Pacheedaht First Nation Traditional Marine Use and Occupancy Study (TMUOS) 2014 – Final Report
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9 This report is dedicated to the memory of our dear colleague Madelen Jones We miss you 10 Pacheedaht First Nation Traditional Marine Use and Occupancy Study (TMUOS) 2014 – Final Report Credits People Interviewed for Pacheedaht Traditional Use and Occupancy Studies 1997 – 1999 Traditional Use Study of Pacheedaht Territory Nora Baker Bill Jones Shirley Jones Leona Canute Brenda Jones Tim Jones Flora Charles Charles Jones Jr. Tom Jones Carlson Charlie Charles Jones Sr. Stacey Jones Helen Dunn Dan Jones Wayne Jones Carl Edgar Sr. Dave Jones Wesley Jones George Gibbs Ida Jones Edith Joseph Charlene Jack Jeff Jones Stella Matkin Percy Jack John Paul Jones Marvin McClurg Roy “Butch” Jack Karen “Sammy” Jones Harry Peters Pearl James Ken Jones Hazel Peters Susan Johnson Lawrence Jones Marg Peters Alanna Jones Marvin Jones Sally Peters Andrea Jones Mary Jones Jenny Thomas Ardis Jones Mary Clara Jones John Thomas Arlena Jones Robert (Bob) Jones Dr. Nancy Turner Arnold Jones Roberta Jones Margaret Williams 2013 - 2014 Pacheedaht Heritage Project and Traditional Marine Use and Occupancy Study Carlson Charlie Sr. A. Jeffery Jones Marvin McClurg Adelaine Jack Marvin Jones Gary Pearson Candice Jack Mercena Jones Curtis Scowaisa William Jones Pamela Jones Nora Simpson Darrell Jones Tim Jones Frank Jones Walter “Russell” Jones Helen Jones Daniel McClurg Pacheedaht Heritage Project, Pacheedaht First Nation Treaty Department Madelen Jones Researcher, Writer, Database Entry, Interviews, Photographs Pamela Jones Researcher, Database Entry, Interviews, Mapping, Transcription Kristine Pearson Researcher, Writer, Database Entry, Interviews, Report Production Pacheedaht Traditional Marine Use and Occupancy Study Final Report Page i 11 Consultants Kevin Neary Traditions Consulting Services, Inc. - Project Director, Interviews, Database, Mapping, Videos, Report Writing, Report Production Cairn Crockford Traditions Consulting Services, Inc. – Archival Research Pamela Williams Traditions Consulting Services, Inc. – GIS, Database Entry Simon Norris Hillcrest Geographics – GIS Jason Howes Monterey Environmental Services – Oil Spill Response Pacheedaht Traditional Marine Use and Occupancy Study Final Report Page ii 12 Acknowledgements The TMUOS team members would like to thank Pacheedaht First Nation Chief and Council, and the Treaty Department, for the opportunity to work on this project. We would also like to thank the Pacheedaht members and others interviewed for sharing their knowledge and lifetime experiences; these provide the core of the project results. We also offer our appreciation for the assistance provided by members of Pacheedaht First Nation staff who helped out in many ways; in particular we wish to thank the Fisheries Department for sharing information with the TMUOS team. Note to Reader This Final Report has been prepared as a deliverable of the Pacheedaht First Nation’s Traditional Marine Use and Occupancy Study with respect to Kinder Morgan Canada’s Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project, and for the purpose of a regulatory application for approval of that project and for submission to the National Energy Board. Additional research and interviewing will undoubtedly add to the information presented in the report. Pacheedaht First Nation retains copyright over this report and its contents. This report cannot be used for any purpose other than in relation to the National Energy Board and related regulatory processes for the proposed Kinder Morgan Canada Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project, without the prior expressed written consent of Pacheedaht First Nation. No attempt has been made to standardize the transcription or rendering in English of Pacheedaht names and words; they appear in the report as presented in source materials and as phonetically rendered in interview notes and transcriptions. The term “seafood” is used in this report to refer to intertidal (and some subtidal) gathering as this term is commonly used by Pacheedaht community members. This report does not explicitly address all matters of aboriginal title or aboriginal rights of the Pacheedaht First Nation for the Study Area, although the Traditional Use and Occupancy Site and other information included provides evidence related to their aboriginal title and aboriginal rights. Pacheedaht Traditional Marine Use and Occupancy Study Final Report Page iii 13 Executive Summary The general purpose of the PFN Traditional Marine Use and Occupancy Study is to research, record, map and describe locations, resources and activities of traditional importance to the Pacheedaht First Nation that could be affected by increased marine tanker traffic, or by an oil spill and its associated clean up operations, resulting