Trio of First Nations seek return of land long held by well-known B.C. potato farm

Three First Nations in Surrey, B.C., made a request on Wednesday for a parcel of land within their traditional territory to be returned to them.

The Katzie, Kwantlen and Semiahmoo (KKS) nations said the land, called k’ʷeq’ənəq (Kwek-en-nek) and known as Campbell Heights North in Surrey, should be returned to them to support their cultural and economic future.

The site consists of 300 acres of industrial-zoned land, which the federal government owns.

The majority of the land is currently the site of Heppell’s Farm, which grows potatoes, carrots, parsnips, cabbage and squash.

The Heppell family has been farming the 220-acre parcel of land at 192 Street and 36 Avenue for five decades.

The family has long leased the property from the federal government, which originally bought it for a Second World War radar station. In recent years, Ottawa put the land on a list of properties it plans to sell off, raising fears it could end up being developed.

“We are coming together as three Nations, as a family, working together to honour the countless past, present, and future generations of our Kwantlen, Katzie and Semiahmoo people,” Chief Marilyn Gabriel of the Kwantlen First Nation said in a statement. “We owe that to them, and the government owes that to us. It’s time. It’s not the time to talk anymore, it’s time for us to see k’ʷeq’ənəq returned to us. I cannot express enough how important this land is to us.”

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The three nations said this land is a hub for them, where they have always crossed paths and established a vast trade network.

“Unfortunately, because of colonization, many of the traditional food resources and natural medicines used to trade are not available anymore, or they’re very limited,” they said in a statement.

The Heppell family said this land is key for food production due to its sandy soil, which allows heavy farm equipment to operate there during the wet early season.

Crops from the land are among the first vegetables to be harvested anywhere in Canada every year.

The farm is also known for hosting Ugly Potato Day for anyone who wants to come down and receive a few potatoes and squash that they cannot sell to the stores.

The event usually attracts hundreds of people.

However, the three nations said the land has the potential to be a legacy that they and Canada leave to show how reconciliation can work in a very urban setting.

“Economic reconciliation is an extremely important and integral piece to the future of our communities,” Chief Harley Chappell of the Semiahmoo First Nation said. “Prior to colonization, we were the richest people in all the lands here, but our wealth was not monetary. Our wealth was access to land, access to resources and access to territories that we could hunt and gather on. That’s where our wealth came from. Nowadays, that wealth has changed because we don’t have that access to lands like we used to.”

Chappell added that both the Canadian and provincial governments enacted legislation to adopt the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) but they have not seen any real action taken yet.

“Government needs to be brave if it truly wants to enact reconciliation,” he added. “Change takes bravery. We need somebody to be brave and support change so that we can truly see reconciliation in action.”

The Heppell family launched a campaign to have the land added to the Agricultural Land Reserve under the Agricultural Land Commission.

However, the ALC ultimately concluded that it had no jurisdiction over these lands.

It is unclear at this time what would happen to the Heppell Farm if the land is returned to the First Nations.

“The Nations believe that the return of k’ʷeq’ənəq is a way for the Government of Canada to put reconciliation into action through the principles of respect, genuine acknowledgment, working together in a government-to-government fashion, and enabling the Nations to be active partners in moving Canada forward,” the nations said in a statement.