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Gwa’sala - ‘Nakwaxda’xw Trust

.The Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw Band entered into a settlement agreement with the Government of Canada on June 10, 2008. This settlement was in reaction to the Gwa'sala and 'Nakwaxda'xw relocation in the 1960s, the subsequent amalgamation of these two bands plus the Kwakiutl, the subsequent removal of the Kwakiutl from this amalgamation, and the ensuing consequences to the Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw people. Settlement funds were deposited into a trust account, to be used as a long-term asset for the use and benefit of the Band.

Trust Committee

The Trust Committee is the body responsible for administering the Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw Nation Trust on behalf of the community. They must ensure that the Trust Agreement is followed.

Chief Paddy Walkus

Trustee

Eddie Charlie

Trustee

Darryl Coon

Trustee

Lucy Scow

Trustee

Gary Walkus

Trustee

Grace Smith

Trustee

Angela Rufus

Trustee

Sandra Charlie

Trustee

Albert Charlie

Trustee

Leslie Walkus

Trust Chair

Chris Roberts

Independent Trustee

Garth Sheane

Independent Trustee

Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw Trust
Staff
The Trust Committee is authorized to hire staff to help with various aspects of administering the Trust, from overall administration and organization to communications and investment planning. 
Department Resources

The Trust Committee tries to meet monthly for committee meetings.

The Trust Committee is obligated to hold at least one all Nation Trust meeting per year, which is open to all Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw Nation Members. It is at these all Nation meeting where proposals to use Trust funds are voted upon, requiring a quorum of 25% of the Nation Membership to be present, and 50% +1 of those people to vote for or against the proposals. The Trust Committee is also obligated to provide reports and financial updates at these meetings.

If you would like to view Trust Board of Director meeting minutes or other documents held in the Trust office, please make an appointment with the Trust Chair (250) 230-0034 to meet at the Trust Office (in the Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw Elders Centre) to go over them. Because the minutes contain sensitive information, at this time they cannot be posted online, copied, or removed from the Trust office.

Projects
Trust funds are meant to be used in three ways: annual disbursements to community members, administrative costs to responsibly manage the Trust, and projects for the benefit of the community.
 
If community members have ideas for projects that they feel would be eligible for Trust funding, they must contact the Trust Chair to get a copy of the proposal template and discuss the proposal.
 
Once the template has been completed with information like project purpose, benefits of the project, budget and workplan details, and risk mitigation, the finished proposal is submitted to the Trust Committee for consideration.
 
If the Trust Committee approves the proposal (judging it against the criteria in the Trust Agreement) it then moves to a vote at an All-Nation meeting. 30 days before the meeting copies of the proposal are made available to community members for review. At the All-Nation Meeting, a quorum of eligible voters approve or reject the proposal.
Eligible Projects
  • At the time that the Trust Agreement was written, the following types of projects were suggested:
    • Scholarship and bursary funds for vocational training, post-secondary school education and other training or education programs
    • School facilities
    • Housing for members including new houses, upgrades to existing houses, upgrading of village streets and sidewalks, landscaping, and like housing elements
    • Cemetery
    • Health care for members
    • Construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, ditches, water courses, fences, Nation buildings or permanent improvements or works on the Nations reserves
    • Construction of facilities for members including, as the needs may reasonably require, elders’ housing complex, counseling and rehabilitation centre, health clinic, meeting house, cultural longhouse and like facilities
    • Social, cultural and recreational purposes
    • Fishing endeavours, for which may reasonable be required the following: boats, licenses, quotas, net and gear storage facility, seawall, breakwater and floats
    • If viable under a business plan, to promote or establish a business or commercial operation owned by the Nation or a Nation Corporation
    • Economic development including Corporations controlled by the Nation

Current and past Trust Projects

The Primary task of our committee is to review proposals to use the Trust funds for community projects which must benefit the whole community, and if the project proposal meets certain criteria, the proposal is taken to an all band meeting for voting.