how the
maiyoo keyoh is governed
The Maiyoo Keyoh is governed by Dakelh law. That law begins here.
'Ustas was grieving. His wife was lost. As weeks passed, the weight became too much. 'Ustas, the shapeshifter, transformed into a giant bird. Flying over the land, he wept. Every falling tear formed a lake. Where his tears ran together, they carved the rivers. This is how a keyoh was created for each family to care for. Every keyoh is a trust. 'Ustas never found her. The Snadneke keep the land — as 'Ustas left it — until she comes home.
The keyoh is a jurisdiction,
created by Dakelh law, carried by the keyohwhuduchun,
unbroken from 'Ustas to today.
The Maiyoo Keyoh is governed by its keyohwhuduchun,
the hereditary title-holder whose authority is unelected and unassigned by any outside body.
That authority is protected under Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
The Society exists to carry that governance forward. It does not replace the keyohwhuduchun. It serves the keyohwhuduchun.
SECTION 35 — ABORIGINAL TITLE TO THE MAIYOO KEYOH
Aboriginal Title to this territory was formally asserted in writing on July 5, 2002 — one year before the Society existed. The keyohwhuduchun spoke first. The Society carries it forward.
"As the holder of Aboriginal title to this territory, our family maintain the jurisdiction and decision making capacity concerning the use of all lands, waters, airspace and resources within this area. Our relationship to our Aboriginal Title territory is vital to who we are as a peoples, and is constitutionally protected under Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982."
Sally A'Huille,
then keyohwhuduchun of the Maiyoo Keyoh Notice of Aboriginal Title, July 5, 2002
The Notice was sent to all federal and provincial Crown ministries and to Canadian Forest Products. It has not been withdrawn. The position it states remains the position of the Maiyoo Keyoh today.
The 2002 Notice uses the earlier spelling "Meyoo Keyoh." The spelling has since standardized; the territory, the keyoh, and the claim are unchanged.
Link: Read the 2002 Notice of Aboriginal Title → 2002 Notice PDF
The boundary referenced in the 2002 Notice was the
provincial trapline registry map (TR0725T008),
the working record at the time.
The current authoritative boundary is shown on the IPCA boundary map.
Link: View the current IPCA boundary map → IPCA Boundary Map
THE KEYOH ANDTHE BAND COUNCIL
The keyoh is the land authority. The Band Council is an administrative body.
The Maiyoo Keyoh has governed this territory under Dakelh law for as long as Dakelh law has existed. Its authority is hereditary, unbroken, and protected under Section 35.
Band Councils were created by the Indian Act in 1876. They administer Indian Act matters, registration, on-reserve programs, federal funding, within reserve boundaries set by Canada. They are not land-holding governments. They do not hold Aboriginal Title.
They were not designed to.
Many Maiyoo Keyoh people are also members of one Band or another.
That membership concerns Indian Act administration, not the territory.
Only the keyohwhuduchun can authorize anyone to speak for the Maiyoo Keyoh.
No keyohwhuduchun has done so.
When a government, agency, or proponent needs a decision about this territory,
the decision-maker is the keyohwhuduchun.
THE PATHWAY FORWARD 3.0 AGREEMENT
In 2025, the Province of BC negotiated the Pathway Forward 3.0 Agreement
with Indian Act Band Councils. The Maiyoo Keyoh was not consulted.
The keyohwhuduchun holds title to this territory.
The Band Council does not. An agreement that bypasses
the keyohwhuduchun has no force over this territory, regardless of who signed it.
The Maiyoo Keyoh did not wait for the Province to correct this.
On December 27, 2025, Keyohwhuduchun Petra A'Huille enacted
the Maiyoo Keyoh Whuz un'a Whuts'odilhti,
the Maiyoo Keyoh Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area.
The territory is governed. It has always been governed.
Link: Learn about the IPCA → IPCA
LEADERSHIP TRANSITION
The keyohwhuduchun passes under Dakelh law. The transition is hereditary and governed by the keyohwhuduchun who holds the title.
The succession rule
Succession is patrilineal and follows primogeniture, with the sitting keyohwhuduchun holding the authority to choose a successor by suitability when bloodline alone does not produce one. The rule is not absolute on the bloodline, it is absolute on the authority. The sitting keyohwhuduchun decides.
Recognition and witnessing
Two distinct acts complete a transition under Dakelh law. They are not the same.
Recognition is the act of the sitting keyohwhuduchun naming a successor. This is the binding act. It establishes who holds the title next.
Witnessing is any acknowledgment that recognition has occurred. It can take several forms: a public community ceremony, the sitting keyohwhuduchun privately advising other keyohwhuduchun of the named successor, a written will, or a record in external instruments such as the provincial trapline registry. In recent times, wills have become more common. None of these creates the authority. They confirm it.
