CALL NUMBER: T4356:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1979-02-16 SUMMARY: Squamish Chiefs. Chief Joe Capilano. Other Squamish Chiefs. CALL NUMBER: T4356:0001 - 0014 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1979 SUMMARY: Interviews with Louis Miranda covering a variety of topics, including Squamish chiefs, Indian dancing, Indian agents, fishing, bootlegging, canneries, logging, and Christianity.

CALL NUMBER: T4356:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1979-03-02 SUMMARY: The Durieu System. Indian agents. Indian dancing. Kitsilano sale.

CALL NUMBER: T4356:0003 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1979-03-07 and/or 10 SUMMARY: Kitsilano sale. Squamish River fishing. Fishing rights activity. Kitsilano sale, 1913. Fishing meetings, ca. 1920.

CALL NUMBER: T4356:0004 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1979-03-16 SUMMARY: Longshoring, North Vancouver; unions; meeting with John Oliver. Enlistments -- World War One & Two; conscription. Ditchburn hops.

CALL NUMBER: T4356:0005 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1979-03-30 SUMMARY: Hop camps. Berry-picking in Washington.

CALL NUMBER: T4356:0006 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1979-04-06 SUMMARY: Canneries: Great Northern, St. Mungo, Terra Nova. Dr. D. Bell-Irving. Bootlegging; "Siwash". Vancouver underworld. Squamish hop ranch? Moodyville biography [or] directory.

CALL NUMBER: T4356:0007 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1979-04-12 SUMMARY: Squamish amalgamation. Logging. Squamish Valley. One Big Union.

CALL NUMBER: T4356:0008 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1979-04-27 SUMMARY: Squamish personal names. Royal Commission. Kitsilano history. Canneries. Hand logging. Half breeds [sic] at Moodyville [School?]. 1876 census.

CALL NUMBER: T4356:0009 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1979-05-04 SUMMARY: Commercial fishing. Dock workers and unions. Moodyville half breeds [sic]. Drinking: then and now. Up Squamish whites. Indian houses. Oblate priests. Hyass Joe, Andy Paull, Simon Pierre.

CALL NUMBER: T4356:0010 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1979-05-07 SUMMARY: Confirmations and bishops' visits. Funeral practices. Signs and warning of death. Medical services. Political protests. Fishing right -- Charlie case, 1925. Relief payments.

CALL NUMBER: T4356:0011 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1979-06-01 SUMMARY: Living conditions, 1914-1945: World War One, Depression, World War Two. Squamish Bands funds and welfare. Work and welfare/relief. Work of early Chiefs. Squamish Jim. Big Flu epidemic, 1918-1919. Smallpox. Medical services.

CALL NUMBER: T4356:0012 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1979-10-10 SUMMARY: Squamish Chiefs. Brass bands. Early elections. Councillors. Timber sales.

CALL NUMBER: T4356:0013 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1979-10-24 SUMMARY: Fishing, Squamish River. Squamish funeral ceremonies, 20th century. Potlatches amd namings. Spuds. Various Chiefs.;

CALL NUMBER: T4356:0014 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1979-11-22 SUMMARY: Important events. Settlement at Mission Indian Reserve. Church and Christianity. Amalgamation. Drugs and alcohol. Land question. Andy Paull.

The item is a letter to Arthur Welllington Clah of Fort Simpson, from A.P. Swinford, Governor of Alaska, concerning the migration of native peoples from British Columbia to Alaska, 1887.

The item consists of handwritten copies of a lecture on the Indians title to the lands of B.C. It was given by Rev. A.E. O'Meara and delivered at Aberdeen School, Vancouver, April 22nd, 1910.

Transcript of conference of Dr. Duncan C. Scott, Deputy Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs of the Dominion of Canada, and W.E. Ditchburn, Chief Inspector of Indian Agencies of British Columbia with the Executive Committee of the Allied Indian Tribes of British Columbia.

Copied from photocopy loaned by Duane Thomson, Okanagan College, Penticton.

