CHIEF & COUNCIL

The Tsawout Band’s leadership consists of elected members of the community that make up the Chief and Council.

Elections are currently held bi-annually, with the most recent election of July 05, 2023. The current leadership are:

Chief: Abraham Pelkey

Council:

  • George Horne
  • Blake Joseph
  • Samantha Etzel
  • John Etzel
  • Harvey Underwood
  • Stanley Sam
  • Donald Williams
  • John Wilson
Chief
Abraham Pelkey
Councillor
George Horne
Councillor
Samantha Etzel
Councillor
John Etzel
Councillor
ŦELȻILEM – Blake Joseph
Councillor
Harvey Underwood
Councillor
Stanley Sam
Councillor
Donald Williams
Councillor
John Wilson

SȾÁUTW̱ First Nation is honouring our traditional language by updating our logo to reflect the SENĆOŦEN spelling. This decision affirms our cultural identity and also honours the work by our Elders and Language Champions to keep our language alive. By celebrating the revival of our language, we also emphasize the importance of preserving our heritage for future generations.

OUR COMMUNITY

The Tsawout First Nation is one of five bands that constitute the Saanich Nation. The other bands of the Saanich Nation are Tsartlip, Tseycum, Malahat and Pauquachin.

East Saanich IR No. 2, the Tsawout First Nation main village, is about 15 minutes north of the City of Victoria and lies on the east side of the Saanich Peninsula. The village (“reserve”)  can be accessed via Highway 17 – Pat Bay Highway. We have a population of 1600 people living in Tsawout (year 2006 est.) with approximately 1/3 of the population being registered band members, and others being residents who are leasing lands from landowners.

East Saanich IR No. 2 is approximately 241 hectares in size. There are single family residential, and leased modular homes, band administration and commercial developments. The commercial developments include motels, restaurants, offices and gas stations. We have  a community water and sewer system in place. Our water system is supplied by the Peninsula Water Commission, and Tsawout has its own sewage treatment facility.