from the proposed Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMEP). This final report presents, in summary format, currently available information for PFN’s traditional marine use and occupancy sites in the Study Area, as well as information about potential impacts of the proposed project on Pacheedaht’s territory and interests. The report should not be viewed as comprehensive or definitive as additional research, interviewing and groundtruthing would undoubtedly uncover additional information. Pacheedaht Territory is located on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island, generally bounded on the east at Sheringham Pt., and on the west at Bonilla Point; and extending inland to include the drainages of the rivers and streams on Vancouver Island between those two locations, and directly offshore from those two locations to the international border with the United States. The Pacheedaht also have aboriginal fishing and harvesting rights at ?’uöu:?a: (Swiftsure Bank). The Pacheedaht regard themselves as a distinct First Nation whose history in their territory extends back over many centuries. A summary history of Pacheedaht is presented in the report, as well as information about the locations of Pacheedaht villages and campsites. Historical records dating from the Contact and Colonial Periods record that Pacheedaht people have occupied their territory continuously, that their livelihood and economy was based primarily on marine resources, and that they traded in marine resources with other First Nation and with white explorers and traders. At the confederation of British Columbia with Canada in 1871, responsibility for Indian Affairs, and for Marine and Fisheries resources, were assumed by the federal government, while the jurisdiction for other responsibilities were assumed by the provincial government. Early Indian Affairs reports describe the Pacheedaht as “toilers of the sea” who obtained their wealth from the ocean, and who had strict customs regarding territory and property. The federal and provincial governments established an Indian Reserve Commission that between 1882 and 1894 set aside four Indian Reserves for the Pacheedaht. The Reserve Commissioners were instructed to deal justly and reasonably with the Indians in the settlement of their Reserves, and that they should be secured in the possession of the villages, fishing stations, burial places and other settlements, and that fishing stations, fishing streams, and fishing grounds should be kept for the exclusive use of the Indians. The Indian Reserve Commissioner reserved for the Pacheedaht the right to fish in both lower branches of the San Juan River. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Pacheedaht gained substantial livelihoods through fishing and hunting for marine resources that included fishing, hunting and gathering of salmon, halibut, seafood (intertidal gathering), dogfish, sea otters, whales and fur seals. Pacheedaht Traditional Marine Use and Occupancy Study Final Report Page iv 14 When the Royal Commission on Indian Affairs for the Province of BC visited Port Renfrew in 1914, Pacheedaht members complained about the size and number of their Reserves, and requested more lands, without success. During traditional times, the Pacheedaht engaged in a seasonal round. During the spring they moved from inside villages to outside fishing camps to catch fish and hunt sea mammals. People would get sockeye from the San Juan and Gordon Rivers between late April and July, otherwise they remained in the outside resource camps until September when they would return to the inside rivers for the fall salmon runs: steelhead, coho, spring, pink and dog salmon which were processed for later consumption, green sturgeon were also obtained. Land and sea mammal hunting, and gathering of plants, berries and other resources occurred when resources were seasonally available, abundant or best to obtain. Seasonal movements were primarily motivated by the availability of marine resources and seafood. Throughout the vast majority of their long history, Pacheedaht ancestors enjoyed unrestricted access to the wide variety of resources in the ocean, rivers and lands in their territory. They gained a wealth of knowledge about their territory based on direct personal observations and experiences. This wealth of information is today often referred to as Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and is generally considered distinct from “scientific knowledge.” Tables of TEK information about resources located in, along or near the marine environment in Pacheedaht territory are presented in the report. Since Contact, many developments and historic events have occurred to the Pacheedaht and within their territory that have had significant impacts on their traditional rights, as well as on the land and marine portions of their territory. The potential