The two acts, recognition and witnessing, are often conflated in plain English. They are not the same in Dakelh law.
The current transition
Sally A'Huille recognized Petra A'Huille as her successor before her passing. That act made Petra keyohwhuduchun under Dakelh law. The witnessing ceremony on December 3, 2022 was the community's public acknowledgment of that recognition, not its source.
Link: For the full lineage of the Maiyoo keyohwhuduchun, see The Keyoh →The Keyoh
Governance in Action
The keyohwhuduchun's authority is not theoretical. It is exercised, in writing, every day the Maiyoo Keyoh makes a decision about its territory. The major areas of active governance are below, with links to where each is documented in full.
Land and resource stewardship
The keyohwhuduchun governs all decisions about lands, waters, airspace, and resources within the territory. The current centrepiece of land governance is the Maiyoo Keyoh Whuz un'a Whuts'odilhti — the Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area enacted on December 27, 2025.
Link: Read about the IPCA → IPCA
Permission to use the territory
Any government, agency, proponent, researcher, or third party seeking to use or study any part of the Maiyoo Keyoh must obtain the keyohwhuduchun's permission. The Request for Permission is the standing process.
Link: Submit a Request for Permission → Request for Permission
Relations with neighbouring keyohs
The Maiyoo Keyoh maintains active relations with the keyohwhuduchun of neighbouring keyohs through the Protocol of Recognition and Harmonization for Keyoh Title — a binding inter-keyoh instrument currently ratified by five keyohwhuduchun, with others in conversation.
Link: See the Protocol and its signatories → The Keyoh
Cultural authority and repatriation
The keyohwhuduchun holds authority over the cultural property of the Maiyoo Keyoh. Active work includes the repatriation claim to the Royal Ontario Museum for the Tsik'usdzai (Hahul) headdress worn by Sidoman Hahul, and ongoing planning for a Cultural Heritage Centre at Susk'uz.
Link: Read about Culture and Repatriation → Culture and Repatriation
Formal engagement with the Crown
The keyohwhuduchun and the Society communicate directly with federal and provincial Crown ministries on matters affecting the territory.
Link: See Keyoh News for current correspondence → Keyoh NEWS
THE SOCIETY'S FOUNDATION
The Maiyoo Keyoh Society is the corporate vehicle that carries the keyohwhuduchun's governance into dealings with the Crown, with funders, and with the public. It does not hold the authority. It serves it.
In 2003 — one year after she issued the Notice of Aboriginal Title, and in response to mounting industrial pressure on the territory, particularly large-scale clearcut logging, Keyohwhuduchun Sally A'Huille directed the formation of the Society to carry that assertion forward.
It is incorporated under
the BC Society Act (Incorporation # S0046689) and
is a registered Canadian charity with the Canada Revenue Agency
(Charity # 87487 3201 RR0001, registered March 7, 2016).
Its filed constitution sets two purposes
-
To establish and to protect the Maiyoo Keyoh ancestral territory by seeking standing and authority from the courts with a view to obtain official recognition of Aboriginal Title and Rights which are protected under section 35 of the Canadian Constitution.
-
To protect and preserve the Maiyoo Keyoh ancestral territory by developing responsible resource management plans and by maintaining the territory with a view to commemorating the site.
Constitution of the Maiyoo Keyoh Society, filed December 16, 2016
The Society's filed purposes use the Crown's legal term Aboriginal Title.
The underlying authority is Indigenous Title under Dakelh law, held by the keyohwhuduchun, predating Crown law, confirmed but not granted by Section 35.
The Society uses Crown legal language because it operates as a Crown-recognized vehicle.
The keyohwhuduchun does not need to.
The Society operates under its filed Bylaws (last revised October 27, 2024)
and the Maiyoo Keyoh Whut'enne Bughuni, the Membership Code given effect by Keyohwhuduchun Sally Sam A'Huille on March 20, 2018 and maintained by the current keyohwhuduchun.
The structure
The Bylaws point to the Whut'enne Bughuni for membership. The Whut'enne Bughuni points to the keyohwhuduchun for authority. Authority flows from Dakelh law through the keyohwhuduchun to the Society — not the other way around.
The Society does not grant its own membership. It inherits it from the keyohwhuduchun's decisions under Dakelh law. The Society does not appoint the keyohwhuduchun. The keyohwhuduchun's predecessor does, under Dakelh customary law.
The Society administers. The keyohwhuduchun governs.
Link: Maiyoo Keyoh Society Constitution → Constitution
The Bylaws and the Whut'enne Bughuni are held by the Society.
Verified parties may request access through the President's office.
Link: Contact the Society → Let's Connect