West Moberly First Nations

The West Moberly First Nations is a First Nation located in the Peace River Country in northern British Columbia. They are part of the Dunne-za and Cree cultural and language groups. The West Moberly First Nations used to be part of the Hudson Hope Band, but in 1971 the band split becoming the modern-day Halfway River First Nation and West Moberly First Nations.[5]

West Moberly First Nations
Band No. 545
Three generations of Dunne-za women at Moberly Lake c. 1899
PeopleDane-zaa and Cree
TreatyTreaty 8
ProvinceBritish Columbia
Land[1]
Main reserveWest Moberly Lake 168A
Land area20.336 km2
Population (2020)[2]
On reserve122
On other land9
Off reserve217
Total population348
Government[3]
ChiefRoland Willson
Council
  • Theresa Davis
  • Asher Atchiqua
  • Robyn Fuller
  • Clarence Willson
Tribal Council[4]
Treaty 8 Tribal Association
Website
http://www.westmo.org/

The Nation is located on the West Moberly Lake 168A reserve, at the west end of Moberly Lake, about 90 kilometres southwest of Fort St. John, British Columbia, within territory covered by Treaty 8. Facilities on the reserve include the band administration office, the leadership offices, the lands management building, a community health centre, the Dakii Yadze childcare centre and the Dunne-za Lodge.[6]

West Moberly is affiliated with the Treaty 8 Tribal Association, which is registered under the B.C. Societies Act.

Chief and Councillors

West Moberly First Nations Chief and Council consists of a generally elected Chief and four family Councillors that are elected according to the preference of each of the main families (Brown, Dokkie, Desjarlais, and Miller).[5]

Council composition history
Chief

(term of office)

 Ref Brown Family Councillor

(term of office)

 Ref Dokkie Family Councillor

(term of office)

 Ref Desjarlais Family Councillor

(term of office)

 Ref Miller Family Councillor

(term of office)

 Ref
Roland Willson

(August 2000 - present)

 [7] Theresa Davis

(December 2019 - present)

 [8][9] Asher Atchiqua

(July 8, 2020 - present)

 [9] Robyn Fuller

(September 20, 2016 - present)

 [10][9] Clarence Willson

(June 3, 2002 - present)

 [9]
Brad Dokkie

(December 2019 - July 2020)

 [8]
Patricia Brown

(February 2016 - November 2019)

 [11][12] Dean Dokkie

(date unknown - November 2019)

 [12]
Laura Webb

(date unknown - September 19, 2016)

 [13]
Kyle Brown

(date unknown - May 2015)

 [14][15]

Treaty Process

The West Moberly First Nation is a signatory of the Treaty 8 but are now in discussions outside the BC Treaty Process, along with five other First Nations who have joined together as the Treaty 8 Tribal Association.[16]

History

Prior to 1971, the people of West Moberly were part of the Hudson Hope Band, also referred to as the Hudson's Hope Indian Band, after the nearby region of Hudson's Hope, where a North West Company outpost had been established in 1805.

Some Crees and Saulteaux arrived in the area in the late nineteenth century, fleeing the North-West Rebellion of 1885.[17]

In 1914, the Nation was admitted to Treaty 8 as part of the Hudson Hope Band, referred to in the 1914-1915 Indian Affairs Annual Report as "Hudson’s Hope (Beaver) 116". The West Moberly Reserve 168A was established at the same time, the same size as it is today. They had not been admitted to the treaty earlier (as other nearby nations had) because the day the Treaty Commission arrived in 1899 "conflicted with the annual hunt."[17] The Chief at the time was Chief Dokkie.[18]

In 1971, the Hudson Hope Band split and became the modern West Moberly First Nations and Halfway River First Nation.[5]

In the 1980s, West Moberly First Nations began hosting an annual celebration known as West Mo Days.[5]

On September 5, 2002, members of the Kelly Lake First Nation (KLFN), set up a blockade at the Rat Lake entrance of the Wapiti River to demand their recognition as an independent first nation, separate from the West Moberly and Saulteau First Nations.[19] Up until that point, members of KLFN had been members of the other two bands, despite KLFN having gained status in 1994.[20] A few weeks after the blockade went up, Saulteau First Nations agreed to allow KLFN to separate from them.[21]

Demographics

Population History
Date Number of band members Ref
July 2009 207 [22]
May 2016 140 (on-reserve) [23]
August 2020 348 [24]

