A grand opening event was held at the Nelson Museum on Wednesday to celebrate the new Sinixt Confederacy office that opened in August at 514 Vernon St. in downtown Nelson.

The Sinixt people are an Indigenous tribe in Canada and USA. Their territory spans from north of Revelstoke, BC to Kettle Falls, WA. They were declared extinct by the Canadian government in 1956 but had their rights restored in 2021 following the R. v. Desautel Supreme Court case.

Having a confederacy office in Nelson allows the Sinixt to work in Canada on fish and wildlife issues. According to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation website, their goal is to “maintain and protect viable populations of native and desired non-native species of fish and wildlife, and their supporting habitats, while providing sufficient numbers to meet the cultural, subsistence, recreational and economic needs of the tribal membership.”

The grand opening event consisted of speeches and presentations from the Sinixt as well as a tour of the office.

Members of the Autonomous Sinixt, a group of Sinixt who reject the authority of government, including that of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, gathered outside the museum in protest.

CJLY attended the event and spoke with Cindy Marchand, the Secretary & Fisheries Chair for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

Listen to the story below: