Set for groundbreaking this year, the four-million-square-foot village called Senakw will be constructed “on land that was illegally confiscated from my ancestors,” said Khelsilem, a spokesman and councilor for the Squamish, which in 2003 reacquired 10.48 acres of its ancestral lands in the area. The Squamish Nation has worked with a local developer to design and secure financing for the project, which will include 12 office and residential towers with 6,000 market-rate apartments, as well as retail space. “The goal is to create value that is going to benefit our people,” Khelsilem said. “There is cautious optimism and a sense of opportunity in developing its land for community and economic development purposes,” she said. Ms. Haaland has delegated Bureau of Indian Affairs regional offices to help fast-track decisions for tribes that have submitted applications to reacquire lands in or near their reservations, she said.

Source: New York Times July 06, 2021 13:01 UTC