The item is a microfiche copy of a thesis by Naneen Ethyl Grace Stuckey titled "Tsimshian testimony before the Royal Commission on Indian Affairs for the province of British Columbia (1913-1916)." x, 169 leaves: maps, tables. Thesis (M.A.), University of Victoria, 1981. Vita. Bibliography: leaves 152-155. Canadian theses on microfiche, 55915.

Interim report (not printed) to the Minister of the Interior and Superintendent General of Indian Affairs. (Henderson No. 162).

Purchased from Micro Media, Toronto.

Transcripts of evidence taken at hearings of the Royal Commission on Indian Affairs in British Columbia, 1913-1916. See GR-1995.

Transcripts 1914-1915 35 cm

Transcripts of evidence taken at hearings of the Royal Commission on Indian Affairs in British Columbia, 1913-1916 (GR-1995, Royal Commission on Indian Affairs for the Province of British Columbia (1913-1916).

NOTE TO RESEARCHERS: The transcripts in this unit were done by a Youth Employment Programme project in 1978 for the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs. The Provincial Archives does not guarantee the accuracy of the transcripts. For further details, please read H.R. Ralston's account in box 1, file 1.

Source: MS Finding Aids

Presented by Keith Ralston, Supervisor of transcription project, 1979.

Finding aid: file list.

The records in this series consist of correspondence and reports inward to the Provincial Secretary from the Joint Indian Reserve Commission (Alexander Caulfield Anderson, Dominion Commissioner, Archibald McKinlay, Provincial Commissioner, and Gilbert Malcolm Sproat, Joint Commissioner). The records include reports; summaries of work; minutes of decision; census of Indian population, livestock and acreage of reserves; and two memoranda dated 1869 by J.W. Trutch regarding disputes about Indian lands in Cowichan district.

Copies of correspondence inward to the Lieutenant Governor from the Commissioners and certain correspondence with Dominion Officials is also included in the record. The records are as originally filed. In most cases, the original Provincial Secretary's file number may be seen on the first document in a file, eg., for file 3 the number is 664/76, representing the 664 document received in the year 1876.

This series consists of Joint Indian Reserve Commission records, 1877-1878. Records include correspondence inward and outward and memoranda between Commissioners G.M. Sproat, A. McKinlay and A.C. Anderson and the Provincial Secretary and Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.

This series consists of a typed document entitled "Notes on Indian Land Question, British Columbia" Prepared by David Borthwick. Consists of 3 typescripts, one with annotations.

This series consists of the records of the Indian Reserve Commission (Joint Reserve Commission) relating to the allotment and establishment of Indian Reserves in British Columbia. Includes journal of proceedings (1877) and letterbook copies of correspondence outward (1876-1910).

Records related to land disputes arising from conflicting claims and applications for the purchase of unsurveyed lands and pastoral lands in the vicinity of Port Simpson, Coast Land District. Includes correspondence, applications, sketches, and a copy of a report of the Executive Council dated 13 May 1891.

This series contains departmental general correspondence files, 1917-1922, pertaining to Songhees land in Victoria. Files, which had been alienated from the Railway Dept. filing system (also see GR-0817) and transferred to the Dept. of Lands, include Railway file 53.3 "Songhees industrial leases", 53.4 "Foundation Company--Imperial Munitions Board" and parts of 53.5 "Johnson Street Bridge". The series also contains two agreements (1917, 1919) involving the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway.

This series consists of reports (not printed) of Joint Commissioner Malcolm Sproat of the Indian Reserve Commission to the Dominion Minister of the Interior, 1876-1877.

Records of British Columbia Indian Agencies; letterbooks, letters inward, subject files, general administration files, agents' journals, constable's reports, agricultural and industrial statistics, correspondence re Royal Commission on Indian Affairs for the Province of British Columbia (1913-1916). Includes Alert Bay (1891-1909, 1913-1914), Babine (1888-1905), Bella Coola (1915-1921), Cowichan (1881-1948), Kamloops (1888-1915), Kootenay (1906-1919), New Westminster (1897-1922), Queen Charlotte (1888-1923), Stuart Lake (1910-1919), and West Coast (1895-1920) Indian Agencies. From volumes 1325-1328, 1336-1392, 1442-1449 1451-1495, 1563-1567, 1583-1591, 1648-1654, 1658-1665, Record Group 10.

