Xeni Gwet'in First Nation

Last updated

The Xeni Gwet'in First Nation is a First Nations government located in the southwestern Chilcotin District in the western Central Interior region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is a member of the Tsilhqot'in Tribal Council.

Contents

The Xeni Gwet'in First Nation reserve community and offices are located at the wilderness community of Nemaia Valley, which lies between Chilko Lake and the Taseko Lakes.

Chief and councillors

Roger William (Chief 1991-2008) was once again elected Chief on February 27, 2013 replacing Marilyn Baptiste, who served since 2010. William most recently served as Councillor with Xeni Gwet'in. The vote was tallied at 133 to 94 William over Baptiste. Most observers regard this community as one of the best-managed in the area.

Treaty process

Xeni Gwet'in First Nation Government chose not to take part in the British Columbia Treaty Process claiming it out-dated and ineffective, and instead fought for Aboriginal Rights and Title through the Canadian judicial system. On June 26, 2014, in Tsilhqot'in Nation v British Columbia, The Supreme Court of Canada acknowledged Aboriginal Title to approximately 1800 square kilometres of the Nation's traditional territory - a first for any aboriginal group in Canada.

THE HISTORY OF THE XENI GWET’IN FIRST NATIONS

Demographics

There are about 300 people living on the reserve, with a handful of non-native people in the area. Plus they have approximately 300 quajus horses split in multiple herds! And their numbers of horses are getting bigger each year.


For more info just click these words

Economic development

The band has an active business management program, which runs the local roads yard as well as a gas-bar. Many new houses have been built in the subdivision area near the band office, with an electrical grid.

The area is not served by the main BC Hydro grid, and so (except for the subdivision) all houses are run on generators and solar power.

Social, educational and cultural programs and facilities

The band has taken over the management of its health program, the only one of the Chilcotin communities to do so.

The local school runs from kindergarten to grade 8 in three classrooms; it is unusual for the area in having mostly long-term residents as teachers.

See also


Related Research Articles

Index of British Columbia–related articles Wikipedia index

The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the Canadian province of British Columbia.

Tsilhqotʼin Indigenous people in British Columbia, Canada

The Tsilhqotʼin or Chilcotin are a North American tribal government of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group that live in what is now known as British Columbia, Canada. They are the most southern of the Athabaskan-speaking Indigenous peoples in British Columbia.

The Chilcotin region of British Columbia is usually known simply as "the Chilcotin", and also in speech commonly as "the Chilcotin Country" or simply Chilcotin. It is a plateau and mountain region in British Columbia on the inland lee of the Coast Mountains on the west side of the Fraser River. Chilcotin is also the name of the river draining that region. In the language of the Chilcotin people their name and the name of the river means "people of the red ochre river"

Chilcotin River River in southern British Columbia, Canada

The Chilcotin River /tʃɪlˈkoʊtɪn/ located in Southern British Columbia, Canada is a 241 km (150 mi) long tributary of the Fraser River. The name Chilcotin comes from Tŝilhqot’in, meaning "ochre river people," where ochre refers to the mineral used by Tŝilhqot’in Nation and other Indigenous communities as a base for paint or dye. The Chilcotin River, Chilko River and Lake, and Taseko River and Lake make up the Chilcotin River watershed. This 19,200 km2 (7,400 sq mi) watershed drains the Chilcotin Plateau which reaches north to south from the Nechako Plateau to Bridge River county and east to west from Fraser River to the Coast Mountains. It is also one of twelve watersheds that make up the Fraser River Basin. Made up of seven major tributaries, Chilcotin River starts northeast of Itcha Mountain, flowing southeast until it joins the Fraser River south of Williams Lake, 22 km (14 mi) upstream from Gang Ranch.

Tŝilhqox Biny Lake in British Columbia, Canada

Tŝilhqox Biny, known as Chilko Lake, is a 180 km2 lake in west-central British Columbia, at the head of the Chilko River on the Chilcotin Plateau. The lake is about 65 km long, with a southwest arm 10 km long. It is one of the largest lakes by volume in the province because of its great depth, and the largest above 1,000 m in elevation. It and Harrison Lake are the largest lakes in the southern Coast Mountains.

Chilko River River in central British Columbia, Canada

The Chilko River is a 75-kilometre-long (47 mi) river in the Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, flowing northeast from Chilko Lake to the Chilcotin River. Its main tributary is the Taseko River.

Mount Tatlow Mountain in British Columbia, Canada

Tŝ’ilʔoŝ, also known as Mount Tatlow, is one of the principal summits of the Chilcotin Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of southern British Columbia. Standing on an isolated ridge between the lower end of Chilko Lake and the Taseko Lakes, it is 3,063 m (10,049 ft) in elevation.

Homathko River River in British Columbia, Canada

The Homathko River is one of the major rivers of the southern Coast Mountains of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of the few rivers that penetrates the range from the interior Chilcotin Country to the coastal inlets of the Pacific Ocean. The Homathko River reaches the sea at the head of Bute Inlet, just west of the mouth of the Southgate River.

