B.C. First Nation has proposed $135M settlement after 160-year battle

A British Columbia First Nation has reached a proposed $135-million settlement with the federal government, 160 years after settlers began taking over its village lands.

Chief Willie Sellars of the Williams Lake First Nation said a legal battle that began nearly 30 years ago ended up in the Supreme Court of Canada in 2018 before mediation began last year.

“Words cannot really express the amount of joy and happiness that is beaming through our council and our community,” Sellars said Monday after announcing the agreement-inprinciple, which must be ratified.

Village lands within what is now the city of Williams Lake were occupied by settlers contrary to the colonial government’s commitment to create a reserve, so many of their ancestors were displaced, Sellars said.

Members aged 18 and over will have a chance to ratify the settlement in a referendum on June 29, and Sellars said three inperson and online information sessions will be held before that on May 12, 26 and June 9.

The First Nation said about 450 people will be eligible to vote, about half of its registered members, and ballots can be cast by mail or in person.

The $135-million deal is close to the maximum $150 million that could have been awarded, and Sellars urged all members of the First Nation to support it for the sake of future generations and the legacy of those who lost their lands.

“One of the discouraging things about how long this battle has lasted is that a lot of the elders that have testified throughout this whole process have passed on. They’re never going to see any benefit from this victory, and that was something that we kept in mind as we were negotiating.”

Each member of the community will get a settlement, and those aged 60 and up will be eligible for higher amounts, he said.

Sellars said most of the money would go into a professionally managed community trust, with the interest providing annual payments to members, while the rest would fund programs to bring back cultural ceremony and infrastructure, including housing, a community centre and a wastewater treatment facility.