Cindy Filipenko asked that her regular space in The Question be offered this week to officials from the Lil’wat Nation, to provide a platform for a response to Nick Davies’ column. Here is that response, from Chief Lucinda Phillips and David Dorrans, director of lands, resources and public infrastructure.

As Whistler Question readers may know, the Lil’wat Nation is currently taking steps in the courts to be properly and rightfully recognized as a stakeholder in the future of Whistler. Nick Davies’s June 6 column on this matter made the claim that Whistler was never part of Lil’wat traditional territory. We wish to correct this error.

“We claim that we are the rightful owners of our tribal territory, and everything pertaining thereto. We have always lived in our country; at no time have we ever deserted it… We are aware that the B.C. Government claims our country… but we deny their right to it. We never gave it nor sold it to them. They certainly never got the title to the country from us, neither by agreement nor conquest, and none other than us could have any right to give them title.”

The above quote is not recent; it’s from the 1911 Declaration of the Lillooet Tribe. This is a message that Lil’wat have consistently brought forward since the arrival of Europeans and throughout the relatively recent history of the Province of B.C.

It’s common to hear sentiments, such as those expressed by Nick Davies, suggesting that there was no one here in Whistler or Pemberton before Europeans arrived. A review of available ethnographic reports, historic documents, recent aboriginal interest and use studies and the archaeological record reveal the historical and ongoing importance of use and occupation of the Whistler area by Lil’wat.

Some people might be surprised to learn that early anthropologists studying B.C.’s First Nations sometimes referred to the Lil’wat as the Green Lake Band and that Green Lake may have been the main early population center for Lil’wat. In the 19th century, the village was decimated by a small pox epidemic and the remaining people moved to Pemberton Meadows.

While the village at Green Lake was largely abandoned, the area around Whistler continued to be used extensively by Lil’wat until members were gradually pushed out by encroaching development. Whistler was significant as a hunting and foraging ground and as a key trade and travel route between the Interior and Howe Sound.

The Whistler climate, the prevalence of urban and industrial development, combined with the nature of Lil’wat society, means that there are not many registered archaeological sites in Whistler. (Lil’wat society involved a “seasonal round” where families dispersed to hunt and gather throughout the territory from spring through fall before reconvening and gathering in winter villages.)

Despite this, there are 11 registered pre-1846 sites around Whistler, four of which are located around Green Lake, with the oldest estimated to be more than 1,500 years old. These sites vary from cultural depressions indicating the presence of a pit house (Istken) to pictographs, culturally-modified trees, indicating bark stripping for basket-making, and lithic scatters.?

Lil’wat have survived for centuries by carefully managing and utilizing all of the resources throughout their territory and Lil’wat wish to continue to participate in decision making and profit from the land and resources throughout their territory. Lil’wat have not entered into a treaty agreement with Canada or B.C. The question of Lil’wat Aboriginal Title remains unresolved and protected by s.35 of the Constitution. The rights of Aboriginal peoples under s.35 and the duties of the Crown with respect to those rights have been continually defined and refined by dozens of court cases. While we cannot comment directly on our current dispute, we can say that we feel that it is a continuation of this process.

We encourage anyone interested in learning more about the presence of the Lil’wat and Squamish Nations in the Whistler region to visit the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre in Whistler.

Kukwstum’ckalap