November 26, 2009
By Keven Drews, The Canadian Press
TOFINO, B.C. - A Vancouver Island First Nation says members will occupy a former residential school in an effort to "claim back" the property from a Catholic missionary order.
John Frank, chief councillor of the Ahousaht First Nation, said Thursday that hereditary chiefs made the decision after land-sale negotiations with the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate fell through recently.
The land in question is owned by the order and is located on Meares Island at Kakawis, in Clayoquot Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
The area was the site of a residential school built a century ago. Most recently, a drug and alcohol treatment centre operated on the property but that has moved and last year, the band announced plans to develop a resort and spa in the area.
"We're going to claim it. We're going to claim it back," Frank said.
Frank said the band would make a decision on when it would take the action during an upcoming community meeting.
The band says the church was allowed use of the site "until that purpose no longer met their needs," and it says there are burial sites in Kakawis, part of its traditional territory.
"If there's going to be a fight about it, by God, there's going to be a good fight," said Frank.
"The chiefs are moving home. They're going to move into Kakawis that's rightfully theirs."
An Oblates official confirmed the missionary group and the Ahousaht had been in talks about the sale of the property "at some point," but he declined to say more, citing confidentiality.
Rob Meilleur, chief administrative officer of the order, said the order has dealt with the Ahousaht and other local First Nations in good faith over the years.
"I'm sitting here in awe and I'm just disappointed," said Meilleur.
"We own the property. We have the title to the property."
He declined to say who the order is now negotiating with and whether or not that party was another local First Nation. The Tla-o-qui-aht also maintain a community on Meares Island.
Asked if they had ruled out a land sale to the Ahousaht, Meilleur said any negotiations with the band were confidential.
A call seeking comment from the Tla-o-qui-aht was not returned and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Victoria also declined to comment.
"We can't comment on somebody else's negotiations and land," said Leah MacKenzie, a diocese spokesperson.
Last year, the Ahousaht announced plans to develop a $63.5-million resort in Clayoqout Sound. A press release called the project the Kakawis Wilderness Resort and Spa and the Cypre Valley Recreation and Conservation Reserve.
Frank said the band offered the Oblates about $1 million for about 120 hectares of land - an offer the Oblates turned down about a month ago.
The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate is a congregation of Catholic priests and brothers and operates in 71 countries around the world.
Founded in 1816 by St. Eugene de Mazenod, the Oblates arrived in Canada in 1841. They work with ethnic minorities, immigrants and First Nations people across the country.