There are three terms used when referring to the shíshálh people, and each has a slightly different meaning.
Sechelt Indian Band (SIB)
The SIB is a name that was formally established by the government of Canada in 1986 when self-government papers were signed. The SIB name replaced the former title “Indian Act Sechelt Band.”
It is most commonly used to refer to the people of the shíshálh Nation, although technically the SIB is a legal entity and has, subject to the self-government act, the capacity, rights, powers and privileges to enter into contracts or agreements, acquire and hold property, expend, invest or borrow money and sue or be sued.
Sechelt Indian Government District (SIGD)
The SIGD was also established by the government of Canada in 1986, as a legal entity that has jurisdiction over all Sechelt lands. The SIGD is, in essence, the local government.
The SIGD’s purpose is to:
• Levy property taxes annually on all residents and businesses on Sechelt lands
• Receive provincial grants applicable to a B.C. municipality
• Purchase services such as fire protection, road maintenance, street lighting, sewer collection and disposal, garbage collection and recycling
• Collect and remit provincial school taxes, regional district taxes, regional hospital taxes and BC Assessment Authority taxes
• Participate in the operation of the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) by appointing a band council member to the SCRD board
Sechelt (shíshálh) Nation
The term shíshálh comes from the language of sháshishálem, which is the language spoken by the four First Nations groups that make up the shíshálh Nation.
The four groups were amalgamated into one band in Sechelt in the early 1900s after individual populations were decimated by disease brought by the European settlers in the area.
The shíshálh Nation term includes the people from all four subgroups who became one Nation.