Reasons for judgement of the Honourable Chief Justice Allan McEachern in the case of Delgamuukw, also known as Ken Muldoe, suing on his own behalf and on behalf of all members of the House of Delgamuukw and others vs. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the province of British Columbia and the Attorney General of British Columbia. Case no. 843/1984 (Smithers registry), heard at Vancouver, B.C., July 6-7, 1989.

The series consists of minutes of decision of the Joint Indian Reserve Commission (1876-1878) of governments of Canada and British Columbia and of the Indian Reserve Commission (1878-1907) of the government of Canada regarding allotment of Indian reserves in British Columbia.

Records consist of correspondence, memoranda, reports and coloured maps of the reserve allotments. Although these records are called Joint Reserve Commission records, they probably form part of the British Columbia Department of Lands and Works fonds. Most of the records are stamped with the Lands and Works Dept. stamp and also have Lands and Works file numbers assigned to each, after they were received from the Commission. Some files then had additional related records added to by Department staff, as reserves were surveyed or related issues came up. Additional records were added to several files by Department of Lands staff up to 1949.

In addition, the series includes an item level precis of each document, created by the Dept. of Lands in 1980. The precis are filed in the first file of each box.

Edited typescript of an interview of the Executive Council (Premier McBride, Hon. Dr. Young, Hon. Price Ellison, Hon. Thomas Taylor and Hon. A.E. McPhillips) with Indians, Chief B.P. Kelly from Hartley Bay, Chief John Chilheetsa of Douglas Lake and Sub-chief George Quakatston of the Cowichans representing all Indians of the province. The Indians make an appeal for justice regarding ownership of the land. McBride responds. J.A. Teit acts as interpreter. [From 1975-1998 this was called Add.MSS. 115.]

CALL NUMBER: T1707:0076 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Bill Bennett: Addresses Social Credit convention RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1977-11-04 [or 5?] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Premier Bill Bennett addresses the 1977 Social Credit provincial convention. He says that the purpose of Social Credit was not just to defeat the NDP, but to provide a better life for the people of the province. Outlines accomplishments of the Social Credit government: aid to seniors, universal pharmacare, extended health care, hospital construction, education reform, recreational facilities, juvenile law reform, anti-drug program, ombudsman, quarterly financial reports, auditor general, crown corporations, Reporting Act, better relations with municipalities, better relations with the government of Canada. Talks about federal/provincial ferries agreement, DREE agreement, ARDA agreement, BCR agreement; pledges not to abandon BCR; praises cabinet ministers and Social Credit MLAs; says Social Credit government is a team effort; says the government has an economic plan for BC; mining policy. TRACK 2: Forestry policy; new investment in the forest industry; says BC and Alberta are bright spots in Canada; one of the best records of new job creation in Canada; best record of man days lost due to strikes and lockouts in recent history in BC; discusses positive economic impact of the Alcan pipeline; demands national economic plan, cuts in government spending; calls for national unity. November 4 [or 5?], 1977.

CALL NUMBER: T1707:0077 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Bill Bennett: "Ask the Cabinet" question and answer session at Social Credit convention RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1977-11-03 or 04 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: An "Ask the Cabinet" question-and-answer session at the 1977 Social Credit convention, moderated by Premier Bill Bennett. Questions regarding child custody hearings; seat belt legislation; enforcement of labour legislation; ferry workers; property tax rates versus mill rates; [interruption as a pie is thrown in Bill Vander Zalm's face]; recreation grants, Vancouver Finlandia club; plans to make the BC economy more productive; pollution in Okanagan Lake; seat belt legislation; comments of Judge L. Bewley regarding women; decentralization of the court system. TRACK 2: Questions regarding government accountability to the convention; decrease in number in non-residential hunters; release of agricultural land from government to farmer and land leasing; Vancouver-Kitimat ferry service; Indian land claims, including Nishga claims; new campsites; why the Lord's Day Act is not enforced; auto insurance rates; balanced budgeting; impaired driving; education priorities; universities; advertising in English textbooks; monorail rapid transit. November 3 or 4, 1977. [Continues on T1707:0077.]

