T'Sou-ke Nation facts for kids

The T'Sou-ke Nation is a group of Coast Salish people. Their community is located on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. They have two reserve areas near the Sooke Basin. This is at the southern end of Vancouver Island. The T'Sou-ke people are the reason the town of Sooke, British Columbia and its harbour are called Sooke.

A map showing the T'Sou-ke Nation's location.

What's in a Name?

The name "T'Sou-ke" comes from the Sook tribe of the Straits Salishans. Their name comes from the SENĆOŦEN language word T'Sou-ke. This word means a type of Stickleback fish. These fish live in the river's estuary.

The T'Sou-ke people first met Europeans through the Hudson's Bay Company. The SENĆOŦEN word was later changed to "Soke" (pronounced "soak"). Then it became "Sooke." The nearby town, river, basin, and main road are all named Sooke.

Speaking the Language

The T'Sou-ke Nation speaks the T'Sou-ke dialect of SENĆOŦEN. This language is part of the Coast Salish languages family. Chief Gordon Planes said that all their people once spoke SENĆOŦEN, not English. They share this language with their neighbours around Victoria and Saanich.

Today, no one speaks the language fluently. But the T'Sou-ke Nation is working to bring it back. They use modern tools like FirstVoices, which is an online resource.

There are five main dialects of this language. Each dialect has its own name for the language. These include SENĆOŦEN, Malchosen, Lekwungen, Semiahmoo, and T’Sou-ke. These dialects are spoken by different First Nations groups. They live in areas like the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, the Gulf and San Juan Islands, and southern Vancouver Island.

• SENĆOŦEN
  • Malchosen
    • Lekwungen
      • Semiahmoo

* T’Sou-ke

A Look at History

Around 1848, the Sook tribe faced a big attack. This attack was from the Cowichans, Clallums, and Nitinahts. The T'Sou-ke people met Europeans quite early. This was because of their connection with the Hudson's Bay Company.

The T'Sou-ke Nation signed the Douglas Treaties. When British Columbia joined Canada in 1871, the Province did not recognize Aboriginal title. This means they did not agree that Indigenous people owned their traditional lands. No more treaties were made then.

However, the Province did accept the rights of Aboriginal people. These rights were written in the Canadian Constitution. The Province also recognized that the federal government could make laws for Aboriginal people and their lands. So, the existing reserve lands were set aside in 1877.

Working on Treaties

The T'Sou-ke Nation is part of the Te'mexw Treaty Association. This group includes four other Coast Salish First Nations. They began the B.C. treaty process in 1995.

In February 2013, the T'Sou-ke Nation and British Columbia signed an Incremental Treaty Agreement (ITA). An ITA is a legal agreement made before a full treaty. It helps build trust between the groups. It also helps them reach more goals. ITAs provide more certainty about land and resources.

The province says that negotiations are going well. They have solved difficult issues about how the nation is governed, land, resources, and money. The negotiations are currently at stage 4, which is the Agreement-in-Principle stage.

The Te'mexw Treaty Association reports that the ITA is a multi-year agreement. It includes giving two pieces of Crown land to the T'Sou-ke Nation. These lands are at Broom Hill. They are within the nation's traditional territory. These land transfers will help the T'Sou-ke Nation. They can use the land for forestry and light industry. This will create jobs and new ways to earn money. The T'Sou-ke Nation will own these lands. They will follow the same laws as any other privately owned property.

How the Nation is Governed

The T'Sou-ke Nation is led by a chief and two councillors. They are elected every two years. This is done under the Indian Act election system. In February 2014, Chief Gordon Planes was re-elected for his fourth term. The councillors are Rose Dumont and Bonnie Arden.

At a larger regional level, the T'Sou-ke Nation is part of the Naut'sa mawt Tribal Council. Chief Planes is currently the secretary for this council.

Building a Strong Community

Community Goals

In 2008, the T'Sou-ke community made a plan for their future. They looked ahead seven generations, as their ancestors taught. They set four main goals:

• Being self-sufficient in energy and food.
• Becoming economically independent. Chief Planes said, "No more living off the dole."
• Returning to their traditional ways and values.

Chief Planes explained, "We used to live sustainably. We only took what we needed from the land. We need to get back to that."

The T'Sou-ke First Nation is also working with MarineLabs. This company is based in Victoria. They collect real-time data about the ocean and areas like the Sooke Basin. They use smart buoys with sensors. These sensors record data about wind speed, wave size, and water temperature. This helps them watch for effects of climate change, storms, and pollution.

Health Care Services

The T'Sou-ke Nation Health Centre helps the community. It works with the Vancouver Island Health Authority. Medical professionals visit the community often. They hold special clinics for things like mammograms and flu shots. Workshops on health and wellness are also held. These cover topics like nutrition and baby programs.

Energy Self-Sufficiency

Chief Gordon Planes believes First Nations can lead the way in green energy. He said, "First Nations have lived for thousands of years on this continent without fossil fuels. It is appropriate that First Nations lead the way out of dependency." The T'Sou-ke Nation is a leader in green projects. They even help other communities.

Solar Power

In 2009, the community built a large solar power system. It has 400 solar panels. This system makes 50 percent more electricity than the next largest one in the province.

The power bills for their three offices dropped to zero. In 2009 and 2010, hot-water solar panels were put on 42 homes. The T'Sou-ke Nation saves so much energy that they can sell extra power to BC Hydro in the summer. They buy it back in the winter when needed. This means they have zero power bills.

In 2013, the T'Sou-ke Nation was the third Canadian community to be named a Solar City. This was by the Canadian Solar Cities Project.

Energy Efficiency in Homes

Homes in the community also got energy-saving upgrades. This included extra roof insulation. They also got new appliances and energy-saving light bulbs.

Wind Power

There are plans to build large wind power projects on Vancouver Island. These projects could be worth $750 million.

Wave Power

In 2014, the T'Sou-ke started a project to use wave power from the ocean. This will create more energy for the community.

Food Security

By 2013, the T'Sou-ke community was building greenhouses. They planned to grow peppers and tomatoes. They also hoped to grow wasabi (Japanese horseradish) to sell. Their goal is a "zero-mile diet." This means eating food grown very close to home.

In 2014, 15,000 wasabi seedlings were planted in three greenhouses. These would be ready to harvest in 15 months. Profits from the wasabi farm will help expand their organic community garden. They also plan to start a 70-hectare oyster farm project in the Sooke Basin. Wasabi is also known for its medicinal qualities. This fits with First Nations traditions of using plants for healing.

In 2008, the Ladybug Garden and Greenhouse started. It grows fresh produce and herbs for the community. It also helps preserve native plants and traditional knowledge about them.