QENET SḴÁ¸PEȽ TŦE SȾÁUTW̱
(QEN,T STEWARDSHIP GATHERING)
September 23–25, 2025
This gathering will bring together Indigenous leaders, knowledge holders and technical staff from across the west coast. Taking place September 23–25, 2025, this three-day event will host approximately 100 participants from First Nations working toward or exploring Indigenous- led stewardship and governance. Hosted at SȾÁUTW̱ First Nation, 7728 Tetayut Rd. Saanichton, BC, the gathering will showcase SȾÁUTW̱’s leadership through presentations on our QEN,T Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA), Marine Use Law, Stewardship Program, and Seaweed Farming initiative. We will also welcome esteemed panelists who are leaders in Indigenous stewardship, each bringing their own unique perspectives and valuable insights to the gathering. The agenda includes field trips, keynote talks, panels, strategy sessions, and peer-to-peer learning, with cultural practice woven throughout. Elders and youth will lead ceremonies and activities grounded in W̱SÁNEĆ teachings and ways of being.
Participants will leave with:
FIELD TRIPS
whale
watching
Hop on a whale watching trip with Sidney Whale Watching owned by SȾÁUTW̱ First Nation. Enjoy the sites of our beautiful marine territory including whales, sea lions, seals, river otters and seabirds. More details on the trip will be provided following your registration.
Land-based
Tour
T̸IX̱EṈ (Cordova Spit) is a sacred site that is home to sensitive ecosystems, rare plants and medicines. Please join us for a tour of this place provided by ĆȺSEMOT (Jennifer Claxton).
SȾÁUTW̱ staff will also take you to our Salt Marsh and describe the monitoring and restoration efforts that are taking place to restore the natural ecological processes of this area.
Representatives from Guardians of Our Salish Estuaries (GOOSE) will also provide insight into the impacts associated with geese and the importance of goose management
QEN,T MPA and Seaweed Farm Boat Tour
Join SȾÁUTW̱ staff on a tour of our Marine Protected Area (MPA) QEN,T. We will drive past our seaweed farm that is owned and operated in partnership with Cascadia Seaweed. We will tour past our marine data collection buoy that provides critical information that supports the work carried out by SȾÁUTW̱’s Fisheries Team. We will also demonstrate some of the techniques we use for monitoring QEN,T including Dungeness crab surveys.
Partners
More Partners Coming Soon.
Learn More About IPCAs – Indigenous Protected Conservation Areas
Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) are territories and natural areas designated for conservation that are led and managed by Indigenous peoples. These areas reflect the Indigenous communities’ traditional knowledge, cultural practices, and legal systems. The primary aim of IPCAs is not only to safeguard the biodiversity and ecological integrity of these lands but also to maintain and enhance Indigenous ways of life and spiritual connections to the land.
IPCAs are increasingly recognized as a vital part of global conservation efforts because they contribute to the preservation of extensive areas of relatively undisturbed natural landscapes and the diverse species that inhabit them.
QEN,T Marine Protected Area Declaration
We, the leadership, and saltwater people of the SȾÁUTW̱ First Nation, being the holders of Douglas Treaty and Aboriginal rights and title in our unceded traditional lands, waters, and skies, do hereby declare the QEN,T Marine Protected Area (MPA), as shown in the attached map.
This Declaration is made in accordance with our inherent rights and our laws, customs, traditions, values, principles, and inherent stewardship responsibilities, including the responsibility to follow the SȾÁUTW̱ First Nation Marine Use Law.
This Declaration is made in accordance with our Douglas Treaty and Aboriginal rights, which are recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 and reinforced by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
This Declaration is made in recognition of the many spiritual and cultural places, medicine and gathering places, fishing stations, village sites and burial sites within the QEN,T MPA, to which SȾÁUTW̱ First Nation has a sacred and enduring connection.
This Declaration is made to uphold our ancestral responsibilities, to prevent further infringement of our right to carry on our fisheries as formerly, to reverse cultural erosion and the trend of declining and mismanaged fisheries, and to provide sustainable and resilient fisheries for future generations.
This Declaration confirms our commitment to restoring and maintaining the ecological health and the natural resources within the MPA for sustainable cultural, traditional, and economic uses for the benefit of the Coast Salish people and the communities with whom we have ongoing, respectful, and developing relationships.