CALL NUMBER: T1707:0078 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Bill Bennett: "Ask the Cabinet" question and answer session at Social Credit convention (cont'd) RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1977-11-03 or 04 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: [Continues from T1707:0077, track 2.] Questions regarding corporation capital tax; penalties against impaired drivers for causing death in accidents; culpability of union members for damage or injury due to job action; money for university education; core curriculum; difficulties in getting a small company going. November 3 or 4, 1977. [TRACK 2: blank.]

The series consists of three photograph albums created by the Royal Commission on Indian Affairs between 1913 and 1916. The albums may have been created as display or presentation albums for specific commissioners. Many of the photographs in the albums duplicate each other and were also used in the published report of the commission.

The series consists of transcripts of court proceedings, cross-examinations, examination of discovery, exhibit indices, closing statements, briefs, and reasons for judgement of Delgamuukw v. The Queen. The case was heard in the Smithers Supreme Court between 1987 and 1989 (case file 0843). Following the hearings in Smithers, the case reached the BC Court of Appeal and eventually made its way to the Supreme Court of Canada where a landmark ruling was finally issued in 1997.

The transcripts of the proceedings at trial, which consist of 369 spiral-bound volumes, provide a wealth of information on First Nations genealogies, traditional resource knowledge, and language, as well as details of the extent of traditional territories. The series consists of more than 23,000 pages of trial transcript and includes the testimonies of more than 60 witnesses. The series also includes the reasons for judgment. Gitxsan hereditary chief Delgamuukw (Albert Tait), who filed the Statement of Claim, passed away shortly before the trial opened in 1987 and was succeeded by Kenneth Muldoe who was in turn succeeded by his brother, artist Earl Muldon. The claim covered 133 traditional territories, which amounted to 58,000 square kilometers of northwestern British Columbia. Peter R Grant served as lead counsel for the Gitxan and Wet-suwet'en chiefs, and D.M.M. Goldie served as lead counsel for the Province.

The files are arranged as they arrived from the Smithers court registry. Boxes 1 to 13 contain the proceedings at trial. Boxes 16 and 17 include lists of exhibits which provide information on relevant archival collections held in repositories across the province.

The series consists of meeting minutes, reports, presentations, correspondence, work plans, briefing notes, and summaries of court decisions. The records were created between 1989 and 2008 by the Local Government First Nations Relations section of the Ministry of Community Services and are arranged alphabetically by topic. The records document the relationship between the provincial government and First Nations representatives, and provide evidence of the overall approach for developing effective working relations between the two. The series includes several files on Aboriginal litigation, and includes records citing the Delgamuukw case. The series consists of records dealing with capacity building, amendments to reserve land and boundary extensions, First Nations taxation, the Economic Measures fund, treaties and planning. The series is covered by BC ORCS schedule 126379 (Local Government Services), secondary 55500-40.

The series contains records pulled from the office of Ken Baker, Assistant Deputy Minister of the Resource Management Division, Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management. In 2005, the functions of this office were moved to the Strategic Initiatives Division of the Integrated Management Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands. These Records were used to inform the executive of current issues being dealt with by the ministry.
The records in this series mainly deal with important issues relating to Land Use Plans in land management areas. The records contain mainly briefing notes and correspondence sent to the executive explaining changes to Land Management programs, terminology, as well as updates on the progress with First Nations (mainly Haida) consultations and treaty negotiations related to land use planning. The records also contain numerous subject files on executive issues including several topics related to conservation, sustainable resource management plans, and plans for resource development such as mining, water, oil and gas. These files mainly contain correspondence, updates from committees, backgrounders, briefing or information notes, minutes of conference calls, presentations about land management/land use planning and assessment reports.
There are also copies of admin-related files that were reviewed by the ADM, such as changes in organizational structure, hiring, employee reviews and budget updates.

