SC’IȺNEW̱’s leadership team is creating partnerships to bring economic opportunities to the community, thereby setting the groundwork to reestablish abundance and create sustainable wealth that will last for many generations.

These partnerships put reconciliation into action, going beyond land acknowledgments to create a powerful shift for membership – one that can turn the tide away from inequity and towards economic security. As Chief Chipps shared in an article for the Goldstream Gazette on his receipt of the 2023 West Shore Local Hero Award in the category of Diversity and Inclusion:

You go to communities where they really recognize you, your community, and territorial acknowledgments, those are all awesome things and a good step to reconciliation. But it is the economic development, the generational wealth that we need to bring our people home – that is what reconciliation looks like to me. Without generational wealth for our community, there are jobs outside the reserve and we need to get jobs inside, otherwise it’s not pointless, but certainly it’s going to make it easier for them when they get here.

While leadership is working on this in a multitude of ways, three main projects sit at the centre of these efforts: 1) SC’IȺNEW̱’s collaborations with KOTUG and Western Canada Marine Response Corporation (WCMRC); 2) SC’IȺNEW̱’s work to reclaim stewardship over the land now known as “Mary Hill;” and 3) SC’IȺNEW̱’s land swap agreement with Metchosin and Langford. In their own ways, each initiative is simultaneously creating an opportunity to restore SC’IȺNEW̱’s role as stewards of the land and sea while helping create ideal conditions for membership to return home and thrive.

KOTUG and WCMRC Collaboration Brings Training and Jobs to SC’IȺNEW̱

First, SC’IȺNEW̱’s ongoing collaborations with KOTUG and WCMRC are bringing training and employment opportunities to membership while creating a source of sustained income for the community.

This project includes overlapping partnerships between KOTUG and WCMRC, all centring around the Trans Mountain Expansion Project.  Thanks to these partnerships, Cheanuh Marina is now home to a new, upgraded base and three major vessels – two escort tugs and Canada’s largest oil spill response vessel, the KJ Gardner – in addition to a multitude of other vessels, barges, and landing craft. These additions establish SC’IȺNEW̱ as a central hub for both KOTUG and WCMRC operations and equip SC’IȺNEW̱ to quickly respond to oil spill emergencies. KOTUG has even established an office on site, and SC’IȺNEW̱ created the new Oceans Protection Building to take full advantage of its new, prime positioning and capacity to serve as the ambulance of the sea.

The creation of the new hub at Cheanuh Marina brings jobs to community members – both aboard and in support of the vessels – as well as transferrable training opportunities. Trainings completed by members so far include marine safety courses, Small Vessel Operators courses, boom deployment training, spill response training, and industrial diver training. The industrial diver training is particularly valuable because it allows trained community members to monitor and harvest traditional foods.

About this project, Chief Chipps shared:

It fits our vision to be a community whose Chief and Council provide economic opportunities through residential and commercial development, training and careers, while protecting the people’s lands, resources, language, and cultural knowledge.

Learn more abut the ways SC’IȺNEW̱’s partnership with KOTUG and WCMRC is bringing economic opportunities to SC’IȺNEW̱ here.

Tribal Park Agreement Returns Land and Opportunity to the Community

Second, SC’IȺNEW is working to create abundance for the community through its efforts to reclaim the land currently known as “Mary Hill.”

“Mary Hill” is a majestic, ecologically-significant 136-hectare parcel of traditional SC’IȺNEW land that has been held by the Department of National Defence and closed to public access for decades. SC’IȺNEW is working to reclaim the land through the treaty process and exploring the option of designating the land as a Tribal Park. Under the Tribal Park designation, SC’IȺNEW would manage the land in a way that creates a balance of economic, conservation, and learning opportunities. As Chief Chipps shared:

I’m humbled and it’s hard to speak about what’s going to happen up there. It is turning into a park but on the other hand it’s creating that economic thing that’s going to bring our people home.

He continued:

We have people out there that have been away from our home for years that have not stepped on Beecher Bay land. We’ve got people that need housing and the economic component of this will bring our people home.”

SC’IȺNEW̱ Councillor Traci-Lynn Pateman echoed this sentiment:

Right now we have less than 1/3 of our population able to live here at home. The addition of Mary Hill will bring a variety of opportunities for employment, which will lead to opportunities for housing and more stability for our people.

In addition to the economic opportunities that will arise once SC’IȺNEW reclaims the land, fundraising is currently underway by multiple partners to ensure SC’IȺNEW is compensated for the lost earning potential if it decides to turn the land into a Tribal Park.

Learn more about the Tribal Park and the opportunities it will bring to members here.

Land Swap Generates Recurring Revenue for SC’IȺNEW

Third, SC’IȺNEW̱ took place in a history-making tripartite agreement with Metchosin and Langford to create recurring revenue to support the community. Through the agreement, SC’IȺNEW̱ provided Metchosin with the land it needed to create a green space, and, in exchange, obtained a 30% interest in a new business park in Langford plus a portion of the taxes on certain parcels of land. In addition to generating recurring revenue for SC’IȺNEW̱, the business park will offer new employment opportunities.

Of this agreement, Chief Chipps said, “this announcement marks a major milestone in a unique and cooperative partnership that we believe will provide economic and conservation opportunities for Beecher Bay and our neighbours,” he continued, “this is another step in our journey toward reconciliation.”

Learn more about this land swap agreement here.

SC’IȺNEW̱ looks forward to continuing to work towards a future for members that is abundant with opportunities to learn and work – a future where families can return home and build wealth that will last for generations to come.

To stay up to date on SC’IȺNEW̱’s economic development initiatives and the other ways SC’IȺNEW̱ is working to restore abundance to the community, be sure to sign up for the SC’IȺNEW newsletter.