Social, educational and cultural programs and facilities

Klinse-Za Caribou Maternity Pen

In 2014, the West Moberly First Nations and Saulteau First Nations jointly began a caribou penning project to stabilize and regrow the Klinse-Za caribou herd. The caribou populations had been devastated by industrial development in the region, including the severing of a major migration route by the construction of the W. A. C. Bennett Dam in the 1960s. The project is primarily run by members of the two founding nations, and involves the capture and transportation of pregnant caribou cows every March to the 15-hectare pen on a mountaintop in the Misinchinka Ranges, where they are tagged, protected, and cared for while their calves are young, and then released in mid-summer, once the calves are old enough to survive in the wild.[25] From an initial population of 36 animals in 2014 (including some taken from the Scott herd), the herd had grown to 95 as of July 2020. The project has received funding from crowdfunding, provincial and federal government organizations, and some resource extraction companies including TransCanada, Teck Resources, Canadian Natural Resources Limited, Spectra Energy. The project also receives technical assistance from Wildlife Infometrics Inc and West Fraser Timber.[26][27][28]

Dakii Yadze Out Of School Care Centre

As of October 2019[29] and since at least September 2011,[30] the Dakii Yadze Centre has operated a licensed child care program on weekdays to serve the families of West Moberly. The centre emphasizes holistic programming and play-based learning in its mission statement.[31]

Dunne-za Lodge

The Dunne-za Lodge is a year-round retreat destination located on the northwest shore of Moberly Lake, with 30 acres of land, cabins that are available for rent, and a meeting space. The First Nations' website states that the lodge "is used to showcase our culture, traditions, host community events, cultural healing camps and other special events hosted by West Moberly First Nations".[32]

See also

References
  1. "First Nation Detail". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  2. "First Nation Detail". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  3. "First Nation Detail". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  4. "First Nation Detail". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  5. "West Moberly First Nations celebrate 100 years". NorthEast News. NorthEast News. July 30, 2014. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  6. "Affiliated First Nations". Treaty 8 Tribal Association. Archived from the original on January 24, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  7. "Roland Willson". West Moberly First Nations. Archived from the original on June 29, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  8. "Affiliated First Nations". Treaty 8 Tribal Association. Archived from the original on December 25, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2020.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  9. "Governance". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  10. "Affiliated First Nations". Treaty 8 Tribal Association. Archived from the original on October 16, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2020.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  11. "Affiliated First Nations". Treaty 8 Tribal Association. Archived from the original on February 13, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2020.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  12. "Affiliated First Nations". Treaty 8 Tribal Association. Archived from the original on November 25, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2020.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  13. "Affiliated First Nations". Treaty 8 Tribal Association. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2020.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  14. "Chief & Council". West Moberly First Nations. Archived from the original on December 9, 2013. Retrieved August 6, 2020.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  15. "Chief & Council". West Moberly First Nations. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2020.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  16. "West Moberly First Nations". Executive Council of British Columbia. 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2009.
  17. Calverley, Dorthea. "01-119: The First Treaty Payment Day in Hudson's Hope". South Peace Historical Society. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  18. Phillips, Lee J. (April 6, 1973). "18-020: John Dokkie". South Peace Historical Society. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  19. Nielsen, Mark (September 9, 2002). "BN01-15: Kelly Lake First Nation Sets Up Blockade". South Peace Historical Society. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  20. Nielsen, Mark (September 12, 2002). "BN01-16: Kelly Lake First Nation at an Impasse". South Peace Historical Society. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  21. Nielsen, Mark (September 20, 2002). "BN01-17: Kelly Lake Settles with Saulteau". South Peace Historical Society. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  22. "West Moberly". Government of Canada. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2009.
  23. "West Moberly Lake 168A, IRI [Census subdivision], British Columbia". Statistics Canada (Table). Aboriginal Population Profile, 2016 Census. Statistics Canad. 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  24. "First Nation Detail". Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  25. Cox, Sarah (September 13, 2018). "The caribou guardians". The Narwhal. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  26. "THE KLINSE-ZA CARIBOU MATERNITY PEN". Wildlife Infometrics. 2017. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  27. Cox, Sarah (July 25, 2020). "Up close with B.C.'s endangered baby caribou — and the First Nations trying to save them". The Narwhal. Archived from the original on July 31, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  28. "Klinse-Za Caribou Maternal Release". West Moberly First Nations. Archived from the original on November 5, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  29. "Dakii Yadze Out of School Care Centre - Inspection Report". Northern Health Public Health Protection. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  30. "Dakii Yadze Out of School Care Centre - Inspection Report". Northern Health Public Health Protection. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  31. "Dakii Yadze Child Care Centre". West Moberly First Nations. Archived from the original on August 17, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  32. "Dunne-Za Lodge". West Moberly First Nations. Archived from the original on September 11, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
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