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Maiyoo Keyoh is 17,000 hectares of forest land rich in fish, wildlife, timber and other resources. Situated near the headwaters of the Salmon River on the central plateau of British Columbia, Canada’s most westerly province, the keyoh has been owned and occupied by the same extended Dene family for countless generations.
The family’s ownership of the keyoh is continuously recognized and affirmed by neighbouring people at periodic feasts. The family continues to assert its ownership of the keyoh and has formed the legal non-profit entity, the Maiyoo Keyoh Society, to represent it.
The People of the Maiyoo Keyoh
The Maiyoo Keyoh Society has developed partnerships with other organizations to confirm the family’s ownership and title to their lands and resources, and to balance conservation and development in the keyoh.
(Map by Dr. Julian Steward, 1940, © Smithsonian Institute. The orange lines depict pre-1840 Carrier territory boundaries. The Maiyoo Keyoh is identified in orange handwriting with the word "L'HUILLE")
In particular, the society has forged a new relationship with the largest forest company in the region, Canadian Forest Products (Canfor). With support from Canfor, the Maiyoo Keyoh has completed a state-of-the-art land use and occupancy study identifying more than 2,000 locations of traditional land and resource use in the keyoh. The Maiyoo Keyoh will be using the results for many applications, including, with Canfor, better land and resource planning.
The Maiyoo Keyoh is developing constructive relationships with neighbouring keyoh owners, neighbouring Indian Bands, government agencies and industry. It views the ability to initiate, generate, manage and communicate research as a lynch-pin in the process of building these relationships. The Maiyoo Keyoh is regaining its position as the knowledgeable authority for managing the lands and resources of their keyoh.
As it develops information management capacity, governance and conducts new research, the Maiyoo Keyoh’s voice will be heard by many.
Maiyoo Keyoh News & Press Releases
On June 18 & 19th 2012 the Maiyoo Keyoh is presenting at the BC Consultation and Accommodation Forum, the topic of discussion will be: Understanding Governance Structures within Aboriginal Communities to Achieve Consultation Goals - Jim Munroe, President, Maiyoo Keyoh Society
How does the lack of clear roles and responsibilities within First Nations governance structures impact consultation?
Examining internal governance structures and the challenges that exist
How do you identify who has authority to validate the agreement within a community?
How are Aboriginal groups working to define and change existing governance structures and how will that impact consultation?
For more info or to watch the webcast visit: http://www.canadianinstitute.com/2012/376/bc-aboriginal-consultation--accommodation
February 13, 2011 - Tips from fellow projects at www.smallchangefund.org
A compelling video is working for the Maiyoo Keyoh. Liberating our Cultural Data Using Google Maps is a recently posted project at smallchangefund.org. This community-driven project was created as a result of development pressure in the area. The Maiyoo Keyoh people have mapped over 3,000 cultural features and want to liberate this data in a custom Google Mapping application to help to query this information and be more effective in resource management planning.
February 13, 2011 - Seminars for First Nations: Issues and Considerations for Designing a Forest Carbon Storage Project -
The seminars in Penticton and Fort St. James both have the same agenda. They were developed through consultations with the Maiyoo Keyoh and the En'owkin Centre with British Columbia First Nations’ considerations in mind. They are intended for First Nations natural resource planners, managers, Indigenous knowledge practitioners and community leaders involved in community-based natural resources management of traditional lands. Lunch and refreshments will be provided.
- Online registration form
- View the poster
Yahulhduk’un - On March 20 we set up a camp to protest the continuation of proposed harvesting of our keyoh without considerations to our interests the animals, plants, fish, and habitat. Our camp has been named Yahulhduk'un...it means "the place where people come to talk”.
Closer to Home: An excerpt from Closer To Home season two, episode two "The Maiyoo Keyoh" starring Wayne Baker this episode features Jim Munroe who is fighting the destruction of the land around Great Beaver Lake in northern British Columbia. Land that has been in the hands of one family for hundreds of years. Closer To Home, produced by Real World Films in Vancouver directed by Carmen Henriquez and Denis Paquette will be airing on APTN across Canada in 2010. Keyoh Holders Gather at Beaver Lake - November 4, 2009
Maiyoo Keyoh Society in B.C. to Assess Web-Mapping Needs
August 20 2008
GeoConnections is helping fund a project to assess the Web-mapping needs of the Maiyoo Keyoh Society of British Columbia. Situated near the headwaters of the Salmon River, Maiyoo Keyoh comprises 22,000 hectares of land rich in fish, wildlife, timber and other resources. The Society wants to look into using simple Web-based tools to capitalize on cultural data and to better evaluate development proposals. The assessment will target application users, data suppliers and developers.
The Supreme Court of Canada's recent Haida and Taku River decisions established "the duty to consult" and accommodate First Nations before Aboriginal title or rights claims have been fully determined. As a result of these decisions, small communities are being inundated with hundreds of development approvals each year but lack the capacity to respond in a timely manner. This lack of capacity often relates to information management tools and experience.
The Maiyoo Keyoh Society sees real potential in applying simple Web-based tools to respond more efficiently to the demands for approvals. This project will be used to assess how the Society could use Web mapping to achieve this objective. These tools may also help other First Nations that face similar development challenges.
Details - February - March 2008 Roadblock
- News article - Caledonia Courier - August 14, 2002
Click on image to view a larger version
Maiyoo Keyoh Society Constitution
Land and Resource Policy Background
Synopsis - The Consultation Process
"Furthermore, the current referral or consultation and accommodation process is often adversarial and imbalanced in that First Nations are inundated with referral letters which require them to justify why the land disposition, licence or development permit in question ought not be granted. Moreover, the referral process facilitates unilateral self-serving actions, since the Crown alone is regularly the final arbitrator of land and resource use decisions in circumstances where it stands to gain substantial revenue from further land alienation or resource development. As a consequence, insufficient regard has been given to how Aboriginal concerns can be addressed with a view to protecting Aboriginal rights or creating sustainable economic opportunities for First Nations. Establishing a joint decision-making process to ameliorate the current referral process is in keeping with the cases addressed above and also prevents the sort of unilateral action objected to by the Court in Mikisew and Haida."
For the full report visit: www.fngovernance.org/pdf/NCFNG_Crown_Consultation_and_Practices.pdf
Director Profiles
For more information, please contact:
Jim Munroe / President, Maiyoo Keyoh Society
Provisional Office | 702 Willoughby Place
Williams Lake, BC | V2G 3J6
Work: (250) 305-7092 | Fax: (250) 392-1426
jim@maiyookeyoh.ca
Site Created October 8, 2005
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