The W̱SÁNEĆ Lands Trust Society is leading this project to restore the W̱SÁNEĆ connection to their Land and Water through the rehabilitation of 26 hectares of sacred wetland ecosystems damaged by colonial suppression of Indigenous stewardship, agriculture, development, stormwater engineering, and beaver removal.
ȾIKEL is a wetland area in what is known today as the District of Central Saanich. Before colonization, ȾIKEL was a vast peat bog of over 120 hectares, often described by W̱SÁNEĆ elders and knowledge keepers as a lake and visited to collect food, medicines, and materials. Today, ȾIKEL has been drained and subdivided for agricultural use, and the watershed has been engineered to convey water as quickly as possible out of the watershed.
From a colonial perspective, lands that failed to drain were deemed invaluable. In 2015, the District purchased an 11-hectare property to use as a stormwater detention facility, and in 2023, the 19-hectare property immediately south was returned to the W̱SÁNEĆ under the Ecological Gifts Program, making the W̱SÁNEĆ Lands Trust Society the first Indigenous organization in Canada to receive land under the program. This project provides healing opportunities for the Water, Land and W̱SÁNEĆ people and an invitation for non-W̱SÁNEĆ people to support the community, show respect and help undo the damage.
