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Westbank First Nation

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This article is about Canadian First Nation. For the Palestinian subterritory, see West Bank. For other uses, see West Bank (disambiguation).
Westbank First Nation
Band No. 601
Symbol
Westbank Statement of Intent boundaries
Peoplesyilx
TreatyWestbank First Nation Self-Government Agreement
HeadquartersWestbank
Province British Columbia
Land[1]
Reserve(s)
Land area21.613 km2
Population (2019)[1]
On reserve433
Off reserve481
Total population914
Government[1]
ChiefRobert Louie
Tribal Council[1]
Okanagan Nation Alliance
Website
wfn.ca

The Westbank First Nation (Okanagan: tqłəníw̓t/tqaʔtkʷɬniwt[2])[3] is a self-governing First Nations band in the Okanagan region of British Columbia, Canada, and is one of eight bands that comprise the Okanagan Nation Alliance of Syilx people. Westbank First Nation (WFN) is governed by one chief (Chief Robert Louie) and four councillors, elected every three years by WFN membership (the current term is 2023-2025). As of April 2019, WFN's membership totaled 914 members, and employs more than 200 people.

Government

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Robert Louie, Chief Westbank First Nation

Westbank reserves were once part of the Okanagan Indian Band until they separated and became an independent band in 1963. 27 years later, in 1990, a framework agreement was entered into which allowed community-based self-government to be negotiated. On May 6, 2004, the Westbank First Nation Self-Government Act received royal assent and became law. WFN self-government officially came into force April 1, 2005.

Indigenous self-government in Canada is an agreement between an Indigenous community and provincial and federal government. It allows the community to make all decisions regarding their people, laws, land, and resources.[4]

Following the enactment of self-government, WFN members developed the Westbank First Nation constitution,[5] which sets out how the community is governed and how it exercises its jurisdiction. Some of the other areas the constitution provides for are democratic and legitimate elections and government; internal financial management; accountability to WFN members; conflict of interest rules; law enactment procedures; land rules and referendum procedures.

Advisory Council

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In 2005, following the signing of self-government, the WFN Advisory Council was put in place. The Advisory Council is a five-member council, elected every three years by WFN residents, that meets regularly to review and make recommendations on issues that directly and significantly affect taxpayers such as tax expenditures, proposed laws and proposed amendments to laws. Currently there are approximately 11,000 non-WFN member residents living on WFN lands.

Language

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Westbank First Nation people are united through their culture, customs, and language, nsyilxcən/nqilxʷcən. nsyilxcən, an Interior Salish language, is the traditional language of Westbank First Nation. In the entire Okanagan Nation population, there are 6,331 people. 1.3% are fluent speakers, 6.6% are semi-speakers, and 16% are active learners.[6] The nsyilxcən language holds thousands of years of knowledge of the land and contains teachings about natural laws. As syilx/Okanagan people, it is understood that humans are to act as caretakers of nxʷəlxʷəltantət, that which gives us life, including language and land.[7]

Westbank First Nation has created nsyilxcən learning resources for anyone wishing to learn the language.[8] In the nsyilxcən/nqilxʷcən language, capital letters are not used because it insinuates that someone or something holds more importance than another, and this belief does not fall in line with syilx ethics.[9]

Westbank First Nation has a museum which provides a protected place for sqilxʷ culture and heritage while actively working to uplift syilx voices and share about the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the syilx people. The museum does guided tours and shares stories of the land with all who are interested in learning. sncəwips is the nsyilxcən word that translates to  ‘a conversation with an ancestor’.[10]

Indian Reserves

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Westbank First Nation's land base totals 5,340 acres, separated into five land parcels. Westbank First Nation's two populated reserves border the westside of Okanagan Lake and are located adjacent to the City of West Kelowna, while the remaining three reserves are located on the east side of Okanagan Lake. Indian reserves under the jurisdiction of the Westbank First Nation are:[11]

References

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  1. ^ "First Nation Detail". Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. Government of Canada. 14 November 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  2. ^ Mattina, Tony. "Okanagan Dictionary".
  3. ^ "Syilx Okanagan Nation Joins Other Nations Call for Accountability After Remains of 215 Residential School Victims Unearthed at Kamloops Indian Residential School – Okanagan Nation Alliance". Retrieved 2024-02-23.
  4. ^ "Indigenous Self-Government in Canada". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  5. ^ "WFN Constitution" (PDF).
  6. ^ "The Report on the Status of B.C. First Nations Languages 2022". First Peoples Cultural Council. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  7. ^ "Language". Sncewips. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  8. ^ "Language - Westbank First Nation". www.wfn.ca. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  9. ^ reporter, Athena Bonneau, Local Journalism Initiative (2021-07-24). "Penticton Museum's new exhibit honours four syilx language keepers". IndigiNews. Retrieved 2024-03-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "Sncewips". Sncewips. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  11. ^ Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Reserves/Villages/Settlements detail for Westbank First Nation
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