NATURAL RESOURCE STEWARDSHIP

The lands and natural resources are fundamental to the Northern Secwepemc te Qelmucw (NStQ) culture, traditional practices and way of life, having sustained the NStQ people since time immemorial. The NStQ First Nations have existing Title and Rights over Secwepemcul’ecw and continue to practice those rights as they have for thousands of years by hunting, fishing and gathering for food, social and ceremonial purposes. Archeological evidence points to the Secwepemc culture being as old as 10,000 years.

The Northern Shuswap Tribal Council (NSTC) Natural Resources Department was established to provide NSTC and the NSTC Treaty Society with technical support and assistance in natural resources issues, as well as, to cooperate with the four affiliated NStQ First Nations and promote stronger participation in the management of the natural resources within the Secwepemcul’ecw. The NSTC Fisheries Program, which is a division operating under the NSTC Natural Resources Department, is an example of this approach. For more information about the Fisheries Program, please, see fisheries.

The Northern Secwepemc te Qelmucw (Shuswap People of the North) are comprised of the 4 communities of Stswēceḿc Xget’tem First Nation, Xatśūll First Nation, Williams Lake First Nation and Canim Lake Band, and are part of the larger Shuswap Nation (17 bands in total), sharing a traditional territory that extends from the Columbia River Valley in the east to the Fraser River and beyond on the west; the north and south boundaries extend from the Upper Fraser River/Marguerite area in the north to the Arrow Lakes in the south; see the map of the Secwepemcul’ecw. Also known as the people from where the water flowed and we have held jurisdiction over and managed large tracts of the Fraser River and the surrounding area, including tributary watersheds, or parts of, such as the Quesnel, Chilcotin, Bowron Lakes and others. Our combined traditional territory spans between 5,300,000 hectares and 5,600,000 hectares and is the territory we call Secwepemcul’ecw. The jurisdiction and Secwepemcul’ecw has never been surrendered by the NStQ.

2009 NStQ Consultation Guidelines

The development of the guidelines is ongoing! This project has been somewhat sidelined due to mainly the FRM schedule in dealing with fisheries issues for 2010 and the intention is to revive the interest and work required for this coming winter.

For more detailed information about the NSTC affiliated First Nations, please follow the links to the NStQ Community Natural Resource. Contacts are as follows:

www.nstqconnect.com

The NStQ Joint Resources Committee, comprised of natural resource and treaty staff from the four NStQ communities, has implemented the NStQ Connect Portal, a web-based referrals management system. This system provides a single point of contact for natural resource development consultation information and increases the efficiency of the referrals management process. This will reduce the administration burden on community natural resource staff. For more information on the NStQ Connect Portal, please contact the Portal Administrator.

Yecweminul’ecw Land and Resource Use Agreement

NStQ Mining Policy – November 2014

For more information please contact:

Rhonda Leech
Stewardship Manager
Email: stewardshipmanager@nstq.org
Phone: 778-267-9277