History was made last Saturday at The Club in Gibsons Landing.
The Town of Gibsons met with leaders from the Squamish First Nation (SFN) in a community-to-community forum.
Dubbed friends meeting for the first time, Gibsons council, along with staff and representatives from the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD), met in an informal gathering to discuss issues of common interest and concern.
Also on hand were invited community guests, representatives from School District No. 46, Chief Stan Dixon from the Sechelt Indian Band, Green party leader Adriane Carr, Powell River - Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons and West Vancouver - Sunshine Coast - Sea to Sky Country MP Blair Wilson.
The meeting was historic, as the SFN and the Town of Gibsons have never met in the SFN traditional territories on the Sunshine Coast.
The Squamish Nation is comprised of Coast Salish Peoples who are descendants of the Aboriginal peoples who lived in the present day Greater Vancouver area, Gibsons Landing and Squamish River watershed. The Squamish Nation has occupied and governed its territory since before recorded history. Total area of the Squamish national traditional territory is 6.732 sq. km (673,540 hectares).
The SFN lands on the Sun-shine Coast include Kaikalahun No. 25 (New West-minster District, on the West Shore of Howe Sound south of Port Mellon, 11.5 hectares); Schaltuuch No. 27 (New Westminster District, a small island north of Shelter Island in Shoal Channel of Howe Sound, west of Keats Island, 0.2 hectares); Chekwelp No. 26A (New Westminster District, on the west shore of Howe Sound, northwest of Keats Island, 0.2 hectares); and Chekwelp No. 26 (New Westminster District, on the west shore of Howe Sound, west of Keats Island, 11.3 hectares).
"It has taken us two years to get to this point - a meeting to benefit all our peoples," said Gibsons Mayor Barry Janyk. "This is a good day. The energy and synergy of the local governments brought us together. This day is just the beginning of what is a long overdue relationship. We must learn to work together and share the heritage and tradition as we share the same territory. I look forward to many more positive days like this."
Representatives from the Town of Gibsons, SCRD and the SFN presented overviews on their governments and some of the projects each community is working on.
Gibsons administrator Bill Beamish touched briefly on Coast-wide recreation, the Town's new official community plan, Gospel Rock, the new wastewater treatment facility, the Upper Gibsons neighbourhood plan, restructuring and the town's day-to-day operations.
Paul Fenwick, SCRD's general manager of community services, also touched on recreation and the day-to-day operations of the SCRD.
SFN councillor Dale Harry thanked the Town of Gibsons for organizing the forum and said this was just the start of what he hopes is an even further open dialogue.
"This is a start of a new relationship," Harry said. "In some discussions, there may be a win on certain issues for one side and a loss for the other side, but at least we're sitting and talking at the table. In my mind, we have to get away from the community-to-community feeling and just say community. It's not us and them - it's we. When we establish the we, we can all work better together."
Beamish discussed opportunities for co-operation between the SFN and the Town of Gibsons, including water, sewer, fire services, community art and Canada Day celebrations for 2006.
Following a buffet lunch, SFN reps, staff and Town of Gibsons officials went on a harbour tour of SFN lands.
"Everyone came back with a strong sense of satisfaction with the day and the tour," said Beamish during a follow-up interview with Coast Reporter Monday morning. "We had the right people at the table for this type of meeting. This first meeting was just a meet and greet session -more of an informal gathering. There was no pressure to make any decisions. There has been an agreement to have a second meeting and the Squamish have expressed a desire to host that meeting. Hopefully this is just the start of a positive dialogue between both governments."
