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Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1458960
ON THE RADAR ( the informer ) J immy Lulua, chief of the Xeni Gwet'in First Nations Government, will soon celebrate another milestone with his community. In June, the small nation opens Nemiah Valley Lodge, a guest ranch that marks its formal entry into the tourism sector in its remote Chilcotin territory. "I really feel that Nemiah Valley Lodge is going to help boost the morale of our people," says 37-year-old Chief Lulua, who was first elected in 2018. "I view it as an opportun- ity to test the waters and see if we're ready to take on more." The Xeni Gwet'in are one of six nations that belong to the Tsilhqot'in National Govern- ment (TNG). Their 13-square- kilometre reserve is in the Nemiah Valley, a broad glacier- scoured U-shape of conifers and aspen-dappled meadows flanked by mountains peak- ing at some 3,000 metres near Chilko Lake. It wasn't until the 1970s that a new bridge over the Taseko River linked the val- ley by road to Highway 20, west of Williams Lake. Telephone lines arrived only in 2006. To- day, roughly half the nation's 450 members live on reserve. In 2014, this part of B.C. got the country's attention after the Supreme Court of Canada gave the Tsilhqot'in title to 1,900 square kilometres of ter- ritory. The ruling, known as the Tsilhqot'in Decision, also con- firmed their right to hunt, fish and forage on another 2,400 square kilometres. The landmark decision was the culmination of more than 150 years of resistance dating back to 1864, when a group of Tsilhqot'in killed workers building politician and develop- er Alfred Waddington's ill-fated wagon road from the coast. (See sidebar.) The 2014 ruling went further than any previous Canadian court case in recognizing that a First Nation has legal title to land it used before Europeans arrived. But the Tsilhqot'in vic- tory came at great cost: 25 years of struggle, and many nights in Vancouver hotel rooms for Xeni Gwet'in leaders and elders called to testify during a Staying Power With the opening of a guest lodge on its traditional lands near Williams Lake, the Xeni Gwet'in First Nation takes charge of its future after winning a landmark court case by Andrew Findlay T O U R I S M A N D C U LT U R E A HISTORY OF RESISTANCE 1864 Threatened by incoming settlers, a party of Tsilhqot'in led by Chief Klattasine kills 14 workers building a road up the Homathko River to link the coast to the Cariboo goldfields. Klattasine and several other Tsilhqot'in are captured under the promise of amnesty. But after a colonial court convicts them of murder, six chiefs are hanged 1983 Province grants Carrier Lumber rights to log in Xeni Gwet'in territory 1989 To protect the area from logging, Xeni Gwet'in file a claim of Aboriginal title to a trapline 1992 Construction begins on a bridge at Henry's Crossing over the Chilko River to allow logging access 1993 After members of all six Tsilhqot'in nations blockade Henry's Crossing, negotiations with the Province to develop a forest management plan fail MARCH/APRIL 2022 BCBUSINESS 15 KANATIVE ■ DECLARED TSILHQOT'IN TITLE LANDS ■ DECLARED TSILHQOT'IN RIGHTS AREAS NEMIAH VALLEY NEMIAH VALLEY LODGE To Williams Lake ➔ (cont' d. on p.16) LOOKING UP Chief Jimmy Lulua says Nemiah Valley Lodge is a step forward for his commmunity