The following report outlines the results of a comprehensive Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment project for the proposed Bamberton Town Development, situated on the west side of Saanich Inlet, within the Cowichan Valley Regional District of southern Vancouver Island and within the traditional territories of the Saanich, Malahat and Cowichan First Nations. The project also included a year-long consultation process between the proponents of the project, the project consulting team, the Environmental Assessment Office of the Province of B.C. and six local First Nations who have an interest in the proposed Bamberton Development. The scope and nature of heritage impact assessment studies and First Nations consultations is outlined, in some detail, in a following section of the report.
The study was conducted under the auspices of The Bastion Group Heritage Consultants of Duncan, B.C., with a study team of five individuals under the overall direction and coordination of Bjorn Simonsen, the Principal of The Bastion Group. The other four members of the consulting team included Sandra Peacock (Ethnobotanist and Ethnologist), Jim Haggerty (Archaeologist), Frank Duerden (Socio-economic aspects) and Jonathan Secter of Secter Environmental Services (environmental and ecological considerations). The cultural heritage impact assessment process and consultation aspects of the study were managed by a First Nations Project Management Committee made up of the elected Chief Councillors of six local First Nations who claim traditional territories and interests in the area which includes the Bamberton Development project lands.
The work of the consulting team and the Project Management Committee was guided by the terms of a Letter of Understanding, between South Island Development Corporation (later Greystone Properties Ltd.) the proponent of the proposed Bamberton Town Development project and the First Nations Management Committee. A copy of the Letter of Understanding is included as Appendix I of this report. It should be noted, that this document makes it clear that the project was to be managed by the First Nations Management Committee with the consulting team reporting to the project proponent and Environmental Assessment Office through this committee. It is also noted here, that the original proponent for the Bamberton Town Development project was the South Island Development Corporation, of Victoria, B.C., acting as agent for South Island Investments Ltd. The latter is a consortium of trade union pension funds who are the owners of the so-called Bamberton lands. During the fall of 1996, South Island Development Corporation relinquished its management responsibility for the Bamberton project and this was taken up by Greystone Properties Ltd. of Vancouver, B.C. Contract administration and the disbursement of funds for the project being reported on here was initially handled by the South Island Development Corporation and later by Greystone Properties Ltd. as the project proponent.
It should be noted that the study was carried out under the auspices of the Environmental Assessment Act of British Columbia (Bill 29), which was proclaimed on June 30th, 1995. This legislation created a process for the assessment of environmental, economic, social, cultural, heritage and health effects of a wide variety of major development proposals within the province of B.C. The Bamberton Town Development project was the first project to come under the auspices of the Environmental Assessment Act and its environmental assessment process. As such, the Environmental Assessment Office, based in Victoria, B.C., has had a continual involvement in the present study. In early November of 1994, the Environmental Assessment Office set up a Project Committee to oversee various studies associated with the proposed Bamberton Town Development Project. The project management committee set up to administer and oversee the study being reported on here, was created out of this overall process.
One of the foremost requirements of the terms of reference for the Bamberton Cultural Heritage project emphasized direct and meaningful involvement of local First nations groups and individuals in the study process. First Nations consultations, research and field investigations associated with the Bamberton project Cultural Heritage Study, began in May of 1996, and are continuing beyond the completion date of this report which represents the final product of the study and is intended to provide a Management Plan for the future protection and preservation of First Nations cultural, spiritual and ceremonial values and interests associated with the Bamberton lands and its environs.
The nature of consultations included both individual and group consultations and interview sessions between members of the First Nations community and the Study Team, as well as direct involvement by First Nations groups in the management of the study. The latter was achieved through the establishment of a First Nations Management Committee composed of the elected Chief Councillors of the six local First Nations who have a primary interest in the proposed Bamberton Town Development Project. These were the Malahat Indian Band, Tsartlip Indian Band, Pauquachin Indian Band, Tseycum Indian Band, Tsawout Indian Band, and the Cowichan Tribes. The Project Management Committee was chaired by Chief Roy Daniels of the Malahat Indian Band. The Committee also appointed two project co-facilitators to carry out liaison work with elders, the consulting team, the proponents and the Environmental Assessment Office. The co-facilitators were Randy Daniels (Malahat Band), and Tom Sampson (Tsartlip Band).
The Management Committee structure is a unique aspect of the Bamberton Cultural Heritage Study in that it provided a meaningful process for direct First Nations involvement in the management and process for the study and also provided a means of communication between all interest groups, including First Nations, the project proponent, the Consulting Team and the Environmental Assessment Office. Meetings of the Management Committee were open to members of the First Nations communities and it was not uncommon for committee meetings to function as open forums for the discussion of issues and for information about traditional land-uses and spiritual practices. Elders from the six First Nations regularly attended meetings of the Management Committee.
The Management Committee structure and process has been hailed as a model for how planning for major land development projects (like the Bamberton Town Development Project) can proceed with meaningful First Nations participation. The concluding section of this report discusses some of the potentials for applying the model elsewhere and how the Bamberton Project "experience" could act as a precursor to greater First Nations participation in regional land-use planning.
The Bamberton Project Cultural Heritage Study was guided by two Terms of Reference documents. The first of these was included in an October 25, 1995 "Proposed Bamberton Town Development Project Report Specifications" document prepared by the Bamberton Project Committee of the Environmental Assessment Office (see Environmental Assessment Office, 1995). This outline provided detailed information on all aspects of the proposed Bamberton project and listed all of the components of the various impact assessment studies required for the project to proceed. First Nations Issues was one of seven major study categories. The First Nations study was to include:
A more detailed Terms of Reference document accompanied the January 12, 1996 Request for Proposals from the Environmental Assessment Office. The RFP called for a study that would:
assess the potential impact of the proposed Bamberton Town Development project on both traditional and contemporary aboriginal land use and occupation in areas that will be directly, or indirectly affected should the project proceed, as presently planned.
This was to be accomplished by a study that would carry out the following tasks and objectives:
The January, 1996, RFP defined the study area in terms of three zones of potential impact (a Direct Impact Zone, an Ancillary Impact Zone and a Regional Impact Zone) and set out the requirements fore the study to be managed and coordinated jointly by the "Lead Consultant and a First Nations Management Committee." The role of the Management Committee was described, as follows:
The Management Committee will be responsible for ensuring that all First nations stakeholders are fully consulted and informed about the Bamberton Aboriginal Heritage Assessment Project and that the Lead Consultant completes all tasks and activities required for the successful completion of their research and consultations. The Management Committee will also be responsible for the flow of information between First nations stakeholders, the Lead Consultant, the Environmental Assessment Office and the Project Proponent. To assist in this task, the committee will retain the services of a Translator and an Interpreter, as may be required from time to time.
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Last Updated: 8/31/98