Tsilʔos Provincial Park Provincial park in British Columbia, Canada

Tsʼilʔos Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. Tsʼilʔos is the official BC Parks designation for this provincial park, though sometimes it is written as "Ts'il-os", "Ts'yl-os", or "Tsylos". The "ʔ" in the name represents a glottal stop.

The High Bar First Nation is a First Nations government of the Secwepemc (Shuswap) Nation, located in the Fraser Canyon-Cariboo region of the Central Interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was created when the government of the then-Colony of British Columbia established an Indian reserve system in the 1860s. It is one of three Secwepemc bands that is not a member of either the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council or the Northern Shuswap Tribal Council. The High Bar people are also partly Tsilhqot'in and have links with some Chilcotin First Nations.

The Carrier-Chilcotin Tribal Council is a First Nations tribal council located in the Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia, and also on the Fraser River near the city of Quesnel. It consists of three Carrier bands and one Tsilhqot'in band. The other Tsilhqot'in bands belong to the Tsilhqot'in National Government. Most other Carrier bands are either unaffiliated or belong to the Carrier-Sekani Tribal Council. The Tribal Council's offices are in Williams Lake.

The Tl'esqox First Nation is a Tsilhqot'in community located west of the Fraser Canyon in the Chilcotin region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is a member of the Carrier-Chilcotin Tribal Council, which includes both Tsilhqot'in and Carrier (Dakelh) communities.

ʔEsdilagh is a First Nation community in the North Cariboo region of British Columbia, Canada. It is the smallest of the six member communities that form the Tsilhqot'in National Government. Formerly, the people of this region were known as ʔElhdaqox-t'in, the people of the Sturgeon River. Today, the community goes by the name ʔEsdilagh, which in Tŝilhqot'in language means peninsula.

The Stone First Nation or Yunesit'in First Nation is a band government of the Yunesit'in subgroup of the Tsilhqot'in people, whose territory is the Chilcotin District in the western Central Interior region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is a member of the Tsilhqot'in Tribal Council. The people of the Stone First Nation are known as the Yunesit'in in the Chilcotin language.

The Xeni Gwet'in, also known as the Stone Chilcotin, are a First Nations people whose traditional territory is located in the southern Chilcotin District of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the inland flank of the Coast Mountains west of the Fraser River. They are a subgroup of the Tshilhqot'in people and are also known as the Stoney Chilcotin, and reside in the area of Nemaia Valley, an unincorporated settlement and Indian Reserve community far off Highway 20 between Chilko and Taseko Lakes.

Nemaiah Valley, also spelled Nemiah Valley and Nemaia Valley, is an unincorporated locality and First Nations reserve and ranching community between Chilko Lake and the Taseko Lakes in the Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia.

Tsilhqotin National Government Tribal council

The Tsilhqot'in National Government (TNG), is the official First Nations government serving the Tsilhqot'in Nation. Their office is located in Williams Lake, British Columbia, Canada. The member communities represented by TNG are ʔEsdilagh, Tsi Del Del, Yunesit'in, Tl'etinqox, Xeni Gwet'in, and Tl'esqox. Tl'esqox also belongs to the Carrier-Chilcotin Tribal Council, as does Ulkatcho - a community with both Dakelh (Carrier) & Tsilhqot'in heritage. TNG was established in 1989.

Tatlayoko Lake Lake in British Columbia, Canada

Tatlayoko Lake is a lake on the Homathko River in the western Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, located on a north-south axis just upstream of the entrance of the series of canyons of the Homathko, including the Great Canyon of the Homathko, on its route to the sea at the head of Bute Inlet. The community of Tatlayoko Lake, British Columbia is located at its northern end.

The lack of treaties between the First Nations of British Columbia (BC) and the Canadian Crown, is a long-standing problem that has become a major issue in recent years. In 1763, the British Crown declared that only it could acquire land from First Nations through treaties. Historically only two treaties were signed with the First Nations of British Columbia. The first of which was the Douglas Treaties, negotiated by Sir James Douglas with the native people of southern Vancouver Island from 1850-1854. The second treaty, Treaty 8, signed in 1899 was part of the Numbered Treaties that were signed with First Nations across the Prairie regions. British Columbian Treaty 8 signatories are located in the Peace River Country or the far North East of BC. For over nine decades no more treaties were signed with First Nations of BC; many Native people wished to negotiate treaties, but successive BC provincial governments refused until the 1990s. A major development was the 1997 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in the Delgamuukw v. British Columbia case that Aboriginal title still exists in British Columbia and that when dealing with Crown land, the government must consult with and may have to compensate First Nations whose rights are affected.

<i>Tsilhqotin Nation v British Columbia</i> Decision of the Supreme Court of Canada

Tsilhqot'in Nation v British Columbia is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of Canada that established Aboriginal land title for the Tsilhqot'in First Nation, with larger effects. As a result of the landmark decision, provinces cannot unilaterally claim a right to engage in clearcut logging on lands protected by Aboriginal title; they must engage in meaningful consultation with the title holder before they proceed. Although the Aboriginal title holder does not have to consent to the activity, meaningful consultation is required before infringement of the right can take place.