Shuswap Nation Tribal Council Supports the Stk’emlupsemc te Secwepemc Nation Project Assessment Panel

March 4, 2017

PRESS RELEASE

Shuswap Nation Tribal Council Supports the Stk’emlupsemc te Secwepemc Nation Project Assessment Panel

March 4th, 2017 (Secwepemc Territory/Kamloops, BC) – Today is a momentous day for the Secwepemc Nation. The Stk’emlupsemc te Secwepemc (“SSN”) Joint Council has made their decision announcement regarding the KGHM Ajax Mine.  The significance of this event cannot be understated as the process of getting to this point is an expression of how our collective Aboriginal title and rights are being held up across Secwepemc territory.

“The Panel and families involved in this process are the true representatives of the collective title held in this area”, expressed Kukpi7 Wayne Christian, Tribal Chief of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council (“SNTC”) and Chair of the SSN Panel.

The SSN Joint Council and Project Assessment Panel members were selected to represent their families, Elders and Youth from Tk’emlups te Secwepemc and Skeetchestn. They immersed themselves in the facts and information pertaining to the proposed mine site and meticulously deliberated with their families and each other to make their recommendations today.

“We applaud the SSN for the work that they have done and the model they have created for achieving a community centered Indigenous environmental assessment process. As the proper title holders and caretakers of this land, we have a duty to ensure it is used in a sustainable way so that future generations may also enjoy its benefits.  What the SSN Project Assessment Panel has given us is a way in which we can make decisions regarding the land, taking into account all pertinent information, and including the proper representatives to be decision makers in the process”, stated Kukpi7 Christian.

The Shuswap Nation Tribal Council supports the SSN and all the family representatives who have worked so tirelessly to get to this place. The work that they have undertaken on behalf of the Secwepemc Nation is a soaring achievement onto its self.

Media Contact:

Kukpi7 Wayne Christian – 1 (250) 503-7072



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