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PRACTICES OF SOVEREIGNTY: NEGOTIATED AGREEMENTS, JURISDICTION, AND WELL-BEING FOR HEILTSUK NATION by Margaret Low B.Sc., The University of Guelph, 2008 M.A., The University of Victoria, 2012 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Resource Management and Environmental Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) December 2018 © Margaret Low, 2018 The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the dissertation entitled: Practices of Sovereignty: Negotiated Agreements, Jurisdiction and Well-being for Heiltsuk Nation submitted by Margaret Low in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Resource Management and Environmental Studies Examining Committee: Theresa Satterfield Supervisor Robin Gregory Supervisory Committee Member Karena Shaw Supervisory Committee Member Sheryl Lightfoot University Examiner Leila Harris University Examiner Additional Supervisory Committee Members: Rima Wilkes Supervisory Committee Member Supervisory Committee Member ii Abstract Indigenous peoples would strongly deny the Crown ever possessed the power to extinguish their political rights at any point in history. On this view, the Canadian governments do not grant sovereignty to Indigenous peoples. Rather, sovereignty is their inherent right, which flows from ways of knowing and social and political systems that existed long before the arrival of European colonists. I have focused this dissertation on demonstrating the multiple ways in which Heiltsuk Nation practice sovereignty over their territory. Heiltsuk Territory spans 35,553 square kilometres of lands and waters and is located on the central coast of what is now known as British Columbia, Canada. My analysis focuses on practices of Indigenous sovereignty being expressed outside – though supported by – the courts, and specifically in the negotiation and implementation of “reconciliation agreements” between Heiltsuk Nation and the Province of British Columbia and the Government of Canada. Using qualitative data gathered through 2 years of ethnographic fieldwork, my dissertation traces the implications of negotiated agreements between Heiltsuk Nation and the federal and provincial governments, and finds these agreements have enabled new practices of sovereignty, assertions of jurisdiction, new conceptions of Indigenous well- being, and Indigenous-led efforts of reconciliation. Chapter 2 focuses on the implementation of the 2009 Coastal First Nations Reconciliation Protocol (2009 RPA) to explore how, through day-to-day political interactions, this agreement is operating as a mechanism that works to unsettle long-standing assumptions of Crown sovereignty. Chapter 3 documents the “on the ground” tensions arising from overlapping claims of jurisdictional authority in Heiltsuk territory, beginning from the inception of Coastal First Nations – a unique political alliance of several Nations – to the Land and Resource Management process (LRMP) in the early 2000s, through to the government-to-government process developed in response to the increasing legal authority of First Nations at the time. Chapter 4 critically engages colonial conceptions of “well-being” by focusing on the current wellbeing policies being implemented in coastal BC, and specifically in Heiltsuk territory. iii Chapter 5 illustrates efforts of Heiltsuk Nation to negotiate one of the first “reconciliation framework agreements” between an Indigenous nation and the Government of Canada. iv Lay Summary This dissertation aims to map out “the work” of sovereignty by Heiltsuk Nation through negotiated agreements with the Province of British Columbia currently being implemented on the landbase, as well as through the Haíɫcístut: Framework Agreement for Reconciliation with the Government of Canada. I evaluate to what extent the implementation of these negotiated agreements are unsettling long held practices of Crown sovereignty, including the idea that all Canadian territory (outside of private property) is “Crown land”, and the notion that provincial and federal governments have final jurisdiction over all such lands and waters. I found these agreements have enabled new practices of Indigenous sovereignty, assertions of inherent jurisdictional authority, new conceptions of Indigenous well-being, and Indigenous-led efforts of reconciliation. The trajectory of the work seems to be towards Heiltsuk having ultimate decision- making power over their territory. v Preface This research will be disseminated to staff at the Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Management Department (HIRMD) in Bella Bella, BC. I will most likely present my findings to the HIRMD Board of Directors, Heiltsuk Tribal Council and the Hemas Council. I also intend to publish Chapter 2,3,4 in academic journals, and work with HIRMD staff to pursue a co-authored paper based on the exploratory analysis of Chapter 5. Chapter 5 currently gleans insights about what a Heiltsuk-driven reconciliation process looks like, though these claims will have the most impact if told by those involved in the process. This project was supported by: SSHRC #767-2013- 2350, Wikwemikong Board of Education, UBC Public Scholars, Faculty of Science, Aboriginal Bridge Funding and the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES). vi Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... iii Lay Summary .................................................................................................................................v Preface ........................................................................................................................................... vi Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................ vii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... xi List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................. xii Glossary ...................................................................................................................................... xiii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... xv Dedication .................................................................................................................................. xvii Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................1 1.1 The Practice of Sovereignty ............................................................................................... 5 1.2 Heiltsuk Nation ................................................................................................................ 11 1.3 Overview of Research Methods and Approach ............................................................... 16 1.4 Chapter Overview ............................................................................................................ 21 1.5 Purpose and Contribution of Dissertation ........................................................................ 24 1.6 Notes on Terminology ..................................................................................................... 25 Chapter 2: Reconciliation Protocol Agreements and Heiltsuk Nation: Realizing Indigenous Sovereignty? .................................................................................................................................27 2.1 Court Cases, Comprehensive Land Claims and the BC Treaty Process .......................... 29 2.2 Reframing Sovereignty .................................................................................................... 35 2.3 Reconciliation Agreements .............................................................................................. 41 2.4 Coastal First Nations Reconciliation Protocol, 2009 and 2016 ....................................... 45 vii 2.5 Heiltsuk Nation, Kitasoo/Xia’Xais and the Reconciliation Protocol Agreement ............ 57 2.5.1 Realizing Sovereignty ............................................................................................... 59 2.5.2 Reframing Sovereignty? ........................................................................................... 62 2.5.3 Challenges of the 2009 Coastal First Nations Reconciliation Protocol Agreement . 67 2.5.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 72 Chapter 3: The Coastal First Nations Reconciliation Protocol Agreement and Heiltsuk Nation: Aspirations of Jurisdictional Authority .......................................................................74 3.1 Sovereignty as Jurisdiction .............................................................................................. 78 3.2 Duty to Consult and Accommodate ................................................................................. 85 3.3 The 2009 Coastal First Nations Reconciliation Protocol Agreement .............................. 90 3.3.1 Land and Resource