New Snuneymuxw program works to keep traditional lands flourishing for future generations
Phillips (pictured left, Schoenefuhs on right) said a large part of their work will be reintroducing people back to the land. (Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm)
Combining his work with cultural practice has always been important for Robert Phillips. So when the opportunity to connect with community and grow his knowledge of the land came up, he jumped at the chance to become a land guardian.
As a goal to monitor and protect land-based ecosystems, this new Snuneymuxw First Nation land guardian program works to keep the traditional lands of the nation flourishing for future generations.
The program is part of the Snuneymuxw’s Lands & Resources Division, where Wolfgang Schoenefuhs is the director of lands.
The program started at the beginning of November, and Phillips was one of two people hired as land resource technicians, also known as land guardians.
Schoenefuhs and Phillips came down to the CHLY studio to talk about the new program.
Phillips said right now the program is similar to the Snuneymuxw Marine Division, which works on the marine environment while supporting food security and protecting sites that are culturally important or sacred.
“We're just looking to kind of copy that with our lands team and expand and explore and start sending people out and just kind of like learning where we come from and learning our stories and reintroducing our people back into the mountains and reintroducing ourselves back into the lands,” Phillips said.
Phillips said a large part of their work will be reintroducing people back to the land.
“They've always told us that we live in two worlds,” Phillips said. “So that we've had a big disconnection in between us and the lands, and we're starting to see that now in the next generation here, where we're losing that connection. So with the program, we're just kind of trying to spark an interest in the community.”
Another job of the land guardians is to monitor deer and elk populations to make sure they are not being overhunted in the traditional territory.
The land guardians are currently focusing their work on the Nanaimo Lakes and the Nanaimo River watershed area.
Schoenefuhs said the program has a three-pillar approach: restoration and stewardship; hunting and wildlife monitoring; and gathering and providing medicinal and non-medicinal resources from the land.
“There's a concept of thinking seven generations ahead, and that all starts with the actions of today and yesterday and the days before,” Schoenefuhs said. “What we do in the next few weeks, even though the monitoring that the land guardians are out there doing is to promote that longevity, to promote what our kids with their kids, and what the next generation of kids are going to be able to provide for themselves. Provide for themselves through hunting, through subsistence and kind of identifying the pressures that are abundant right now.”
Along with wildlife monitoring, Schoenefuhs said, a big part of their job is educating forest users on how to care for the land.
“Everyone's living here together right now, but we're not all treating the land with the respect that we're trying to promote, and that is one of the big things that we're out there seeking to do so,” Schoenefuhs said. “So we're educating general users about best practices, how they can interact with the nature of the best, what they can take, what they can't overtake, and doing those sorts of things is going to be huge for the program moving forward.”
After growing up as a hunter, Phillips said in this job, he has been able to keep expanding and growing his knowledge while also sharing his wealth and knowledge with his community.
“I'm a father of three, so protecting our natural land resources, animals, traditional medicine, and everything like that goes a long way. It's just something that I live for,” Phillips said. “I've always advocated for, and I've always promoted good, ethical harvesting and hunting. I think that's something that really drew me to the job is being able to be that person, and being able to help and share and promote all of the information that I've been given.”
The land guardian program is also looking to expand, with programs for youth and Elders in 2026, getting them out on the land to learn.
Schoenefuhs said he wants this program to be a resource for the community to ask questions, whether it be about hunting, camping, self-sufficiency in the woods, interacting with wildlife, or just reconnecting with the outdoors.
Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.