Williams Lake First Nation has received a formal apology from the Canadian government for being displaced from its village lands at the west end of Williams Lake in the 1800s. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered the apology in person in Ottawa on Monday, Nov. 25 to Chief Willie Sellars, councillors Ann Louie, Shae Chelsea, Dancing Water Sandy and elder Amy Sandy. 

Trudeau said an apology is a deeply important step.

"It's about taking responsibility in large part for what happened decades ago, but it is also about commitment. A commitment we make to recognize the past, recognize the errors of the past, but commit to learning from them and not just making right on them, but learning to never make them again." 

The official apology was read out by Trudeau, in which he said by being displaced from the village lands by settlers, the people of WLFN lost access to a variety of resources year-round.

Canada did not protect or compensate WLFN for any of the village lands, he said.

Before the apology was read out, Chief Sellars thanked the Trudeau government for working with WLFN on its specific claims process which brought the community $135 million. 

The funds have been invested into a community trust and grown to more than $150 million, he said. 

"It gives us a fighting chance, levelling that playing field and allows us to do some amazing things." 

Following the event, Chief Sellars sent a statement to Black Press Media.

鈥淭his was an important day for Williams Lake First Nation and other First Nations. Acknowledging that there has been mistreatment by government, and that mistreatment has caused harm to our people is meaningful. Bringing the truth to light is a critical part of reconciliation. There is still much work to be done, but WLFN will continue to do what it can to further the process of healing. We expect the governments of Canada and British Columbia to do the same. "

贰濒诲别谤&苍产蝉辫;础尘测&苍产蝉辫;厂补苍诲测&苍产蝉辫;谤别补诲&苍产蝉辫;补&苍产蝉辫;迟谤补苍蝉濒补迟别诲&苍产蝉辫;惫别谤蝉颈辞苍&苍产蝉辫;辞蹿&苍产蝉辫;迟丑别&苍产蝉辫;补辫辞濒辞驳测&苍产蝉辫;颈苍&苍产蝉辫;厂别肠飞别辫别尘肠&苍产蝉辫;濒补苍驳耻补驳别,&苍产蝉辫;飞丑颈肠丑&苍产蝉辫;罢谤耻诲别补耻&苍产蝉辫;蝉补颈诲&苍产蝉辫;飞补蝉&苍产蝉辫;惫别谤测&苍产蝉辫;颈尘辫辞谤迟补苍迟&苍产蝉辫;补蝉&苍产蝉辫;颈迟&苍产蝉辫;颈蝉&苍产蝉辫;辞苍别&苍产蝉辫;辞蹿&苍产蝉辫;迟丑别&苍产蝉辫;肠辞耻苍迟谤测鈥檚&苍产蝉辫;尘补苍测&苍产蝉辫;濒补苍驳耻补驳别蝉.&苍产蝉辫;

Coun. Dancing Water Sandy presented Trudeau with a beaded pendant created by Secwepemc artist Lisa McAlpine depicting the Canadian Flag. 

鈥沦丑别&苍产蝉辫;肠谤别补迟别诲&苍产蝉辫;迟丑颈蝉&苍产蝉辫;驳颈蹿迟&苍产蝉辫;飞颈迟丑&苍产蝉辫;迟颈尘别,鈥�&苍产蝉辫;蝉丑别&苍产蝉辫;迟辞濒诲&苍产蝉辫;丑颈尘.&苍产蝉辫;鈥淢补测&苍产蝉辫;测辞耻&苍产蝉辫;飞别补谤&苍产蝉辫;颈迟&苍产蝉辫;颈苍&苍产蝉辫;驳辞辞诲&苍产蝉辫;丑别补濒迟丑&苍产蝉辫;补苍诲&苍产蝉辫;颈苍&苍产蝉辫;办颈苍诲苍别蝉蝉.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Responding, Trudeau presented Chief Sellars with a framed art piece that he said represented family and culture and a commitment to future generations. 

The ceremony ended with Sellars and the other WLFN members singing and drumming the Honour Song. 

罢丑别测&苍产蝉辫;飞颈濒濒&苍产蝉辫;蝉迟补测&苍产蝉辫;颈苍&苍产蝉辫;翱迟迟补飞补&苍产蝉辫;蹿辞谤&苍产蝉辫;补&苍产蝉辫;罢耻别蝉诲补测&苍产蝉辫;别惫别苍颈苍驳&苍产蝉辫;蝉肠谤别别苍颈苍驳&苍产蝉辫;辞蹿&苍产蝉辫;厂耻驳补谤&苍产蝉辫;颁补苍别,&苍产蝉辫;迟丑别&苍产蝉辫;诲辞肠耻尘别苍迟补谤测&苍产蝉辫;补产辞耻迟&苍产蝉辫;厂迟.&苍产蝉辫;闯辞蝉别辫丑鈥檚&苍产蝉辫;惭颈蝉蝉颈辞苍&苍产蝉辫;滨苍诲颈补苍&苍产蝉辫;搁别蝉颈诲别苍迟颈补濒&苍产蝉辫;厂肠丑辞辞濒.&苍产蝉辫;

Members of the community watched a livestream of the apology from the Elizabeth Grouse Gymnasium at Williams Lake First Nation's Sugar Cane community. 

In an interview with Black Press Media, WLFN Coun. Chris Wycotte, who has been working on WLFN鈥檚 land claim for 30 years, said receiving the compensation and apology brought him a sigh of relief.  

鈥淚t was a long journey, there was a lot of ups and downs,鈥� Wycotte said, remembering how the community celebrated wins several times throughout the process only to face new obstacles.  

The process to receive compensation and an apology from the federal government started off after Wycotte found records which provided documented evidence of WLFN land being illegally taken away from its people. At the time, Wycotte was doing research into the nation鈥檚 traditional land use and culture as WLFN was working on joining the British Columbia Treaty Process.  

鈥淚 credit the treaty process for bringing this claim to light. If it wasn鈥檛 for us getting into the process the claim might have never been uncovered,鈥� he said.  

WLFN brought forward a land claim and was twice rejected by the federal government, but the Indian Claims Commission later ruled the nation鈥檚 case was legitimate. It was recommended the federal government negotiate a settlement with WLFN, but this did not happen.  

The nation then turned to the new Specific Claims Tribunal, which agreed WLFN鈥檚 claim was legitimate. This meant negotiating a settlement was not simply a recommendation, it was legally binding. Victory was short lived, however, because the federal government brought the case to the federal court of appeal, and the decision was overturned.  

In 2018, the Supreme Court brought an end to the process by reinstating the tribunal鈥檚 decision. Wycotte said this was precedent setting.  

鈥淲e didn't only win for ourselves,鈥� Wycotte said, because this was the first claim from pre-confederation which was successful. 

鈥淚t was a really big win...we kicked the door down for the rest of the First Nations across Canada,鈥� he said.  

Trudeau鈥檚 apology was the final step in the settlement and Wycotte said the nation can now close the file. However, he said actions are stronger than words, and after 30 years of legal battles, he thinks WLFN deserves a stronger apology.  

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think they...really have a good understanding of what they did,鈥� Wycotte said about the federal government. He also said the apology was too little too late, as many of the elders who contributed their oral histories which were key to winning the case are no longer around to witness today鈥檚 apology.  

Wycotte said he hopes these elders can be memorialized, as the successful claim means WLFN can build a stronger and healthier community for generations to come. 

With files from Monica Lamb-Yorski