On Nov. 15, an agreement was signed to return the use of ?A:?b?e:?s (Middle Beach) in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve to Pacheedaht First Nation/Parks Canada

Parks Canada and Pacheedaht First Nation have signed a ground-breaking agreement that returns the use of ?A:?b?e:?s (Middle Beach) in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve to the Nation in advance of Treaty settlement.

The Government of Canada is now committed to a process of relationship-building with Indigenous Peoples based on the recognition of rights, respect, cooperation and partnership.

But in 1988, Canada added ?A:?b?e:?s, an important shoreline area of Pacheedaht’s Territory, to the park on Vancouver Island without formal consultation, or recognition of Pacheedaht or their systems of traditional governance. The accompanying regulations continued to prohibit Pacheedaht management of these areas as well as the harvesting of resources. Through a co-developed process, Pacheedaht First Nation and Parks Canada have created an adaptive approach to return land use and stewardship to the Pacheedaht people in advance of treaty implementation.

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Parks Canada have been in active treaty negotiations with Pacheedaht First Nation since 1996. As part of the Pacheedaht First Nation 2019 Agreement in Principle, the Government of Canada acknowledged the ?A:?b?e:?s lands as Pacheedaht First Nation treaty settlement lands and agreed to transfer them from Parks Canada to the Nation upon completion of ongoing treaty negotiations.

Parks Canada administers over 90 percent of federal lands, nearly all of which have been traditionally used and cared for by Indigenous Peoples. Many heritage places administered by Parks Canada have seen a transition over time from a past where Indigenous Peoples were separated from their ancestral lands and waters to the current context, where Parks Canada strives to work collaboratively with Indigenous Peoples.

The circled lots on this map, which was taken from the Ditidaht and Pacheedaht Agreement in Principle (2019), represent Middle Beach.

“Today is an important day, as once again Pacheedaht will be able to take care of and use our lands at Middle Beach,” Pacheedaht First Nation Chief Jeff Jones said in a Nov. 15 news release. “For many years we have been separated from these lands and this agreement with Parks Canada represents an important step forward while we finalize our Treaty. We thank Parks Canada for working with us to find a way to recognize our responsibilities to these important lands until ownership of them come back to us under Treaty.”

Gary Anandasangaree, federal Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, said “the cultures and identities of Indigenous Peoples are rooted in ties with the land. For more than a hundred years, the government stole land and severed these ties. Today, with the signing of this agreement, we begin to reverse this act of violence as the stewardship of the land at ?A:?b?e:?s is given back to Pacheedaht First Nation. I am honoured to have been a part of the ceremony held today and look forward to the important work ahead. More to do.”

The Pacheedaht First Nation is an Indigenous government based on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Pacheedaht territory includes the lands and waters along the southwest coast of Vancouver Island between Bonilla Point and Sheringham Point. The name “Pacheedaht” translates to English as “People of the Sea Foam.”

Pacheedaht Territory includes some of the most magnificent marine shorelines in what is now British Columbia.

Since becoming a park reserve, Pacific Rim has seen a transition towards cooperative management. This change, as it continues to be developed, will facilitate Pacheedaht’s voice in shared decision-making in resource management, intertidal harvesting, transmission of cultural knowledge and harnessing economic opportunities.

The federal designation of this 2.64-hectare tract of waterfront land has divided Pacheedaht First Nation’s main reserves, Pacheena 1 and Gordon River 2, as this land sits in the middle, connecting them. Because ?A:?b?e:?s is disconnected from other portions of Pacific Rim, the visiting public has been largely unaware of its protected status.

 ?A:?b?e:?s (Middle Beach) in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve is a beautiful shoreline along the Pacific Ocean/Parks Canada