The records are arranged according to the Administrative Records Classification System. Records are filed under the following primary and secondary numbers:
102-20 : Administration - meetings - minutes
105-20 : Administration - organization - branch, region and district organization and responsibilities
125-20 : Legislation - British Columbia - B.C. Government legislation and regulations
155-08 : Invitations
160-20 : Association, club and society files
202-20 : Ministry committees
204-20 : Inter-ministerial committees
235-20 : Cooperation and liaison - federal - federal government departments, branches, and agencies
265-20 : Delegation of authority - authorizations/matrices
275-04 : Disaster planning
280-20 : Executive services - briefing notes
280-40 : Executive services - executive issues
350-20 : Legal issues
400-07 : Plans and programs - strategic planning
440-20 : General reports/statistics
1000-01 : Budgets - general
1300-01 : Personnel - general
1310-01 : Awards and honours - general

This series consists of Aboriginal liaison and First Nations consultation case files, primarily for the Cariboo region, from 1985-2008. These records document the Ministry of Environment and its successors' resource management involvement with First Nations groups and consultation with respect to resource management plans. Each file documents consultation and communication with a particular First Nation, Tribal Council or other Indigenous group regarding a variety of issues and practices related to resource management and use. File may be related to land claims, land use planning, the creation of sustainable resource management plans (SRMPs) and sub-regional area plans, or specific resource management and land management issues, including forestry, water rights, wildlife management and hunting, mining, protection of parks and cultural sites, and the creation of roads.

The files in this series were titled and organized in most instances as case files, based on the name of the First Nation involved in the consultation process. Many files document the creation and finalization of various kinds of agreements between the Ministry and First Nations groups. Files also include the planning and execution of joint projects, workshops and meetings to consult First Nations about the creation of resource management plans or to address specific resource management issues.

Files may include correspondence, reports, memorandums of understanding, agreements, financial records, business records of the relevant indigenous group, consultation protocols, maps, and newspaper articles and government responses to them.

Most files regard a particular indigenous group, mostly from the Cariboo and surrounding region, including: 'Esdilagh (Alexandria Band), Alexis Creek, Tl'etinqox Government (Anaham), Llenlleney'ten (High Bar), Bonaparte, Tsq’escen (Canim Lake), Stswecem’c/Xgat’tem (Canoe Creek), Carrier-Sekani Tribal Council, Carrier Chilcotin Tribal Council, Cariboo Tribal Council, Northern Secwēpemc te Qelmūcw (NStQ or Northern Shuswap Tribal Council), Esketemc (Alkali Lake), Hamatla Treaty Society, Homalco, Lhoosk’uz Dene (Kluskus), Lheidli-Tenneh, Nazko, Nuxalk Nation Government, Lhtako Dene (Red Bluff), Saik’uz, Skeetchestn, Shuswap Nation Tribal Council, Xat’sūll (Soda Creek), Simpcw (North Thompson Indian Band), Yunesit'in Government (Stone Indian Band), Tsilhqot’in National Government, Tl'esqox (Toosey First Nation), St'át'imc, Ts'kw'aylaxw, Ulkatcho Nation, Whispering Pines/Clinton, T'exelc (Williams Lake Indian Band), and Xeni Gwet’in First Nations. Other Indigenous groups may be mentioned within files.

Note that some of these files were reviewed as part of the following litigation: Xeni Gwet’in First Nations Government v. Her Majesty the Queen et al.

Ministries responsible for the creation of this series, and their dates of the responsibility, are:
Ministry of Environment (1988-1991)
British Columbia. Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks (1991-2001)
British Columbia. Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management (2001-2005)
British Columbia. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands (2005-2010)

Records in this series are covered by ORCS 17020-20 and 17730-25 of the Resource Management ORCS (schedule 144100).

This series consists of resource management plans (RMPs) and aboriginal liaison files from the Northern Interior and surrounding region. Most records date from 1999 to 2010. These records document the creation of various kinds of land and resource management plans, as well as the government’s related consultation and relations with Indigenous groups. Many files relate to Old Growth Management Areas (OGMAs) and other forestry resources.

