Four Nuu-chah-nulth leaders received the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal at a ceremony held on Jan. 24 at Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences.
The special medals, which celebrate the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, were pinned on by Nanaimo-Alberni MP James Lunney.
Anne Marie Mack, hereditary chief of Toquaht First Nation, Charlie Cootes Sr., elected chief of Uchucklesaht, and former elected chief councillors Vi Mundy of Ucluelet and Robert Dennis Sr. of Huu-ay-aht, were honoured for their efforts in bringing the Maa-nulth Treaty to fruition.
“For moving beyond when others had failed, taking up the challenge and persevering, and coming to an agreement,” Lunney said.
“This was a historic milestone. But now, as leaders, the real work begins in implementing and taking advantage of the opportunities that certainty, cash and land make possible.”
The landmark treaty was signed at an emotional ceremony at the old Athletic Hall in Port Alberni on April 9, 2009. After receiving her medal, Mundy said the Maa-nulth process was a long road that began after the Nuu-chah-nulth Agreement In Principle was defeated in 2001.
“We rose up again. We re-thought, we re-strategized,” Mundy said.
While Ucluelet First Nation negotiated, Mundy said, the municipality of Ucluelet began a transformation from a sleepy fishing village to a growing tourist destination and economic hub. Mundy said the treaty has helped her nation become an equal partner in the region’s rapid development.
“Our plan, while we were in treaty negotiations, was to have a closer relationship with the town and its surrounding area,” she said. “In those days there was not much contact. For years there was always that separation; we weren’t unfriendly, we just didn¹t know each other. As we walked through the treaty process, we met with them over time, and it was really critical for us that we had the support of the surrounding communities.”
Mack, who succeeded her father, Bert Mack, upon the death of the elder Toquaht statesman last year, said the cash and resources allocated under the treaty would allow more Toquaht members to live in their own community.
“For 10 years during the treaty process, I worked right beside my father the whole time. It was one of the happiest days of his life when the treaty was signed,” Mack said. “One of the first goals is to bring people home, but first, we have to set up the area economically, so our people can sustain themselves.”
Cootes said it was an honour to be recognized by the Queen and by Canada for taking a leadership role in the wider community. Under Maa-nulth, and as a local government within Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, Cootes said his nation now has the kind of certainty Uchucklesaht needs to revitalize their own community.
He pointed to the 15-year struggle to keep the Henderson Lake Sockeye Hatchery operating as an illustration the uncertainty that once plagued his nation.
“The sockeye hatchery was a really good facility to bring back our sockeye, which had become really depleted. It was a funding issue that shut it down, but it helped the run for us,” Cootes said. “It was a long struggle to obtain a multi-year finding agreement, but it never came to reality. We operated with bits and pieces of funding from various sources for years, but it has been out of operation for five years.”
Dennis said he hopes the recognition of himself and his Maa-nulth colleagues with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal represents a small landmark in the relationship between Canada and its First Nations.
“I have respect for the institutions that Canada has,” Dennis said. “Hopefully, Canada will begin to recognize the institutions that we have. That was part of the intent of the treaty, to bring some of our governance institutions into the treaty.”
Canada could, and should, take a few lessons from the traditional direct democracy practiced by Nuu-chah-nulth Nations, Dennis suggested. In the meantime, Huu-ay-aht will continue to expand partnerships within the greater community to advance its long-term goals.
“One of the things our community recognized was that institutions like the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre are playing a major role in the restoration of our lands and waters and marine life,” Dennis said. “We now have other institutions that we are working with to restore the Sarita River.”
Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences is a not-for-profit university that opened its doors in September 2009, and is the headquarters of the National Institute for Disability Management and Research. The school is currently undergoing a review of its proposed Bachelor’s degree program in disability management, which it now hopes to begin offering in early 2014.
Featuring a state-of-the-art lecture hall and plenty of classroom capacity, the university campus, located at 4755 Cherry Creek Road, has become a venue for public events and training. Most recently, Excel Career College of Courtenay conducted an Aquaculture Technician program for First Nations members at the Port Alberni campus.
Pacific Coast University was built in part with funding from the federal Knowledge Infrastructure Program, making advanced education part of an economic strategy for the Alberni Valley.
Students are expected from all over the globe, and founder Wolfgang Zimmermann said one of his goals is to introduce those visitors to Nuu-chah-nulth culture and tradition as part of their education.
“It has been important for us to recognize that we are in the traditional territory of Tseshaht and Hupacasath First Nations,” Zimmermann said. “We have a welcoming pole carved by Tseshaht and Coast Salish artists (Gordon Dick and Ray Sim), that greets people when they arrive. We were extremely privileged that First Nations elders not only blessed the pole on its unveiling, but also offered traditional prayer, song and dance to officially open the university.”
