Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs and Canada sign Funding Agreement to restore self-government on ancestral lands

July 15, 2024 — Gitanyow, British Columbia — Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

The Gitanyow Nation, as represented by the Simgigyet’m Gitanyow (Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs) and the Government of Canada recently signed a Funding Agreement, marking a significant step forward in restoring Gitanyow’s inherent right of self-government. For Gitanyow Nation, this inherent right is found in their Dax’gyet — the strength and authority of the Hereditary Chiefs’ relationship with their ancestral lands.

The Government of Canada is providing $18.4 million to advance the goals and priorities set out in the Gitanyow Governance Accord (the Accord), signed by Gitanyow, Government of Canada and Province of British Columbia in 2021. The Accord provides a pathway to transition from the Indian Act to Gitanyow self-government, based on the restoration and legal recognition of the Gitanyow’s hereditary governance system.

The funding will prepare Gitanyow to fully implement its government under its Constitution through advancing governance capacity, community objectives, and economic development priorities. Activities to be supported include continued development of a Hereditary Revitalization Plan; harmonizing Gitanyow’s Ayookxw (Supreme Laws) of the Simgigyet’m Gitanyow with federal, provincial and third-party interests; development of modern governance tools and legislative frameworks; and the construction of a new building to accommodate Dax’gyet operations and a training institute.

This Funding Agreement aligns with the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, emphasizing the importance of self-determination, defined as the ability to “freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social, and cultural development.”