WHO IS SIIA

The South Island Indigenous Authority Society (SIIA) is a planning organization supporting the Nations of Southern Vancouver Island, and Indigenous guests on the territory with child and family service planning.  

We are an Indigenous Governing Body, which Is a legal designation recognized by the federal and provincial governments. We act as representatives for South Island Indigenous people in working, Nation to Nation, with both the federal and provincial governments on resuming full jurisdiction for our Child and Family services. We are doing research and talking to people in our community members to ensure the law and our services are based on our own culture and needs that is governed by our people, for our people.

SIIA is working to develop our own Indigenous Child and Family law and to design a way of delivering services that are grounded in the values, traditions, and cultures of the South Island. We are gathering stories from people in our communities, making sure the law and our services are based on our own culture and needs. This work will create a better path forward for this generation, and for future generations. The new law will allow our communities to develop a child and family services system that is governed by our people, for our people.  

The Nations currently being represented by SIIA are:

• Esquimalt
• Pacheedaht
• Pauquachin
• Scia’new (Beecher Bay)
• Songhees
• Tsartlip
• T’Sou-ke
• Tseycum
• As well as the urban Indigenous guests on the territory.

We are doing this work now empowered by the Bill C-92 Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families which allows our communities to control and govern our child and family services, and to create our own Indigenous law to replace the current law created by the government of British Columbia.