Annual Report 2023 / 2024
Section:
ta néwyap síiyam̓, síiyay̓, siiyúxwa7 iy ta s7eḵw’í7tel-cht,
chet tl’á7ashn kwi nach’aw̓icháwanexw tl’a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw kwi ḵwetḵ tem ḵwélemexw 2023. nilh ta tl’á7ashn wa nantm ta tl’á7ashn skwáyel tl’a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh iy na hin̓ i7x̱w tem ḵwélemexw.
chet wa kw’enmán i7x̱w swat kwis m̓i tl’iḵnumiwit i7x̱w kwi tl’á7ashencht men wé7u chet ta wa lhtim̓á cht. chet yew̓ints an eskwkwín̓ kwi ts7it syétsem cht. men wé7u chet kwis ts’its’áp’new̓as iy kwis chet ip’ís kwi nch’ú7mut sḵwálwen tim̓á tkwi swa7ám̓cht na7 tkwi kwekwín̓. ta ts7it syétsem cht iy ta wa lhtim̓á cht na7 ta ḵwetḵ tpánu na an esxwéxwkw na7 ta kw’in sts’its’áp’cht.
nilh ta sts’its’áp’ na m̓i shewáy iy na m̓i iyímen i7x̱w ta úxwumixw ti stsi7s iy kwi hem̓í eḵ’ stélmexw á7aw̓t tl’a nímalh iy nilh melh welh wa nantm ’Nation Building Initiatives.’ men wé7u chet kwis chén̓chenstway na7 ta i7x̱w sts’its’áp’cht.
an esxwéxwkw kwi a i7x̱w sḵwálwen na7 ti sts’its’áp’ iy stl’i7 chet kwis ḵw’ú7tsutyap na7 ti esxwéxwkw sts’its’áp’.
huy chexw a (thank you) to Norman Guerrero Jr, Setálten for recording the audio version of this Welcome Message.
To you all, respected leaders, friends, Elders, and relatives,
In July 2023 we held a month-long celebration called Squamish Days Festival to celebrate 100 years since 16 villages amalgamated to become the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw. We thank everyone for attending the events, for coming together to learn, celebrate, acknowledge, and uphold our ways of being.
We know that Sḵwx̱wú7mesh history stretches through thousands of years of existence, long before Amalgamation. Our people have a rich history of living and working together in our communities with shared values, teachings, and family ties.
Over the past year that history has been the foundation for several important projects. They are called Nation building initiatives because they aim to ensure we grow and thrive for generations to come. By taking back control over our education and the right to care for our children, to updating our Membership Code and developing a Constitution, we will uplift our people.
Your voices are important in this work, and we encourage you to continue to be involved in setting our communities up for continued success.
Whether close to home, or farther away from community, the Nation delivers a variety of programs and services to Sḵwx̱wú7mesh People. Funding comes from a range of sources including Own Source Revenue (Nation generated income), provincial, federal, and other grants.
Icons below designed by Marissa Nahanee.
The Sḵwx̱wú7mesh People have set a clear direction: ensure that our shared values and teachings guide the way we govern ourselves, set up our education systems, and care for everyone in our communities from mén̓men (children) to Elders. An important part of that journey is financial independence: increasing Own Source Revenue (income generated directly by the Nation) as it provides us with more flexibility in how the money can be used.
Own Source Revenue (Nation generated income) made up 75% of the total revenue in 2024/23. The remaining revenue (25%) came from government transfers. In the last fiscal we recognized the second instalment of the Nation amenity contribution from our development partner, Westbank, for Sen̓áḵw. The amount of $60.6 million in 2023/24 and $57.8 million in 2022/23 is a key contribution to the increase of Nation generated income.
Our community is growing and so is the need for programs and services. The Nation invested $145.4 million in 2024/23 in expanding the supports it provides for Sḵwx̱wú7mesh People. While this amount exceeded the initial budget, the Nation did record a surplus of $87 million in the last fiscal year. A large portion of this is set aside to implement projects from Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw 2026, the Nation’s Strategic Plan, over the next five years.
($ millions)
Total $134.8 million
Total $113.6 million
tem ḵw’élemexw (July) 2023 marked 100 years since 16 villages amalgamated to become the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw. The Nation celebrated with a month-long series of events while continuing to work on the strategic initiatives that will set the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh People up for growth and success over the next 100 years.
A new organizational structure came into effect tem tsá7tsḵay̓ (April) 2023 which realigned the departments into four divisions. Headed by an Executive Director, each division brings together departments providing similar types of programming to ensure more effective service delivery for Sḵwx̱wú7mesh People.
We celebrated our 100th Amalgamation with an all-ages free event at Ambleside Beach, West Vancouver, on tem ḵw’élemexw (July) 23. The event was open to Sḵwx̱wú7mesh community members and the general public. There were family friendly activities, food trucks, an artisan market, and live performances by Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Blackie & The Rodeo Kings, Digging Roots, Bitterly Divine, and Aysanabee, just to name a few.
The Nation adopted the British Columbia Residential Tenancy Act (BCRTA) for the Sen̓áḵw development and future on-reserve housing developments, a process made possible through the Government of Canada’s First Nations Commercial and Industrial Development Act (FNCIDA). All residents moving into the development will be protected by the BCRTA as they would in any other rental property in the province. These protections include maximum allowable rent increases, protection against unfair evictions, and a first-in-Canada Indigenous- led approach to dispute resolution.
2023 marked the completion of the wa í7imeshnewas chet (We Walk Together) Elders’ Program Engagement Project, and the start of a new vision for the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh-ulh síiyuxwa7 (Squamish Elders) Program. A celebration in tem p’í7tway (October) launched the chet wa í7sun (We Pull Together) Elders’ Program Plan. One of the key initiatives in the new Plan is the development of an “Elders’ Program Respectful Relationships Code” to better support inclusion and safety.
Sḵwx̱wú7mesh communities need to be places where we all feel safe and like we belong. After work by a Public Safety Task Force and community engagement, we published a Public Safety Report in mim̓na lhḵaych’ (January). The report’s 11 recommendations are community-led, rooted in prevention and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh values, supportive of mental health, wellness and housing, and aim to meet people where they are at. Work is underway to implement the recommendations in a mindful way.
Today, with nearly 4100 Members, the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw is one of the largest First Nations in British Columbia and a dynamic force in the region. The majority of our people live in three communities in West Vancouver and North Vancouver while approximately 10 percent of our population lives in communities along the Squamish River.
We are the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh – descendants of the original Sḵwx̱wú7mesh speaking villages throughout the watersheds of the Squamish River, Mamquam River, Howe Sound, English Bay, False Creek, and Burrard Inlet.
Our people’s history spans many millennia of living on and governing our territory. Our oral literature speaks to our origins as a people in our lands through the stories of these first ancestors. ha7lh stélmexw kwelh tiná7 chet (we come from good people).
In 1923, the partitioned Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Indian Bands joined together to better protect the interests of the people and amalgamated to become the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw. The Amalgamation created the conditions for the success of the Nation.
Sḵwx̱wú7mesh culture has been created from our lands, waters, and people over generations. We continue to practice and pass on many of the traditions, customs, and ways of our ancestors. wa iy̓ím ta Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish strong).
chet wa tkwáya7nnitway iy chet wa ḵw'útsut
chet wa nexwníw̓en ta nexwníw̓ tl'a sḵwx̱wú7mesh
chet wa asch'ew̓á
chet wa ta7lt ta snew̓íyelhcht
wa nelhnílhtway ta úxwumixw
chet wa yuus ta stitúyntsam̓
