Desolation Sound Marine Provincial Park

Desolation Sound was first named this way by Captain George Vancouver. When he first sailed there, he encountered what he described as mostly abandoned Native settlements, gloomy weather and barren land.[6] It was, however, only temporarily empty due to a few factors. The first is that his visit likely came after a smallpox outbreak; second, it was the time of the year when most people would be inland hunting and gathering. Third, First Nations people were likely avoiding the Lekwiltok raiders. Another significant factor was that Vancouver’s view was influenced by “European cultural aesthetics,”[6] as he didn’t recognize most indigenous-altered landscapes as occupied by people. While Vancouver saw Desolation Sound as an unattractive and empty land, people later came to value it as full of untouched nature.[6]

The history of Desolation Sound Marine Park is intimately connected with the erasure of First Peoples’ presence from their ancestral lands.[6] What non-Indigenous people see as conservation efforts comes in direct conflict with the lives of the Sliammon First Nations (Tla'amin Nation), who used to live, hunt, gather and practice their culture on these lands. Many also see Indigenous People's presence as ruining nature's pristine emptiness. The Sliammon First Nations, however, provide an opposing narrative of unequal power relations and a homeland turned into a landscape for non-Native visitors, taken over and destroyed by outsiders. Starting from 1875, they were, over time, pushed out of their communities into small reserves, and in 1920, legislation was enacted allowing the government to unilaterally reduce allocated reserve land.[6]

As First Nations were pressured off their land, Desolation Sound once again became a wild and uninhabited paradise in the eyes of yachters and other people looking for a retreat from industrial modernity.[6] And while the Sliammon tried to continue hunting, gathering and participating in cultural activities, parts of the area were leased to non-Indigenous residents with tourists and summer residents, increasing clashes of interest between them.[6]

Summer homes were built in prime gathering and hunting locations, archeological sites, including graves, were robbed for souvenirs and environmental protection infringed on their ability to use what was left of the unoccupied land.[6] While the area was under environmental protection, only some aspects of the park environment were protected. It is only more recently that people began to value the 10000-year history of the area's Native occupants[7], who have built their lives around what Captain Vancouver called Desolation Sound. Increased tourism, however, harms the First Nations and the environment. Untreated sewage and accidental fuel leaks from homes and boats have led to toxic pollution, dangerous for marine life and those relying on seafood for sustenance[8]. As a result, the Sliammon are afraid to eat the little traditional food available to gather after the government leased their best gathering spots to oyster farmers. Overall, the Sliammon First Nations, like many others, have been harmed by the seemingly benevolent creation of parks, including the Desolation Sound Marine Park. Their identity is deeply integrated with the environment. While many still maintain the spiritual connection and use of land, it is increasingly complicated by Settler private property, tourism, pollution and ecologically protected areas.[6]

Desolation Sound Provincial Park is an important part of traditional territory for the Sliammon and Klahoose First Nations. The areas within the park contain important historical and spiritual sites which are culturally, economically, and socially important to the First Nations groups. According the BC governement, Sliammon First Nations reviewed treaty negotiation documents and provided input to the planning process which is reflected in various sections of the parks management plan.[9] In 2008, both First Nations groups (Sliammon and Klahoose) were involved in treaty negotiations with senior levels of government.[9] First Nations are able to exercise aboriginal rights subject to conservation, public safety and public health values. The final treaty may provide additional directions or changes on aboriginal rights within the park areas.[9]

First Nations Projects that investigate the connection between environmental pollutants and human health are supported by the First Nations Health Authority's Environmental pollutants Program (ECP). Its goals are to encourage capacity building and assist First Nations communities in British Columbia in addressing their environmental health challenges. The Program integrates Indigenous methods of knowing, traditional knowledge, and empirical science to support community-based research on environmental health challenges.[10]