The land is part of the territory that had been progressively taken from the First Nation by successive colonial governments starting in the mid-1800s. (Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7FM)

After decades of hard work and determination, 194.7 acres have been returned to the Snuneymuxw First Nation.

It was a celebratory morning at the Snuneymuxw Recreation and Health Centre on Thursday, October 16, as members from Snuneymuxw and the broader community gathered to hear the formal announcement of the returned land.

Located adjacent to Vancouver Island University and above the nearby Nanaimo Parkway, three federal parcels of the former Department of National Defence land have been added to the Snuneymuxw First Nation’s reserve lands. The 194.7 acres, or 78.8 hectares of land, will be part of the First Nation’s te'tuxwtun site.

Te’tuxwtun (pronounced tey-tux-tun) is the traditional name of Mount Benson, which means “grandmother of all surrounding mountains.”

Snuneymuxw Chief Mike Wyse and federal Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, Rebecca Alty, made the joint announcement on Thursday.

Chief Wyse announced the return of land as historic.

“This is the moment our people have worked towards for generations. We did it and we did it together,” he said.

The land is part of the territory that had been progressively taken from the First Nation by successive colonial governments starting in the mid-1800s.

This formal announcement for land transfer comes after the ministerial order was signed in September, following through on an interim land reconciliation agreement signed in January 2024. Over the past two and a half years, members of the First Nation have given feedback on what they would like to see the te'tuxwtun site be turned into.

Wyse said based on what they heard, the land would be used for mixed-use development, with low, medium and high-density housing, commercial spaces for businesses, and cultural and recreational spaces.

Wyse said this land transfer has been a long time coming after his late mother and former Snuneymuxw Chief, Viola Wyse, was told by the then Conservative-led government that the land would never be returned. “Aunty Vai,” as she was known by some, passed away in 2009.

“We will continue advancing reconciliation with the Crown as we build a strong future for Snuneymuxw, for the ancestors and for all connected to these sacred lands,” Wyse said. “This achievement belongs to all of us.”

With the land transfer, the Department of National Defence will be able to maintain its current facilities located across Nanaimo Lakes Road from Colliery Dam Park.

This lower portion of the land transfer was previously the location of the Nanaimo ‘Indian Hospital’ that operated from 1946 to 1967, where many Indigenous people were subject to unfit care and abuse.

Wyse said they are accelerating the pre-development process so they can address the harms that the ‘hospital’ had and move forward with the land into a place of healing and recovery.

Minister Alty said today is a historic day and a big step forward for reconciliation.

The land transfer also comes after the federal government and Snuneymuxw signed the Teytexen Village Specific Claim settlement agreement at the beginning of this year. This agreement saw the government provide the nation $42 million for what the Minister said is the Crown's failure to set aside village lands promised in the Snuneymuxw’s Sarlequun Treaty of 1854.

“Now, whether it's the settlement or the addition to reserve in both of these cases, your nation was unjustly deprived of the use and benefit of the lands,” Alty said. “But now, thanks to the strength and determination of your leadership, that injustice has been resolved, and we've taken another step on the path of reconciliation.”

After the announcement, Wyse spoke to the media.

Wyse said the land transfer will have a significant impact on the community.

“Our land base has been very small for our people, our growing nation. So to have this property brought forward for Snuneymuxw is very significant,” Wyse said. “We've had the smallest land base per capita in B.C. So, for how to get lands back that's going to provide for our nation members to come home and potentially set roots here in Nanaimo is significant.”

He said while they are looking at partnerships to help fund future projects for the land, right now, they will focus on the early stages of development and next steps.

Wyse said on this historic day, he is proud to be able to finish the work his mother first set out to do.

“We always fall back on the work that she started. It feels like we're bringing some of these items across the finish line for her, and she was a very strong leader for our community and a very strong trailblazer,” Wyse said. “She'd be hooting in a holler, and she'd be very happy today and thankful.”

Snuneymuxw members will have a chance in December to voice what they would like to see the land used for during the First Nations’ next general election.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.