This series includes a wide variety of types of records and subjects. Each records type has been assigned an ORCS number from the Resource Management ORCS (schedule 144100). This number is included at the beginning of each file code in the finding aid. These are the file numbers used by the creator. In order to search for a particular file type, try searching for all or part of the ORCS number in the finding aid. The following types of files are included in the series:

Aboriginal liaison case files document the government’s resource management involvement with First Nations groups and consultation with respect to resource management plans. Each file documents consultation and communication with a particular First Nation, Tribal Council or other Indigenous group regarding a variety of issues and practices related to resource management and use. Many files document the creation and finalization of various kinds of agreements between the Ministry and First Nations groups. Files also include the planning and execution of joint projects, workshops and meetings to consult First Nations about the creation of resource management plans or to address specific resource management issues. Classified under ORCS number 17020-20.

Resource management plan referral case files relate to the review of plans submitted by organizations outside government, such as industry, First Nations, non-profit groups, and other government bodies. Classified under ORCS number 17490-20.

Land and Resource Management Plans (LRMPs) are sub-regional integrated RMPs. They are large scale and cover a number of resource sectors (a discrete natural or social resource such as tourism, forestry or mining). Regions are divided into smaller management areas called sub-regions. Records may relate to the development, including research, consultation with interested parties and creating terms of reference; implementation; monitoring to determined if the plans objectives are being met; and amendment of LRMPs over time. Similar steps are used for all RMPs in this series. Includes LRMP files for Mackenzie, Prince George, Fort St. James, Vanderhoof, and Kalum. Classified under ORCS numbers 17550-02, 17550-25, 17550-50 and 17550-60.

Landscape unit plants relate to the development, implementation, monitoring and amendment of landscape unit RMPs. Landscape unit plans often result in a set of legally binding resource management goals called 'landscape unit objectives'. These objectives are measurable goals defined by a geographic area, a specific timeframe and an individual resource or use of a resource. Classified under ORCS numbers 17580-55, 17580-25 and 17580-03.

Sustainable resource management plans (SRMPs) cover a relatively small area (usually under 100,000 hectares), referred to as a landscape unit, and address multiple resource management issues in the area. An SRMP is divided into chapters, with each chapter providing the planning for a specific resource value. Records relate to the development, implementation, monitoring and amendment of sustainable resource management plans (SRMPs). This series includes records related to the Fort St. James, Mackenzie, South Trench, Prince George Timber Supply Area, Interior Cedar Hemlock Biodiversity Project, McBride Valemount, Robson Valley and Slim/Dome SRMPs. Classified under ORCS numbers 17730-02, 17730-20, 17730-25 and 17730-30.

Many files relate to a particular Indigenous group, mostly from the Northern Interior region of BC. These include (outdated names used in the records are listed in brackets): Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, Cheslatta Carrier Nation, Gitxsan, Iskut, Lake Babine Nation, Lheidli T’enneh, Lhoosk’uz Dene, Lhtako Dené (Red Bluff), Nadleh Whut’en, Nak’azdli, Nakawē (Saulteau), Nazko, Nisga’a, Saik’uz, Simpcw (North Thompson), Stellat’en, Takla Lake, Tl’azt’en, Tsay Keh Dene, Tse’khene (Kwadacha and McLeod), Tsq’escen (Canim Lake), Ulkatcho, Xat’sūll (Soda Creek), and Yekooche.

Record types include approved plans, terms of reference, objectives, consultation case files, First Nations consultation files, implementation files, planning team records, development case files, correspondence, memoranda, maps, photographs, data, and reports.

The series consists of records, predominantly from the 1990s and 2000s, created by the Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) Treaty Negotiations. The records in this series reflect the ADM’s role in providing executive leadership to the Treaty Negotiations' Office prior to and during the 2000s; from 2001-2005, the Treaty Negotiations Office resided with the Ministry of Attorney General and was renamed the Ministry of Attorney General Treaty Negotiations Office. In 2005 the Treaty Negotiations office became part of the Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation (2005-2017). Records in this series document the government’s evolving relationship with Indigenous groups. Some of these records capture the province’s negotiations with Indigenous groups to achieve reconciliation and legal certainty over the ownership and use of Crown land and resources in the province. The records also focus on some of the Treaty Negotiations Office core business areas such as intergovernmental agreements and negotiation preparation, individual First Nations negotiations, and final agreement implementation. Some of the indigenous groups referenced in this series include the Nisga’a, Shíshálh, the Métis, Dene, Snuneymuxw, and the Squamish.

