Esk'etemc Chief Fred Robbins said it is an opportunity many leaders across Canada have never had
A B.C. Interior First Nation community will receive a $147.6 million settlement with the federal government through a specific claim regarding water rights.
"It will give us a chance to heal and move forward in reconciliation with the different settlers that are in our territory and moving forward I think it is an opportunity for the provincial and federal governments to actually engage with Esk'etemc on reconciliation." "The whole idea when they got the reserve was that it would have water," said lawyer Stan Ashcroft, who has worked with the community for the last 30 years, 24 on the water claim."It is totally flat, it's got really good soil and that was the whole purpose for having that as a reserve because they could grow crops."
"Canada decided that would not support Esk'etemc, for what was then known as the Alkali Lake Indian Band, in water for the reserve which it had to have," Ashcroft said. Dr. Beth Bedard is an archaeologist and anthropologist who has been working with the community since the late 90s on various projects, ranging from treaties to specific claims.
Since colonization the community has been speaking out for their rights for the land and the right to exist as a culture and a community.
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