ks‿kəɬqayxʷntim iʔ siwɬkʷ naʔł tmxʷulaxʷ
On November 15, 2024, at a historic gathering, Chiefs of the Syilx Nation, Mayors, councillors and Regional Districts representatives signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to protect siwɬkʷ, water. The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) is the first time that elected leaders from the Syilx Nation and Local Governments have come together to discuss issues of common concern that transcend jurisdictional boundaries. The MOA supports a shared pathway to address watershed challenges and opportunities.
The signatories to the MOA represent 126 elected leaders who have formalized their shared commitment to protecting water and we hope remaining districts and municipalities join this agreement in the future. This signals a new era of cooperation, collaboration and action for reconciliation. Chief Gabriel of the Penticton Indian Band acknowledged that “the signing of the MOA and creation of the leaders table developed through the Collaborative Leadership Initiative (CLI) has been a long time coming and provides leaders who know their watersheds best, a platform to discuss and act on water challenges that are too big for any one government to solve alone”.
The CLI process is a collaborative and inclusive engagement process that builds relationships based on respect, trust, cooperation and partnerships. Facilitated by the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER) the leaders have been meeting for the past 18 months to build trust and to draft the MOA. Victor Cummings, Mayor of the City of Vernon commented “that there are very few opportunities and processes for leaders to come together and work together, CLI facilitation was important in supporting the leaders as they developed the MOA.”
The MOA identifies, shared principles, goals, areas of common concern and next steps that include the development of a Terms of Reference – providing a framework for how the Leaders will work together as neighbours and in partnership.
CLI Signed MOA November 15 2024For more information:
Tessa Terbasket, siwlɬkʷ Program Lead
Eva Antonijevic, siwlɬkʷ Projects Coordinator