First Nations at odds over who gives input on Big White expansion

A dispute over Indigenous consultation on expanding the Big White Ski Resort near Kelowna, B.C., is testing the relationship between two cross-border First Nations governments.

The resort lies on the traditional territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation, and has fallen under the Westbank First Nation's jurisdiction for years. 

"We cannot have another group in the United States now saying that they represent the lands that we have been caretaking for thousands of years," Westbank First Nation Chief Robert Louie said. 

But the leaders of the Colville Confederated Tribes, whose reserve is in Washington state, say the expansion also falls on the homelands of the Sinixt, an Indigenous people with members and territory on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border. 

Both groups say they represent the Sinixt people, and both want a say in development on their traditional territory. 

The dispute comes three years after a landmark Supreme Court of Canada ruling recognized that the Sinixt hold certain rights as Indigenous people in Canada.

Once implemented, the decision's outcome promises to further define how the federal government recognizes the rights of Indigenous people who are not Canadian citizens, and set the tone for cross-border Indigenous consultation.

Ski resort expansion

Michael Ballingall, senior vice-president of marketing and sales at Big White Ski Resort, said they have no comment on the dispute.

The resort is currently reviewing plans to expand, with the provincial government leading public engagement efforts and consultation on it.

Jarred-Michael Erickson, chairman of the Colville Confederated Tribes, said they are the successor group to the Sinixt people and deserve a say in what happens on Sinixt traditional territory.

"Anything on the Canadian side of the border, we'll obviously want to be consulted on as we're trying to protect natural resources, we're trying to protect our cultural resources," he said. 

Erickson said the Syilx Okanagan Nation does not represent all the Sinixt members of the Colville Confederated Tribes. He said his group walked away from an unity agreement with the Syilx Okanagan Nation because they felt misrepresented.

"It's unfortunate that it's got to this, because [the disagreement] has been erasing our history and who we are as Sinixt people."

Chief Louie, who is part of the Syilx Okanagan Nation's executive council, said he's worried extending consultation to other Indigenous groups would exclude his own nation from resources and consultation on development. 

"Now they are claiming they have the right to be consulted and accommodated, and they are trying to share in all the resources here in British Columbia," Louie said. "We're saying that can't happen."

He said while members of his nation and the Colville Confederated Tribes share Indigenous heritage and may be related by blood, the Syilx Okanagan Nation is the government that represents the Sinixt in Canada. 

"We are the ones that live here. We're Canadian. We come under the Canadian Constitution," he said. "We're not operating in the state of Washington under the U.S. Constitution."

Louie is calling for federal and provincial governments to implement a policy for consulting with Indigenous groups that have territory or people on both sides of the international border. 

A landmark Supreme Court decision

The Sinixt lived near the West Kootenay area for thousands of years before the arrival of settlers pushed them out of their territory in the 1800s. Some headed south to form the Colville Confederated Tribe, while others joined different bands in Canada, including the Syilx Okanagan Nation and the Arrow Lakes Band.

The federal government erroneously declared the Sinixt Nation "extinct" after the last member of the Arrow Lakes Band living in Canada died in 1956.

Sixty-five years later, in 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada upended that claim.

The case, brought forward by a member of the Colville Confederated Tribes, paved the way for members of the nations to have the same hunting rights in Canada as other Indigenous people. 

WATCH | Sinixt want a say in Columbia River Treaty renegotiations:

Sinixt want a say in Columbia River Treaty renegotiations

1 year ago

Duration 10:44

While First Nations in British Columbia's southern Interior have a seat at the renegotiation tables for the Columbia River Treaty between Canada and the United States, the Sinixt — whose territory was directly affected by the original treaty negotiation — do not.

Erickson, the chairman of the Colville Confederated Tribes, said Sinixt south of the border should also have the right to be consulted on developments made on their homelands.

Last year, one of their nations — the Sinixt Confederacy — asked for a seat at the table renegotiating the Columbia River Treaty. It also opened an office in Nelson, B.C. 

The nation says on its website it is the only legally recognized successor group to the Sinixt, but acknowledges there are Sinixt descendants living in the Syilx Okanagan Nation.

Duty to consult 

The provincial and federal government both have an obligation to consult Indigenous groups when undertaking a project that affects their rights. 

Eric Head, a spokesperson for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, said the 2021 Supreme Court decision means non-resident Indigenous peoples may be able to exercise Indigenous rights in Canada under some circumstances.

"The rights of Indigenous communities outside Canada are not necessarily the same as those of communities within Canada," he said. 

Head said the federal government will implement the decision and ensure the rights and interests of Indigenous groups are respected. 

B.C. NDP Leader David Eby and Louie, of the Syilx Okanagan Nation, said in a joint statement that First Nations located in B.C. must always be the priority of all levels of government. 

"We have supported deep consultation with the Syilx Okanagan Nation for the Big White expansion project and will continue to do so," Eby and Louie said.

"We recognize and respect the Syilx Okanagan Nation's representative role in relation to Sinixt people in Canada in Syilx Okanagan Nation Territory."

JoJo Beattie, spokesperson for the B.C. Green Party, said in an email the party fully supports the position of the Syilx Okanagan Nation and provincial government.

The B.C. Conservative Party did not respond to requests for comment.