Community Land Use Planning on First Nations Reserves and the Influence of Land Tenure: A Case Study with the Penticton Indian Band by Marena Brinkhurst B.Sc.Env. (Economics & Policy), University of Guelph, 2010 Research Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Resource Management (Planning) Report No. 570 in the School of Resource and Environmental Management Faculty of Environment Marena Brinkhurst 2013 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2013 Approval Name: Marena Brinkhurst Degree: Master of Resource Management (Planning) Report No.: 570 Title of Thesis: Community land use planning on First Nations reserves and the influence of land tenure: A case study with the Penticton Indian Band Examining Committee: Chair: Jane Hauser Master of Resource Management Candidate Murray B. Rutherford Senior Supervisor Associate Professor John R. Welch Supervisor Associate Professor Joan Phillip Supervisor Lands Manager Penticton Indian Band Date Defended/Approved: April 19, 2013 ii Partial Copyright Licence iii Ethics Statement The author, whose name appears on the title page of this work, has obtained, for the research described in this work, either: a. human research ethics approval from the Simon Fraser University Office of Research Ethics, or b. advance approval of the animal care protocol from the University Animal Care Committee of Simon Fraser University; or has conducted the research c. as a co-investigator, collaborator or research assistant in a research project approved in advance, or d. as a member of a course approved in advance for minimal risk human research, by the Office of Research Ethics. A copy of the approval letter has been filed at the Theses Office of the University Library at the time of submission of this thesis or project. The original application for approval and letter of approval are filed with the relevant offices. Inquiries may be directed to those authorities. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada update Spring 2010 Abstract Understanding the land tenure and management systems that exist on First Nations reserves in Canada is foundational to supporting effective and sustainable local land use and planning in these communities. Proposed federal legislation has reignited debate over the individual landholdings system (Certificates of Possession) existing on many reserves, but there is a lack of research concerning the history, impacts, and practical implications of this land tenure system, particularly empirical research and perspectives of First Nations themselves. This research project provides an empirical exploration of the Indian Act land tenure system from perspectives of local land management and planning, based on a case study of the history and experiences of the Penticton Indian Band. Findings illustrate the complexity of this land tenure and management system in action and highlight the numerous and influential ways that the individual landholding system impacts reserve land use, management, and planning. Keywords: land tenure; land management; planning; First Nations; Indigenous; reserves iv Dedication I dedicate this research project to the Penticton Indian Band community and the many individuals - past, present, and future - working to heal divides of the past, make their community stronger, and share their experiences with other communities. It has been an honour to learn from you. “…through all our lives, our elders and our ancestors’ lives, we’ve done the best that we could with what we had… at the time, they were just trying to survive, trying to find their way. We’re still trying to find our way today. So we can find peace.” (Chad Eneas, PIB member, 2011) v Acknowledgements I would like to thank the numerous people at the Penticton Indian Band who made this research project possible. Thank you to PIB’s Chief Jonathan Kruger and Council members for welcoming me to this research collaboration. Thank you to Joan Phillip, PIB’s land manager and my committee member and project mentor, for helping to guide me through the complex world that is reserve land management and for sharing your experience, knowledge, and encouragement. Thank you to Elaine Alec and Anona Kampe, PIB’s fearless community planners – working with you and learning from you has had a profound influence on my professional and personal perspectives. Your strength, commitment to community, and energy for making positive change, make you the most inspirational women I have had the opportunity to work closely with and I thank you for your teaching and friendship. Thank you to Darryl-Jean Cerenzie, PIB’s land use planner, for diving into this research collaboration with such enthusiasm and support. I was very lucky to have had several opportunities to learn from Dr. Jeannette Armstrong. Your classes, writings, and conversations opened a world of learning and introspection that I would not have explored on my own. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and insights of Syilx philosophy and land ethic. These lessons are lasting and fundamental – they are deeply rooted within me now and I am very grateful for your guidance to them. My sincerest thanks to all the PIB staff and community members who welcomed and encouraged me and shared their stories. In my heart and mind, I will always remember the warmth, strength, and beauty of your community and I hope to visit again often. Many others agreed to do interviews and otherwise supported this project. Thank you to Andrew Bak of the Tsawwassen First Nation and Lyn Vanderburg and Raf de Guevara of the Westbank First Nation for sharing your communities’ experiences with me and this research. Thank you to Colleen Walton, individual landholdings specialist and AANDC, and Larry Pardy, Manager of Lands, Environment and Natural Resources in AANDC’s Atlantic region, for taking time from your very demanding positions to share your insights into AANDC’s lands system. As well, to the staff at the Indian Lands Registry System, AANDC’s Geomatics office, and the NRCan Surveyor General Branch that helped me to navigate and access lands data, thank you for your time and generous support. To the staff at the Union of BC Indian Chiefs resource center, the Penticton and Summerland museums, and Library and Archives Canada, thank you for helping me discover numerous archival sources and taking time to teach me about archival research. vi Thank you to Dr. Christopher Alcantara, for your research on Certificates of Possession that sparked this path of inquiry and for your personal suggestions and encouragement. Thank you to Dr. Mele Estella Tupou Rakai, though we have never met, your thesis was a major source of inspiration and guidance for me. Thanks to Jamie Baxter, for your research and the many conversations about reserve land tenure that helped to guide my understanding and inquiry. In addition, my deep thanks to Dr. Brady J. Deaton, you are the teacher and mentor who started it all! Thank you for inspiring me to look at land, institutions, and research differently. And thank you to my boss and planning mentor Jeff Cook at Beringia Community Planning Inc.; your support, flexibility, and mentorship greatly enriched this project. To my supervisors, Dr. Murray B. Rutherford and Dr. John R. Welch, I am very grateful for your constant support and guidance over the course of this project and my time as a REM student. John, your teaching and experience working with other First Nations was invaluable to the development of my research and your warm enthusiasm was great encouragement. Murray, from our first conversations through to the completion of this project, you have been there to encourage, challenge, and assist me as a student, researcher, and person. Your flexibility and interest in all the angles of this project gave me a place to explore my interests and actualize my goals in a way that a more prescriptive supervisor would not have allowed. Thank you for your confidence in me throughout this process. My thanks also to Dr. Evelyn Pinkerton for your guidance on qualitative research, community-based research, and Aboriginal history and approaches to resource and environmental management. I would also like to thank Robyn Heaslip for your advice as I completed this project. Thank you to Jessica Morrison for your GIS magic. And thank you to all my fellow students at REM for their encouragement and camaraderie. Finally, my deepest love and thanks to my family, friends, and Andrew for your unwavering support, encouragement, inspiration, comfort, counsel, and love. This research was funded with support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the MITACS-Accelerate program, the Penticton Indian Band, Simon Fraser University, and the Canadian Institute of Planners. vii Table of Contents Approval .............................................................................................................................ii Partial Copyright Licence .................................................................................................. iii Abstract .............................................................................................................................iv Dedication ......................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ...........................................................................................................vi Table of Contents ...........................................................................................................