By: Mason Mattu, News Writer
With 19 members, Kwiakah First Nation makes up “the West Coast’s smallest First Nation.” With territory spanning across the Wənałdəmsa sa Kwiakah (Phillips Arm) and Frederick Arm region, the Nation has made strides toward an Indigenous-led conservation economy. A conservation economy involves communities taking “the lead in deciding how to manage land and natural resources while creating new employment opportunities and stewarding ecosystems for the benefit of future generations.”
The Kwiakah Nation recently announced its plans to open a “floating research facility” by summer 2025. Dubbed the Kwiakah Centre for Excellence, the facility will feature a “dedicated research station, an experimental kelp farm, regenerative forest operations, and its territorial guardian program.” It will also include lodging for researchers. The facility will be repurposed from a decommissioned open-net pen salmon farm.
The Kwiakah Nation have titled the floating research facility their “return home.” They were “displaced from its traditional coastal villages” in the early 20th century and did not return for 100 years. The research centre will be anchored in their traditional territory. The Peak reached out to the Kwiakah and the First Nations Centre for Excellence for more information but did not receive a response by the deadline.
The Kwiakah Nation was previously involved in a legal challenge alongside several other Nations to shut down the now–decommissioned open-net pen salmon farm that operated in the Discovery Island area. They “expressed concerns regarding the declines of Fraser River salmon and the impact of salmon farming on wild stocks.” In 2022, the Federal Court ruled in favour of continuing salmon farming. Fast-forward to 2024, the federal government announced a “ban on open net-pen aquaculture” by 2029.
“Eventually, revenue will be created by protecting the environment, by conserving forests and by not cutting them.” — Frank Voelker, manager and economic development officer, Kwiakah Nation
According to the Kwiakah Nation’s manager and economic development officer Frank Voelker, the opening of the Kwiakah Centre for Excellence will continue the Nation’s “path to building a ‘stewardship economy’ that puts the environment first when it comes to economic development.”
The Kwiakah have set a strategic plan to create revenue through regenerative forestry practices. According to Island Coastal Trust, a donor to the Kwiakah Centre for Excellence, an example of regenerative forestry may include “forest farming and non-timber forest product development” such as “botanicals, essential oils, medicinal herbs,” and produce. This is part of the Nation’s vision to create a sustainable economy.
“Eventually, revenue will be created by protecting the environment, by conserving forests and by not cutting them,” Voelker told IndigiNews.
As for the future of the floating research centre, the Nation is looking forward to deepening research with the University of British Columbia, the University of Victoria, and the University of Calgary.
