Written by Kwilosintun / Murray Ned, Executive Director

The organization was established in 2010 but due to Covid 19 we could not gather and celebrate our 10-year anniversary in 2020.  It may or may not be coincidence that our leadership decided that we were finally ready to celebrate this year.  Ten years ago, in 2014 eighteen Lower Fraser First Nations executed their Governance Protocol, established their Society status and began their journey as a Lower Fraser entity.  Today, there are 24 First Nations affiliated with the LFFA.

None of this would have transpired with out the vision of a few of our leadership that were instrumental in recognizing that there was a need for change in our approach to fisheries, fish and our people who rely on salmon so heavily.  In the winter of 2009, three leaders, Ernie Crey, Ken Malloway and Wayne Sparrow, travelled throughout the Lower Fraser territories, meeting with all of the Nations and advocating for collaboration and re-establishing a working relationship.  Dave Moore was also a key factor in providing coordination and developing the first draft proposal to DFO.

The timing for this work couldn’t be any worse, or better, depending on your perspective as 2009 was the worst return of sockeye in recorded history.  Only 1.2 million sockeye returned of the 10 million that were forecasted by DFO.  Lower Fraser Nations did not meet their food, social and ceremonial allocations and economic opportunity fisheries did not proceed.  It was a disaster, and this element of crisis led Ken, Ernie and Wayne to seek collaboration and cooperation amongst the Nations. Their persistence and commitment resulted in Sq’eptset Siyoyes Sth’o’th’eqwi, which is our elders Halqemeylem translation and description of what was occurring as a result of their vision, “Fishers Working Together.”  You will see this statement on our original logo.

In January 2010, the eighteen First Nations had secured their first funding through the Aboriginal Aquatic Resource and Oceans Management (AAROM) program.  It was a pretty humble beginning with $30,000 available to support an Interim Coordinating Committee and Interim Coordinator to engage thirty Lower Fraser First Nations.  At that time, Jordan Point was working for DFO as the Aboriginal Affairs Advisor and was a strong advocate and secured funding for the Lower Fraser initiative before his departure from the Department.   Soon after Jordan moved on, Terri Bonnet assumed the Aboriginal Affairs Advisor and worked closely with the Nations for several years to assist with the implementation of the AAROM agreement, and many other DFO and LFFA funding initiatives.  Tonight, we also have the pleasure of having current Regional Director General,  Susan Chambers, here and we acknowledge all of her staff, past and present, for all they have contributed to the Alliance.

In September 2010 the Nations ratified a Statement of Solidarity at Shxway Village, which essentially obligated Lower Fraser First Nations to protect salmon not only in our territory, but from the Fraser River headwaters to the ocean migratory routes of Alaska.  During that time Saul Milne was working for the First Nations Fisheries Council and provided meeting facilitation and assisted with developments like the Statement of Solidarity.  In addition to Saul’s facilitation capacity, the LFFA has also been blessed with Jay Hope and Marcel Shephert’s amazing ability to facilitate our LFFA Forums and in season meetings.  They have the kind of expertise to get the most difficult of discussions to a good place in a good way.

In 2011 and 2012, the organization established an Executive Committee based on two Tribal agencies, Independent First Nations and Below Part Mann First Nations.  Our first contractor was Mike Staley, a reknowned biologist in the Province who provided exceptional technical capacity to our Nations and had the gift of translating science jargon into layman terms.  Mike was recognized for his work with Lower Fraser First Nations and later received the name S’élíyáméxw, which translates to the one who wears many hats and can predict the future.  Our first employee was a Communications Coordinator by the name of Rosalie Hope and then a Program Coordinator known as Don Simpson.  They became the core of our operations and the face of the LFFA, and one of the key reasons for our success today.

In 2014, the Nations ratified their LFFA Governance Protocol and Society entity with the help legal advisor, Brenda Gaertner who is a partner of the Mandell Pinder Law Firm.  The Governance Protocol is a structure that defines how the Nations work together in Forums and externally with government.  It also identified the terms for the Delegates, Executive Committee and general operations of the organization.  The protocol paved the path for Lower Fraser First Nations to engage effectively with DFO, other government agencies and stakeholders.

By this time, a multi year agreement and core funding of $500,000 annually was secured through DFOs AAROM program to support the engagement of thirty First Nations.  Establishing formal structures and processes continued to be major stepping stones for the organization and we relied on Brenda and her team to assist with the development and ratification of these which included:

• Data and Information Sharing agreements that clarified how our First Nations traditional knowledge would be obtained and shared with the Nations consent.

• Lower Fraser Language Policy - recognizes the distinct languages, dialects and cultures in the Lower Fraser and how and when the Lower Fraser Fisheries Alliance utilize these.

• A Protocol between the Pacific Salmon Commission, DFO and Sumas First Nation – this protocol recognized the rights of Sumas First Nation and resulted in the Mission Hydroacoustic Site terminating their vessel operations during drift fisheries. This formalized relationship with a Nation was the first of its kind for the Pacific Salmon Commission.

• Policy responses to the Salmon Allocation Policy, Fisheries Act changes and Aquaculture open net pen fish farms.

• A Nation to Nation MOU template – utilized to secure MoUs with Fraser and Marine Approach fishery organizations.

• In June of this year an MOU with the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship was executed**.** It’s anticipated that this will lead toward a multi year agreement for fish and water stewardship. Unfortunately, James Mack and Jennifer Davis could not be here this evening to represent the Province due to the election proceedings.

