By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
A historic gathering in Penticton on Friday saw the Chiefs of the Syilx Nation, Mayors, councillors and Regional District representatives sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to protect siwɬkʷ (water).
The MOA is the first time that elected leaders from the Syilx Nation and local governments have come together to discuss issues of common concern that transcend jurisdictional boundaries.
To date a total of 126 elected leaders – including Osoyoos, Oliver and the RDOS – have formalized their shared commitment to protecting water with the expressed hope that the remaining districts and municipalities join this agreement in the future.
The agreement lays a foundation for government-to-government relationships between the Syilx Nation and local governments through a “collaborative and inclusive engagement process that builds relationships based on respect, trust, cooperation and partnerships”, the Nation said.
Chief Clarence Louie from Osoyoos Indian Band noted that this is the first time a gathering like this has taken place. “Long overdue. Native leadership is in the same room as non-Native leadership.”
The agreement supports a shared pathway to address watershed challenges and opportunities and the Syilx Nation noted that the agreement signals “a new era of cooperation, collaboration and action for reconciliation”.
Chief Robert Louie from Westbank First Nation reminded the leaders “that the health of our water impacts everyone of us in this room, it affects our families and anybody who lives here and visits here. In our culture and in our beliefs – water is sacred, without it, we cannot live.”
Osoyoos Mayor Sue McKortoff at the MOA Signing Event for the Okanagan River and Similkameen River Watersheds Collaborative Leadership Table on November 15, 2024 in Penticton.
Michael Bezener photo, Okanagan Collaborative Conservation Program
Chief Gabriel of the Penticton Indian Band acknowledged that the signing of the MOA and creation of the leaders table developed through the Collaborative Leadership Initiative (CLI), “has been a long time coming and provides leaders who know their watersheds best, a platform to discuss and act on water challenges that are too big for any one government to solve alone”.
The CLI process is a collaborative and inclusive engagement process that builds relationships based on respect, trust, cooperation and partnerships, said the Syilx Nation.
Facilitated by the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER) the leaders have been meeting for the past 18 months to build trust and to draft the MOA.
Victor Cummings, Mayor of the City of Vernon commented “that there are very few opportunities and processes for leaders to come together and work together, CLI facilitation was important in supporting the leaders as they developed the MOA.”
The MOA identifies, shared principles, goals, areas of common concern and next steps that include the development of a Terms of Reference – providing a framework for how the Leaders will work together as neighbours and in partnership.
Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield provided opening remarks and set the tone of the celebratory signing of the MOA, by encouraging the leaders that “this is our opportunity to build a new history together.”
Syilx elder caylx, Richard Armstrong who has provided guidance throughout the CLI process commented that “as you move forward, I encourage you to make a commitment to working together for the benefit of the water that we share.
“siwɬkʷ connects us all, this connection flows through our communities, it carries with it a responsibility that we should not take lightly. I hold my hands up to each of you for taking the first step in protecting our water”.
The leaders plan to convene their next meeting in the coming months to get to the “important work ahead of them demonstrating reconciliation in action.”
Chief Clarence Louie at the MOA Signing Event for the Okanagan River and Similkameen River Watersheds Collaborative Leadership Table on November 15, 2024 in Penticton.
Michael Bezener photo, Okanagan Collaborative Conservation Program
Robert Sandford, Senior Government Relations Liaison, with the Japan-based United Nations University lauded the agreement on working together on matters of concern in the watersheds “now for generations to come”. He went on to say, “You will accomplish far more and bestow more benefits on the region than you can presently imagine”.
Terry Duguid, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and Special Advisor for Water noted the inspiring nature how this agreement came to be. “This is a Syilx-led approach to co-governance rooted in values, protocols and stewardship practices that have sustained these lands and waters since time immemorial.
Duguid said that as the newly formed Canada Water Agency advances its mandate to foster collaborative governance and coordination in water management across the country, this Memorandum of Agreement “shines as a remarkable example of that vision in action.”
The establishment of the Collaborative Leadership Table was designed to support the ongoing work of the Syilx Nation and its efforts to work with all levels of government through the Okanagan Lake Responsibility Initiative that was initiated in 2019.
In 2022, ONA and the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources began discussion on how to implement a Collaborative Leadership Initiative in the Okanagan and Similkameen regions. The formation of the Collaborative Leadership Table is a direct result of their involvement.
