Campbell River (people)
The Campbell River , the official name of the Canadian First Nation , or We Wai Kum , belong to the Kwakwaka'wakw tribal group . They live predominantly at the mouth of the Campbell River and the Discovery Passage in the north of Vancouver Island . There are also three smaller reserves on Loughborough Inlet and the Cordero Channel. The Homalco and Cape Mudge First Nation also live around Campbell River .
history
European contacts
When in 1792 Captain George Vancouver became the first European to reach what is now the Campbell River , he met an Indian tribe of about 350 people who spoke a Salish dialect.
When the HMS Plumper under Captain George Henry Richards captured Campbell River in 1859 on a mapping trip, however, they faced a Kwakwaka'wakw war troop who had brought the area under his rule with European rifles.
Todays situation
Today the Campbell Rivers live on four reservations. The largest - this is where most of the members of the tribe live - is Campbell River 11 with 111.5 hectares. Matlaten 4 follows with 39 hectares. It is on the Cordero Canal across from Greene Point. Finally, Homayno 2 and Loughborough 3 are added, covering 15.4 and 8.5 hectares. In October 2014, 788 people were classified as Campbell River, of whom 354 lived on the reservation, 34 on other reservations and 400 outside the reservations.
The tribe is represented in the Kwakiutl District Council , which includes ten First Nations. In addition to the Campbell River, the Council includes the Comox , the Cape Mudge , the Da'naxda'xw First Nation, the Gwa'Sala-Nakwaxda'xw , the Kwakiutl First Nation , the Kwiakah , the Mamalilikulla-Qwe'Qwa'Sot'Em , the Quatsino and the Tlatlasikwala .
Since 1992 the tribe has been running a preschool with state funds, the Gengenlilas Preschool, which enables parents to work in the booming industry while at the same time teaching their children their own culture.
On December 11, 2003, the government agreed to grant the tribe a grant of $ 4.23 million, including Indian and Northern Affairs Canada 2.73 and Western Economic Diversification Canada 1.5 , to develop a cruise port in Discovery Harbor on the Campbell River Millions should contribute. The tribe themselves and the Campbell River District were to contribute 1.07 million. This expansion is based on a joint initiative started in 1999 by the Campbell River Indian Band , the District of Campbell River and Tourism North Central Island . This, in turn, was only possible because in 1981 the tribe had received a corresponding compensation property in compensation for a piece of their reserve that was needed to upgrade a highway. Another property was also leased. This means that Campbell River holds around 50% of a project that is valued at around CAD 100 million.
Since 2005, the city of Campbell River , several other organizations and the Campbell River First Nation have been fighting with Walmart over a property for which the tribe has pre-emptive rights.
Otherwise, the tribe also tries to earn money from tourism and runs a campsite, for example. At the same time, the First Nation is trying to buy land like the Dryland Sort Lands, 14.4 hectares of riverside on the old Island Highway. They also defend themselves against the policy of the conservative government, which does not want to recognize the Indian prerogatives in fishing, by pointing out that it is based on "racial" grounds. However, it is part of the few contracts on Vancouver Island and is accepted by the Supreme Court, as Chief Dan Smith emphasized.
In 2007, the University of Victoria, together with We Wai kum - Campbell River First Nation, Cape Mudge First Nation, Homalco First Nation, Klahoose First Nations, School District No. 72 Campbell River and North Island College, launched a language initiative to revitalize the Language and certification of language teachers.
Remarks
- ↑ According to the information from the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development , First Nation Profiles: [1] .
- ↑ To: Archive link ( Memento of the original dated November 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
- ↑ Article in TNC Connection of April 4, 2005: Archive link ( Memento of the original from November 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
- ↑ The homepage of the Ocean Front RV Park or Thunderbird RV Park: [2] .
- ↑ Article in National or Friday's Globe and Mail: [3] .
literature
- Christina Rocha: First Nations water rights in British Columbia. A historical summary of the rights of the Campbell River First Nation , ed. Miranda Griffith, Victoria: Water Management Branch 2000