Brenda has worked for many Lower Fraser First Nations since the early 1990s, and she has been a strong advocate for salmon, water and healthy ecosystems.  She has been part of the LFFA family for long enough that she now shares her Mandell Pinder family with us.

• Kelsey McDermott of Mandell Pinder helped with the establishment of our development corporation, the Lower Fraser Enterprises Limited Partnership.

• And Stephen Mussel has worked with our Nations on an UNDRIP Action Plan and Tier 3 Partnership and Engagement Protocol.

While we are acknowledging legal counsel, we also want to recognize Brenda McLuhan of Ratcliffe and Company who has assisted us with numerous human resource files.

With many of these structures in place, the organization began to plan for the future and solidified its first Five-year Strategic Plan in 2015.  David Hill and Dacia Douhaibi of Cornerstone Consulting worked diligently with our staff, executive and leadership and have done two more 3-year planning cycles since.  The strategic plans provide the guidance for the Executive Committee and staff to execute accordingly.  Dacia and David will not be here tonight, but their work has been absolutely imperative for LFFA to maintain it’s sight on the objectives and deliverables laid out in each plan.

Through the planning processes it became evident that we needed to strengthen our working relationships with other First Nation organizations and over a period of four or five years we secured MoUs or Charters with the:

• First Nations Fisheries Council

• Okanagan Nations Alliance

• Island and Marine Aquatic Working Group

• Secwepemc Fisheries Commission

• Sohl Temexw Stewardship Alliance

• Fraser Valley Aboriginal Fisheries Society

• Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance and;

• Fraser Salmon Management Council

Our leadership believes these relationships are a commitment to the LFFA Statement of Solidarity and obligation to protect our salmon from the Fraser Headwaters and through out their ocean migratory routes.  The MoUs are the mechanism to set the table for the respective agencies and leadership to convene and discuss both challenges and opportunities, and tonight we will call on representatives of each organization.

While the MoUs mentioned dealt with Nation-to-Nation relationships, it became apparent that there was a need to establish a similar relationship with the Recreational and Commercial sectors.  We had spent way too many decades fighting one another on the river and in the media and as the salmon crisis escalated in recent years most realized that we were better off working together to seek opportunities for the fish and next generation.  In 2021, seven recreational agencies, the Area E Commercial sector and LFFA concluded a Terms of Reference and then shortly after concluded a strategic plan and communications protocol.  This was the creation of the Lower Fraser Collaborative Table and a much-needed venue for Recreational, Commercial and First Nation representatives.   In addition to working with Stakeholders, the LFFA would be remiss in not mentioning the relationships that have been established with many NGO partners and Academia.

Over a period of time the LFFA also worked on obtaining Indigenous Knowledge.  We weren’t sure where this initiative was going to go and there was a lot of apprehension as it was a rights-based interest that was typically a Nation led responsibility.  The Nations continued to support the concept, and we secured funding and established the Lower Fraser Aboriginal Knowledge (LFAK) project and hired a diminutive but persistent lady known as Dionne Bunsha.  She was instrumental in securing approximately 13 First Nations to obtain their aboriginal knowledge relevant to salmon, sturgeon, eulachon and steelhead.

Dionne departed from the organization, but she left the foundation for complimentary work to another project called Revitalizing Indigenous Law for Land, Air and Water (RELAW).  This project incorporates aboriginal knowledge and is a legal support program focused on the identification, application and enforcement of Indigenous law by Lower Fraser First Nations. The LFFA is extremely grateful for the partnership with West Coast Environmental Law and the RELAW program, and thank them with much gratitude for being the primary sponsor for this 10-year anniversary event.

Dionne also initiated work on spill response and flood initiatives before she left and this to was complimentary work to what has now transpired to the Emergency Planning Secretariat (EPS), which the LFFA currently hosts.  The EPS is a non-political organization that supports 31 First Nation communities, from Yale to Semiahmoo to Squamish, in improving emergency planning and preparedness at the local and regional levels.  The EPS is working toward establishing their own entity by April 2025 and the LFFA is work diligently to support that transition for the EPS to assume all the respective operational agreements.

Statements like Sq’eptset Siyoyes Sth’o’th’eqwi and our Lower Fraser Statement of Solidarity brought initial identity and meaning to the organization.  The LFFA was also blessed with the amazing creativity and artwork of Bonnie  Kruliki who designed our first LFFA logo that we nicknamed the wave and circle logos, and then Nikki Larock designed our Salmon Warrior Logo which represents the need to protect, honor and harvest salmon.

Finally, Semath First Nation and their leadership have played one of the most important roles with the establishment and sustainability of the LFFA.  They have been our host agency since the inception of our entity providing bridge funding in the early days, financial and administrative services and offices to house our growing staff.  We hold our hands up to Semath for your generosity, support and all of the expertise you have shared with us.

In closing, I want to acknowledge past and current staff, and those in particular who the three days of celebration a reality.  We have amazing employees who contribute to our Nations and the salmon with so much passion, dedication and commitment.  I and Lower Fraser leadership are grateful for all you do and as we begin to think about further growth, we are excited to share that we are developing the concept of a Lower Fraser Center for Collaboration and Cooperation.  A Center and place that could be home to not only the LFFA but other First Nation organizations, Government, NGOs, Stakeholders, Academia and Industry.   A Center that would bring all of your expertise to one venue to work on restoration, recovery and rebuilding of salmon.  We will need many partners and champions to make this a reality.