Exorbitant ticket prices for an Aboriginal land forum are keeping Squamish Nation members in the dark, says a nation activist.
Admission to the two-day conference - Insight Information's Aboriginal Land Resource Management Forum at Vancouver's Four Seasons Hotel - on land development and resource projects affecting First Nations comes with a $2,346.40 charge.
Squamish Nation chiefs Ian Campbell and Bill Williams will present a case study on land management and community consultation, while Chief Gibby Jacob is a program co-chair for the event.
The event, planned on Tuesday and Wednesday (Jan. 31 and Feb. 1) and organized by Canadian conference company Insight Information, could help shed light on what direction the nation is taking, said Squamish Nation activist Jo-Ann Nahanee. But most nation members can't afford to cough up that kind of cash, she said.
"I have asked [the nation] for funding to attend the meeting," Nahanee said.
Nahanee has been a vocal critic of what she calls an "ongoing lack of transparency" between the nation's council and members. Last summer, armed with a petition signed by 550 members, Nahanee called for the community's politicians to step down.
Chief and council are forging ahead with big-money decisions, such as paying $16.275 million for 467 hectares of Crown land in the Squamish area last November, without talking to their people, Nahanee argued.
Approximately 30 Squamish Nation members are readying protest placards for a gathering outside the forum. On Thursday (Jan. 19), Nahanee met with nation members in Squamish.
The forum's ticket prices line up with Insight Information's standard pricing, the company's operations manager Marie Wong said. Insight reaches its price points based on business decisions, she said.
Campbell said he sees the event as an opportunity to showcase the Squamish Nation's initiatives. It also allows the Squamish Nation officials to network with other First Nations communities. Campbell said he hopes to discuss Aboriginal policies and how to navigate through the governmental maze to become net contributors to the economy.
"I think there is tremendous value in sharing stories and our trials and tribulations," Campbell said.
Over the past 10 years, the Squamish Nation has experienced rapid growth. Four years ago, it hit a milestone with the creation of the Sea to Sky Land and Resource Management Plans (LRMP). With input from the community, the LRMP harmonizes First Nations land-use visions and plans with the Province's land-use policy.
"Generally, the nation has been utilizing many different means to communicate to our membership," Campbell said. "On each project or topic there are public forums that we host in our communities. There are information sessions, there are annual reports that we put out to our membership that highlight what we are working on and what of the future projects are, as well as target group [meetings] with elders and youth."
Within the next 15 to 20 years, the nation's 3,700 population is expected to double. Approximately 40 per cent of the community is under the age of 25.
"This is for and on behalf of our young people today and for our future generations to come, that we are building capacity," Campbell said. "So the voice of the few vocalizing concerns, we certainly have to take that into consideration along with the collective - the majority - as well."
