Xats̓úll chief says reclaimed land parcel is ‘a beginning’ for growing community

The Kúkwpi7 (Chief) of Xats̓úll First Nation says a decision to reclaim a piece of its land about 20 minutes north of Williams Lake is needed to accommodate the growing community.

For years, the land has been leased to an addiction treatment centre — but Kúkwpi7 Rhonda Phillips says with members trying to return home, the space is needed for the First Nation.

Xats̓úll announced in late October that it would be taking back the site where the Nenqayni Wellness Centre currently operates as of April 1 of 2026. The decision has been a painful end for some, but Phillips said she hopes it will help her community.

“We’re starting to build, and we’re bursting at the seams and that area has always been, I think, kind of a place for healing, and it would benefit our membership to be able to access that area,” Phillips told IndigiNews.

The centre on Xats̓úll lands has roots stemming back to 1996 — governed by 15 First Nations in the area, and weaving cultural and land-based programs into its treatment model. Since the lease has now not been renewed by Xats̓úll, the centre has been winding down its operations.

Nenqayni now plans to transition to mobile treatment options including Youth programming. They have recently started offering the programming through the Foundry Cariboo Chilcotin located in Williams Lake and have held events in other communities.

The centre recently held their final program graduation and are no longer accepting applications for residential care programs. Their website states they will still provide in-community outreach and continuing care to previous program graduates.

The decision for Xats̓úll to take over the site, while difficult, “is about reclaiming stewardship — not removing healing,” Phillips said in a press release.

“Its about standing once again in our role as protectors and teachers, restoring our relationship with the land and with one another,” she said. 

“We see this as a beginning and a continuation of healing, not an ending.”

Ideas for the site’s future ‘community-driven’

In an interview, Phillips said reclaiming the parcel of land had been in talks for many years within the community, prior to her election as chief in 2023. She recalled outreach from Elders over the years who had previously utilized the space — and their wish to have access to the land.

Phillips spoke about how Xats̓úll ancestors practiced that “inherent right” of land stewardship for generations.

“It’s important that we practice that inherent right and that we are passing down those teachings and that knowledge to our future generations,” she said.

“Being Secwépemc is connected to the land that we’re on.”

Phillips noted that the lease has been carried over for multiple years with no final decision in place and now the decision gives everyone certainty about the future.

She said there is a team who are working to find the best fit for the community’s needs, but the process of converting the space to be useful for the community is going to take time.

“It’s our administrative staff who are on the ground, working with our membership and doing that community engagement,” she said.

So far there has been one community meeting to discuss the future of the property on October 22, with the Fraser River Run — Xats̓úll’s monthly newsletter — noting an incredible community turnout. 

During the meeting, Xats̓úll staff shared an overview of the property including current infrastructure. They also shared their preliminary ideas for the space that the community could utilize, which include ideas for a healing lodge to offer addictions and trauma recovery specifically for Xats̓úll community members, an Elder’s lodge, spaces to hold child and Youth programming and more.

There were also infrastructure suggestions such as building access roads and connecting the land to Cmetém̓ (Deep Creek reserve). 

This first meeting was just the beginning, Phillips said, as the team plans to keep the community informed throughout the planning process.

“It’s actually community driven,” Phillips said. 

“And in all that we do, we just want to make sure that all of our community’s voices are being heard.”

While decisions are still being made, Phillips noted the growth of the staff working for the community and how this space allows for them to continue expanding.

“Our staff have doubled, and we want to pursue jurisdiction over our children and family services. We want to pursue bringing back those health services that are going to meet the needs of our Elders,” she said.

Staff at the Nenqayni Treatment Centre have meanwhile expressed “heartache” and a need to cut staff as a result of the lease being ended. However, for Xats̓úll, “we need to meet the needs of our people,” Phillips said.

“We know that building programs and services is going to take some time.”

She added that leaders want to ensure the planning and organizing is done “in a very meaningful way.”

While the land transfer will be complete on April 1 2026, the spaces will not be available for programming immediately. 

Phillips noted that this is just the beginning of the process and that there will be a transitional period to ensure programming is in place before opening up to the community.

Phillips sees the community’s membership benefitting from the decisions being made about the land in the near future, and she also can envision a ripple effect for other communities as well.

“Eventually, you know, I would like to see that we’re really having an impact on our surrounding communities,” she said.