Osberg said.

The second parcel (283 ha) is on a bench above the lake, on the west side of Highway 93/95.

Rising above Akisq’nuk is a large Madias/Tatley Creek parcel, running to the height of land. This parcel will correct a past mistake, Osberg said.

There is another parcel east of Madias/Tatley, on the west side of the Kootenay Valley and another small parcel north along the Kootenay River. Both parcels are former guide outfitter territory.

The treaty features a 490-ha piece at Lake Enid, east and north of the current recreation site, which is not included.

There is also a parcel north of Sinclair Canyon/Radium Hot Springs.

City of Cranbrook Mayor Wayne Stetski, a local government representative with the Treaty process, emceed the evening, which concluded with a Q&A session.

The process to determine lands has included “lots of consultation, from ranchers to guide outfitters to anyone who has an interest in the land packages.”

Noting he’s only been part of the process for “seven to eight months,” Stetski said the more he delves into it, “the higher the comfort level” he has for the process.

Provincial negotiator Mark Lofthouse said the KN Treaty’s ‘Agreement-in-Principle’ stage should be concluded in “maybe a year’s time.”

Admitting that he only has “10 days of experience with the Ktunaxa file,” being recently added to the table, he related how his experiences working with concluded treaties has shown him how well they serve all communities, First Nation and not.

“There is a real remarkable transition” after treaties are signed, he said and the “success” of past treaties is starting to speed up those still in the pipeline – which are many.

“When the First Nations are successful the communities are successful,” Lofthouse said.

There are currently 36 First Nations negotiating an Agreement-in-Principle (Phase Four), along with the Ktunaxa.

According to the Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, “The Ktunaxa Kinbasket Treaty Council entered the treaty process in December 1993, and is now in Stage 4 of the six-stage process, negotiating a comprehensive agreement in principle which is intended to address all of the substantive matters required to conclude a final agreement.”

KN chief negotiation Kathryn Teneese said she was pleased to see the turnout at Cranbrook, noting public turnout elsewhere wasn’t as good

Noting the recent 20^th anniversary of the start of the treaty process, Teneese said, “We are confident that if we are able to conclude these negotiations that a framework of interaction will be established.”

The Ktunaxa people want to “work together to make a difference in our homeland. We are not looking at changing the circumstances of anyone but ourselves. We are going to move forward by educating each other and learning.”

According to the Registered Indian Population by Sex and Residence September 2010, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, the population of the Ktunaxa Kinbasket Treaty Council and Ktunaxa Nation Council is 1,007.

For more:

http://www.ktunaxa.org/treaty/negotiations.html

http://www.gov.bc.ca/arr/firstnation/ktunaxa_kinbasket/default.html

http://www.ktunaxa.org/downloads/treaty/Observers’%20Guide%20Sept%2004.pdf

Ian Cobb/e-KNOW

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