The
Theodosia River is located within the
traditional territory of the Sliammon First Nation, and the river
and its salmon were a vital part of the Sliammon culture.
Evidence of the Sliammon village site on the mouth of the Theodosia River remains today. Signs of
horticulture and abandoned wood framed
houses, and a large number of recorded archaeological
sites shows proof of their one time occupation of
this land. Archaeological sites include plank houses, burial
cairns, shell middens, fish traps, canoe skids, petroglyphs, and
pictographs.
The main issues of concern to the Sliammon people was the
reduction in fish stocks in the river, which was one of their main
production sites for winter surplus and this began when
MacMillan Bloedel was issued a water license for the Theodosia River in 1956. During this era the fishery resources were
thought of as infinite. The license allowed MacMillan
Bloedel to divert 75% of the water
from the Theodosia River into Powell
Lake
to feed the Powell River Hydroelectric dam
(Restoring the Theodosia River
web).
The Theodosia River was very important to the
Sliammon, it was the location of one of their main villages,
situated at the mouth of the river for hundreds of years. This space
was very important to the Sliammon, due to the abundance of fish
species, fresh water and other natural resources that were in the
area.
The Theodosia River historically produced before the dam
was constructed, an annual salmon returns of up to 100,000 pinks
50,000 chum, and 10,000 coho and unknown numbers of chinook and
steelhead. and today the river only supports 3,000 chum, a few dozen
coho, and limited steelhead and chinook (Restoring the Theodosia River
web).
With the implementation of the Theodosia Watershed
Restoration Program in 1995 by the Sliammon and others, the
restoration of the river to its once historic productive and
beautiful natural state has begun. A state of harmony and
equilibrium as a whole, that the Sliammon First Nation once knew and
had with the Theodosia River.
The Sliammon First Nation, respected and honoured the
Earth. They have always had a close relationship with
the lands and resources of its
territory. They had
a understanding of salmon spawning; the
Sliammon knew that salmon needed to swim upstream to
reproduce and therefore should be left alone at certain times of the
year. They had intimate knowledge of their
ecosystem, of the weather patterns, water cycles with respect to
moon and the fishes behaviour. This illustrates this close relationship
with the environment. Their traditions
were to take only what they could use and not to abuse the resources. Respect for the environment and the
lands and resources of the territory were holistic and included
water, forests, wildlife, and marine life. Sliammon understood that these
resources were vital to the community's good health and strength, These resources provided
them with power. The power to trade with other First Nations which
had resources which the Sliammon needed. Traditionally
they used the full seasonal and spatial range of resources available
within the territory through fishing, hunting, and gathering
activities. They also understood that the
land did not belong to them alone, and shared it with neighboring First Nations (Kennedy,
1983).
Sliammon
Concerns in the Theodosia
Watershed
Sliammon feel strongly that their isolation from these lands,
which they traditionally
occupied and used,
beginning with the claim of Crown title and the creation of Indian
Reserves. These implementations have infringed on Sliammon aboriginal rights and
title.
Despite the long history of occupation and
uses by Sliammon people, current land and
resource management shows little or no recognition of Sliammon
values and interests. The Sliammon have
lost access to
land and sea resources for food, damage to
salmon habitat, damage to cultural heritage resources, and no
economic benefit from the natural resources being extracted from their traditional space is being received.
Within the Theodosia Watershed there are a
number of specific concerns to the Sliammon
First Nation including:
1. Drastic
decline in salmon returns, in large measure due to the water
diversion built to generate hydroelectric power for the pulp &
paper mill in Powell River.
2. Heavy
extraction of forest resources no economic
benefits to Sliammon.
3. Inappropriate logging and road
building practices resulting in landslides, environmental damage and
damage to cultural heritage resources.
4. Alienation from
shellfish harvesting areas through the establishment of private aqua
culture tenures.
5. Alienation from traditional use areas
through the establishment of private tenures.
(Ministry of Aboriginal
Affairs web)
Most of the above concerns are
justified, and are all caused by the interference of western
society, and their ignorance to the effects of our actions, with
respect to the Sliammon First Nation as well as
others.
The next pages go over the BC treaty offered to the
Sliammon and the Sliammon need for co-management of the resources on
their land.
