Beyond the bands: The evolution of Stó:lō governance from the '90s to today

There is strength in numbers. But sometimes Stó:lō Tribal Council president Tyrone McNeil wonders if that strength is why it can be so tricky for all Stó:lō first nations to work together.

While unity can help Stó:lō people, McNeil suggests it has historically led other levels of government to encourage First Nations to act alone.

There are more than 20 Stó:lō First Nations but the communities aren’t on their own when it comes to delivering services and advocating for their members. Over the last half-century, the First Nations have formed various inter-nation organizations to support their members. But with the groups constantly evolving, it can be hard to keep those groups straight.

Today, Stó:lō nations are generally represented by two distinct advocacy bodies, a service organization that operates under one of those bodies, and several organizations loosely connected to that service agency.

The set-up can feel maze-like for Stó:lō people seeking help—and in a way, it was meant to.

The Fraser Valley’s 24 First Nations are, in part, products of the Indian Act. Colonial administrators identified villages and decided that each would form a single nation (as opposed to several villages assigned to a nation, as happened elsewhere.)

The bands first started working together in the 1970s. The collaboration produced several advocacy and service groups that would eventually coalesce into a mostly unified Stó:lō Nation in the 1990s under Chief Steven Point.

But that unity didn’t last. What is today the Stó:lō Tribal Council separated from Stó:lō Nation in 2003 over a difference in the leadership’s vision for the future, McNeil said.

“Really, it was what I would describe as a different view of how we support communities,” McNeil said. “The tribal council communities wanted to be centering our political advocacy, zero interest in program delivery. And Stó:lō Nation was all about program delivery.”

Today, the Stó:lō Tribal Council’s membership includes Chawathil, Cheam, Kwantlen, Kwaw-kwaw-Apilt, Scowlitz, Seabird Island, Shxw'ow'hamel, and Soowahlie First Nations. McNeil notes that the advocacy services of the council are not limited to its members.

“Quite often we get a phone call or an email from somebody from Stó:lō or non-Stó:lō district for advocacy because they have nowhere else to go,” he said.

Stó:lō Nation continued after the members of the Tribal Council separated, and kept its focus on program delivery. Stó:lō Nation later split its political advocacy side away from its service delivery side. The service arm of the Stó:lō Nation became the Stó:lō Service Agency. The advocacy arm became the Stó:lō Nation Chiefs Council.

That council is currently made up of representatives from nine member communities: the Aitchelitz, Leq'a:mel, Matsqui, Shxwhá:y Village, Skowkale, Squiala, Semá:th, Tzeachten, and Yakweakwioose.

Stó:lō Service Agency

The Stó:lō Service Agency’s membership is slightly wider than the political arm of Stó:lō Nation. Popkum and Skawahlook First Nations are also part of the agency’s membership, although they are not part of the Stó:lō Chief’s Council.

The service agency’s goal of delivering services—from healthcare to education to childcare—in multiple First Nations is as old as the original, unified Stó:lō Nation. The services aim to revive cultural values and maintain health and a sense of identity in the community.

After the Tribal Council split from the Stó:lō Nation, the nation’s service delivery expanded. The organization took over responsibility for child welfare for its community from the provincial government in the early 2000s and opened a health centre in 2004 in Chilliwack. Today, the agency also provides daycare, employment training, and youth and education support, among many other programs.

Stó:lō Research and Resource Management Centre

Beyond the political- and service-based organizations, there are a few other specialist organizations with very specific focuses.

The Stó:lō Research and Resource Management Centre (SRRMC) operates within the service agency and offers “a range of professional and technical services” to both Stó:lō and non-Stó:lō groups. The centre’s mandate is to protect Stó:lō historical, cultural, and environmental assets. It focuses on preserving different elements important to Stó:lō tradition, from handling historical artifacts to fishing projects to educational tours, among other things.

The Centre is responsible for collective pieces of Stó:lō life and culture, like the Stó:lō archives and genealogy database. It also works with academics and researchers on land-use, environmental, and heritage projects.

Stewardship

The S’ólh Téméxw Stewardship Alliance (STSA) is an alliance of 17 Stó:lō First Nations throughout the Fraser Valley. The Collaborative Stewardship Forum, the People of the River Referrals Office, and the S’ólh Téméxw Guardians all exist under the umbrella of the STSA.

The Collaborative Stewardship Forum focuses on co-developing recommendations for environmental stewardship and decision-making on the provincial level. It’s a place where Indigenous voices influence provincial environmental policy, among other things. The Guardians are a boots-on-the-ground arm of the STSA, training members to look out for and after their lands (and ensure agreements between parties working on those lands are upheld).

The People of the Rivers Referrals Office is a centralized referral system that handles governmental consultations across the Stó:lō region. When a government is required to consult First Nations on a project on Stó:lō land, the proposals go through the STSA. The referrals can be a lot of work, and McNeil said handling them through a centralized agency can help small communities that don’t have the capacity to handle every request to replace a power pole.

But it isn’t all simple requests. Conflicts can arise when different nations with overlapping traditional territories have different ideals of how that land ought to be used. It’s somewhat unavoidable, McNeil said.

“There's always a little bit of rub, a little bit of friction, a little bit of human nature here and there,” he said. The STSA’s role, in those situations, isn’t to mediate or referee but to encourage collaboration, he said.

“We can come in with a broader perspective… Everybody wants to support each other, but occasionally there’s communication issues.”

While the STSA is technically separate from both the Stó:lō Tribal Council and the Stó:lō Chief’s Council, it also operates under the SRRMC as a separate body. A newer project, it was founded in 2012 to promote and protect the land and resource rights and interests of its Stó:lō members in discussions and consultations with other governments, and it is part of several agreements with the federal and provincial governments to that effect. The STSA represents 17 nations, the most of any current Stó:lō organization.

Intentional division

Today’s Stó:lō community did not develop in a vacuum. The arrival of Europeans, the policies of England and later the Canadian federal government, and the creation of laws and policies like the Indian Act forced Indigenous communities into particular shapes. When First Nations acted together, they broke out of those designated boxes. That kind of collective action was not encouraged by various levels of settler governments, McNeil said.

“When the Aboriginal fisheries strategy came along and governments threw money on the table of impoverished people, we all chased it and separated,” he said. The Aboriginal fisheries strategy created in the 1990s to regulate Indigenous fishing rights resulted in significant commercial and economic impacts for some nations. The modern-day treaty process also allowed Indian Act bands to claim different portions of territory. Furthermore, Tzeachten Chief David Epp has noted that present-day grant allocation processes force first nations to compete against one another.

“Really, I think both of those were intentional to break us up into individuals, because individually, we're weak,” McNeil said.

Bringing together dozens of different First Nations is a tall task.

“It's hard for me to see all 54 mainland or Coast Salish working together like we did prior to 1990 or so.”

Still, McNeil hopes to see the return of more unified Stó:lō communities.

“Collectively, in collaboration, we were so much stronger.”