GITANYOW, B.C. — The Gitanyow Nation, represented by the Simgigyet’m Gitanyow (Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs), and the Government of Canada have signed a funding agreement which is also a step forward to restoring Gitanyow’s right of self-government.
The federal government will provide $18.4 million to advance goals and priorities established in the Gitanyow Governance Accord signed by Gitanyow, the Government of Canada and Province of British Columbia in 2021.
“The accord provides a pathway to transition from the Indian Act to Gitanyow self-government, based on the restoration and legal recognition of the Gitanyow’s hereditary governance system,” the release said.
“The work in developing this document (Gitanyow Constitution) is important; we must choose carefully the words we use to describe our system so the governments and the world can see who we are and that we exist; this we will pass on to future generations of Gitanyow,” Gitanyow Hereditary Chief Simogyet Sindihl/Robert Good said.
The funding prepares Gitanow to implement its government under its constitution through advancing governance capacity, community objectives and economic development priorities, the release said.
Supported activities include continued development of a Hereditary Revitalization Plan, harmonizing Gitanyow’s Ayookxw (Supreme Laws) of the Simgigyet’m Gitanyow with federal, provincial and third-party interests, development of modern governance tools and legislative frameworks and construction of a new building to accommodate Dax’gyet operations and a training institute, the release added.
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