Vision Statement of the Lower Nicola Indian Band

We, the people of the Lower Nicola Indian Band, commit ourselves to being a peaceful prosperous and secure community made up of healthy individuals rooted in the Nlaka’pamux culture, respecting ourselves, each other, the environment and all of Creation.  We will honor and protect our children, the sacred gifts from the Creator, and our elders, the wisdom keepers.

Together as one, we will take responsibility to regain control of our own destiny and rebuild our relationships with other people on a firm footing of respect and justice.

We will possess our traditional territories and defend our hereditary and Aboriginal rights as Nlaka’pamux people, and promote the unity and strength of the Nlaka’pamux Nation as a whole.

We will be a sovereign community with a government based on traditional values, guided by leaders who know and respect the language, culture, and people.

We recognize that injustices have been committed against our people:  our lands have been occupied, our culture eroded, and our sovereignty denied.  We will not allow this to continue and will ensure that it never happens again.

In this, the Lower Nicola Indian Band will be a model community that others look to for direction and inspiration.  We will realize true power, fulfill our responsibility to our ancestors, and create peace for future generations.

Shulus BC
December 1996