The Province transferred 312 hectares of land near Skutz Falls Provincial Park to Lyackson First Nation and Cowichan Tribes, setting the stage for the re-establishment of Lyackson’s Leey’qsun Village site on Vancouver Island.
Before colonization, the Leey’qsun Village site existed near the mouth of the Cowichan River on Vancouver Island. However, Lyackson’s current reserve lands are limited to 790 hectares on Valdes Island, which lacks the basic infrastructure necessary to house a community. Therefore, the return of the land near Skutz Falls Provincial Park is significant because it is the first time since colonization that Lyackson will have access to habitable land where it is possible to not only gather, but to also live, work, and grow in community.
To make the return of the land on Vancouver Island possible, the Province purchased it from Mosaic Forest Management. It is worth an estimated $8.55 million.
The land transfer is part of an Incremental Treaty Agreement (ITA) that was signed by Lyackson Chief Pahalicktun, Cowichan Tribes Chief Sulsulxumaat, Premier David Eby, Lyackson’s Laxele’wuts’aat, Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Murray Rankin, and Sunaxwumaat of Cowichan Tribes on May 11th, 2024.
An estimated 150 people attended the signing, which took place at Skutz Falls and included singing, dancing, and the exchange of gifts including blankets, paddles, cedar boxes, and more.
Lyackson and Cowichan also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to facilitate the return of the land to the two Nations jointly, to govern how the land will be divided once returned, and to establish an agreement that Lyackson and Cowichan will work together to develop key infrastructure.
The MOU commits to establish a working group to advise the two Nations on the division of the land, and states that the working group shall be guided by the following principles:
- 1Snuw’uy’ulth: Hul’q’umi’num laws and teachings
- 2Ts’ets’uw-wutul: helping each other
- 3
‘Uy shaqwalawun: good thoughts, manners, and/or behaviour; and
- 4Mukw ihwet’uw ts’ qwul: everybody has a voice.
With the Working Group’s guidance, Lyackson and Cowichan will divide the land into two equal parcels, one for each Nation. Lyackson and Cowichan will also dedicate an equal amount of land to the creation of an evergreen space between the two parcels.
Once the land is divided, Lyackson will begin the process of formally adding the new lands to Lyackson’s reserve. Then, the important work of developing the land to meet the needs of members will begin. Lyackson envisions the land as a place to gather, share culture and language, access services, and live. Lyackson plans to build housing, a band office, a health centre, and a cemetery on the land, ensuring members are no longer buried on other communities’ land.
This monumental win would not have been possible without the work of four generations of Leaders, including Grand Chief Pahalicktun (Richard Thomas) who dedicated 31 years to bringing Lyackson home. In the words of Lyackson’s Chief and Council, “we raise our hands to all our Leaders who have gone before us for this work.”
Lyackson celebrates this step towards remedying the total displacement of the Lyackson community caused by colonization and looks forward to leveraging the new land base to create a home where the community can thrive together.
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