Reconnecting Wuikinuxv Nation Community Members with Their Lands and Waters
Historically, colonial policies disrupted Indigenous communities’ relationships with their lands, waters and cultures through residential schools, restrictions on traditional resource management, and the suppression of cultural practices. Rebuilding these relationships is a long-term process that requires sustained commitment, resources and opportunities for community members to reconnect with their traditional territories, cultural knowledge and stewardship practices.
Like other Indigenous Nations, the Wuikinuxv Nation has cared for its lands and waters since time immemorial, exercising inherent rights and responsibilities to steward its territory. The knowledge developed through thousands of years of land-based stewardship continues to guide salmon conservation, habitat restoration and watershed management.
To support this ongoing work, ISF funding secured the Salmon Restoration Coordinator position for an additional year. The coordinator played a central role in planning, coordinating, monitoring, and facilitating cultural revitalization and stewardship initiatives led by the Wuikinuxv Nation Stewardship Department. Through these stewardship initiatives, community members reconnected with salmon nursery watersheds throughout Wuikinuxv Territory, strengthening relationships with the land while advancing long-term salmon restoration and stewardship efforts.
Stewardship in Action
Over the one-year funding period, the stewardship initiatives planned and coordinated by the Salmon Restoration coordinator created meaningful opportunities for community members to reconnect with their territory while building local stewardship capacity. Highlights included:
- Youth Culture Camps: Two Youth Culture Camps and one Hunting Culture Camp on Owikeno Lake brought together 22 youth and 20 community members, including Elders and Knowledge Keepers. Through land-based learning, traditional resource harvesting and storytelling, participants strengthened intergenerational knowledge sharing and deepened their connections to Wuikinuxv Territory, culture and stewardship.
Learning how to harvest cedar bark during July 2025 Youth Culture Camps. (Photo Credit: Wuikinuxv Nation Stewardship Department)
- Community-led watershed monitoring: Community members conducted creek walks and Clear Stream Index surveys to collect watershed and salmon monitoring data. For the first time, these surveys were completed entirely by Wuikinuxv Nation members, strengthening local capacity to lead future monitoring and restoration efforts.
Community members conducted creek walks in 2024. (Photo Credit: Wuikinuxv Nation Stewardship Department)
- Boomstick removal: Crews removed large floating logs and log barriers (“boomsticks”) left behind by past logging activities in Owikeno Lake. These structures provided resting sites for seals, making it easier for them to prey on young salmon. By removing the boomsticks, the project helped create a safer environment for young salmon while repurposing the recovered wood for community use.
Towing boomsticks down Owikeno Lake to village for dewatering. (Photo Credit: Wuikinuxv Nation Stewardship Department)
- Building stewardship capacity: Boat trips to remote areas of Owikeno Lake improved access to important field sites, while professional boat operation training equipped community members with the skills to safely support future monitoring, restoration and cultural activities.
Owikeno Lake Trip for Seniors and Community Members in June 2024. (Photo Credit: Wuikinuxv Nation Stewardship Department)
Building Lasting Stewardship
While the impacts of cultural revitalization initiatives may not be as immediately visible as those of on-the-ground restoration projects, they are equally important for long-term conservation. By creating ongoing opportunities for community members to reconnect with their lands and waters, the Wuikinuxv Nation is strengthening community connections to its territory while building stewardship capacity through land-based learning, cultural knowledge sharing and hands-on practice.
Recognizing the vital role of Indigenous Knowledge in salmon conservation and watershed stewardship, ISF is proud to support initiatives that strengthen Indigenous leadership and local capacity. By increasing community presence throughout Wuikinuxv Territory, this project helped build lasting capacity to protect salmon and care for the Nation’s lands and waters.
The Indigenous Stewardship Fund (ISF) works in close partnership with the First Nations Fisheries Council (FNFC), which serves as a frontline organization for collaboration with First Nations across British Columbia. FNFC leads relationship-building and engagement with more than 200 First Nations across the province, listening to and identifying Nations’ interests, priorities and perspectives. ISF complements this work by serving as the funding mechanism that helps turn those relationships and priorities into action. Together, FNFC and ISF ensure that the leadership, needs and priorities of BC First Nations are met with flexible and accessible resources that support Indigenous-led stewardship, habitat protection and long-term environmental resilience.