Many of the records document the different types of agreements between Indigenous groups and the provincial government; for example, interim measures, agreements in principle, resource management agreements/ plans, treaty related measures, land and cash offers, and self-government agreements. Some records document the activities of the regional negotiating teams. The records also include information on the Nisga’a final agreement; the first agreement in BC to provide constitutional certainty of an Indigenous peoples’ right to self-government. Ratified in 1999, this agreement came into effect in 2000. The series also includes records reflecting the BC Treaty Commission (BCTC) six stage approach to negotiating treaties with Indigenous groups: Stage 1 – Statement of Intent; Stage 2 – Preparation for Negotiations; Stage 3 – Negotiation of a Framework Agreement; Stage 4 – Negotiation of an Agreement in Principle (AIP); Stage 5 – Negotiation to Finalize a Treaty; and Stage 6 – Implementation of a Treaty. The province’s controversial BC treaty referendum in 2002 is also captured in this series. Some administrative records are interspersed among files in this series.

The records are arranged by topic. They include correspondence, presentations, copies of briefing notes, transition binders, manuals, reports, estimates and other financial records, drafts, meeting materials, agreements, business continuity plans, and other records. These records are classified under the Executive Records schedule (102906). They also include some ORCS (Operational Classification System) codes from the approved/draft Aboriginal Affairs ORCS (schedule 880711), 1992, and ARCS (Administrative Records Classification System) codes.

This series consists of several letters and petitions from various First Nations to Governor Musgrave requesting Reserves be formally set aside and surveyed to protect their village sites and cultivated fields from being stolen by settlers. The information on the petitions was recorded by Revered P. Durien in 1870, who then sent them to the Governor. Each petition records each Chief's name and mark.

Each petition includes annotations and comments added by the Governor and other government representatives, as well as draft responses approving the survey of Reserves.

The petitions relate to the following First Nations and village sites in the Fraser Canyon and Harrison River areas: Fort Yale, Tsenes, Tsiam, Stectelen, Showamel, Twaous, Fort Yale, Choualp, Katlatle, Skokem, Skazir, Boston Bar, Spuzzum, Fort Hope, Burrard Inlet, Shely and Larawe [all names have been transcribed exactly from the records].

CALL NUMBER: T1156:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Life among the Haida : part 1 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1969 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Chief William Matthews speaks about the nine Haida tribes on Graham Island, the hereditary system of the Haida clans, problems with the reserve system, original estimates of the population of; the Haida, effects of first white contact, war canoes, small pox, weaving of sails, the remaining residents of the Nine tribes coming into Masset and Father Duncan and Metlakatla. TRACK 2: [Note: Th;ere is a 20 second delay at the start of this track.] Chief Matthews continues speaking about Metlakatla and Father Duncan, the naming of "Masset", preparation for a trip to Alaska by four villages on; the North Island, a new Haida village at Cape Muzon, Haidaberg Village, Alaska, the government of Alaska, the Indian Brotherhood and the Nisga'a Petition.

CALL NUMBER: T1156:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Life among the Haida : part 2 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1969 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Chief Matthews continues speaking about the convention and the Nishga Petition, the Industrial School at Metlakatla, the organization of the local Brotherhood, the land question 1910-1927 and; concessions, education and technical education, his life and retirement, Archdeacon Collison and his son, his uncle, the coming of the white man and recording events on totem poles. TRACK 2: Chief Matthews talks about the early totem poles, his family crests and his children's recognition on the poles, the story of the origin of the first creation of totem poles, the time when Archdeacon Collison objected to totem poles and the Haida destroyed them, the influence of religion and ministers, the translation of the Bible into Haida and the story of the first white people coming to Skidegate.;

CALL NUMBER: T1156:0003 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Life among the Haida : part 3 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1969 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Chief Matthews talks about the quality of discipline instilled into the Haida people, the Government policy, the Indians and the reserves, the Robert Davidson totem pole, family connections and how his family came to own the village, the Davidson pole, Government policy and the ceremony for raising of totem poles. TRACK 2: Chief Matthews talks about Indian names for white people, the story of creation, the story of the warrior's dream, conflicts over land ownership, timber and resources, and a view of the white man.