Mary Hill Tribal Park Update
By Trentön Schulz-Franco, Land Protection Coordinator
Perched above the Sooke Basin, Mary Hill is a place of immense ecological and cultural importance to the SC’IA⁄NEW First Nation. Still used by the Department of National Defence (DND), the land has been kept out of reach for hundreds of years, even from the communities who have stewarded these lands since time immemorial. Today, a process of reconnection is underway, led by SC’IA⁄NEW and supported by a coalition of partners, including HAT.
In February 2022, SC’IA⁄NEW signed a Standstill Agreement with a group of Project Supporters to explore the potential for creating a Tribal Park at Mary Hill. This agreement paused any development or sale of the land for 18 months, allowing time for trust-building, visioning, and community dialogue. In August 2023, the agreement was extended for a further six months to deepen that process.
From the beginning, this initiative has been guided by community voices. Through engagement sessions, gatherings, conversations, and through a vote, in September of 2024 via Community Referendum 80% of SC’IA⁄NEW members overwhelmingly expressed support for the establishment of a Tribal Park—an Indigenous-led, culturally grounded stewardship model that goes beyond land protection to encompass healing, cultural revitalization, and local economic opportunity.
In April 2024, following this feedback, SC’IA⁄NEW Chief & Council formally updated the project language from “Indigenous Protected Area” to “Tribal Park.” This shift reflects the Nation’s commitment to an approach grounded in their own governance, history, and aspirations, not imposed frameworks.
The proposed Mary Hill Tribal Park will protect rare Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystems, sensitive wetlands, and salmon-bearing streams, while also supporting SC’IA⁄NEW’s cultural heritage and creating spaces for education, community members returning home, ceremony, and long-term economic development. The vision includes learning opportunities for the broader public, grounded in Indigenous leadership and reciprocity.
To help realize this future, SC’IA⁄NEW is currently hiring a Project Manager to support the next phase of planning, fundraising, and coordination. This role is pivotal in moving from vision to action, supporting the Nation in developing a Tribal Park model that is not only ecologically sound but culturally rooted and community-led.
At HAT, we are honoured to witness and support this work. The path to long-term stewardship of the biodiversity in these territories must centre Indigenous-led decision-making and uphold the responsibility we all share to care for the land in ways that honour past, present, and future generations. SC’IA⁄NEW’s journey with Mary Hill is a powerful example of what active collaboration can look like—grounded in connection, mutual respect, and a shared commitment to something bigger than ourselves.
Learn more and support the project at scianewtribalpark.ca