Draft text, full document

Squamish NationConstitution Project

Preamble

Our Story

PLACEHOLDER — The Nation's own account of who we are and where this document comes from. Final line from Point Blank.

[The PREAMBLE will be translated into Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Sníchim in the next version.]

PLACEHOLDER — community voice, opening — 60–90s
PLACEHOLDER — Caption naming the speaker and their relationship to the Nation.

PLACEHOLDER — Short, warm opening paragraph in a community voice, setting up why this document exists and why it is being put to a vote. Around 50 words. This is the emotional entry point to the whole experience, so it carries more weight than its length suggests.

We are the descendants of the original people of these lands.

Preamble

PLACEHOLDER — Plain explanation of what a preamble does and does not do — that it sets intent and is not itself an operative provision. Roughly 60 words, precise and unhurried.

PLACEHOLDER — ancestral place names on the land
PLACEHOLDER — Caption naming the places shown, in sníchim and English, supplied by the Nation.

Part 1

Interpretation (Including Values and Principles)

PLACEHOLDER — The values and principles everything else in the Constitution has to be read against.

[INTRO SECTION to be written in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim and then translated into English with a focus on the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh worldview. This will be included in the next version.]

PLACEHOLDER — Why a document about interpretation is not dry — these six values are the ones people already live by. Around 45 words.

the highest written law of Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw

1.4

PLACEHOLDER — Explanation of what it means for this Constitution to be the highest written law, and what happens to a law that conflicts with it. Around 70 words.

Part 2

Our People

PLACEHOLDER — Who belongs to the Nation, and who gets to decide that. Final line from Point Blank.

[INTRO SECTION to be written in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim and then translated into English with a focus on the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh worldview. This will be included in the next version.]

PLACEHOLDER — family portrait, three generations
PLACEHOLDER — Caption placing the image and naming who is in it, with permission recorded.

PLACEHOLDER — Opening paragraph in a community voice on belonging — what it has meant to have membership decided elsewhere, and what it would mean to decide it here. Around 70 words. Warm, specific, no argument, no persuasion language.

has the exclusive right to define our own membership

2.2

PLACEHOLDER — What this Part actually contains, said plainly: three provisions, what each one establishes, and what changes if the Constitution passes. Around 80 words, precise, written so someone who never opens the raw clauses still understands the substance.

PLACEHOLDER — community voice on belonging — 90–120s
PLACEHOLDER — Caption naming the speaker.

Part 3

Rights and Responsibilities of Skwxwú7mesh Stélmexw

PLACEHOLDER — The rights you hold as a member, and what the Constitution asks of you in return.

[INTRO SECTION to be written in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim and then translated into English with a focus on the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh worldview. This will be included in the next version.]

PLACEHOLDER — community gathering, wide
PLACEHOLDER — Caption placing the gathering.

PLACEHOLDER — Opening paragraph on why a list of rights matters when you have not had one written down before. Around 60 words, community voice.

Subject to reasonable limits prescribed by Skwxwú7mesh law or policy

3.2

PLACEHOLDER — The structure of this Part explained: collective rights held by the Nation, individual rights held by members, and responsibilities that run the other way. Around 75 words.

Part 4

Our Languages

PLACEHOLDER — Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim as an official language, and what the Nation commits to doing about it.

[INTRO SECTION to be written in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim and then translated into English with a focus on the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh worldview. This will be included in the next version.]

PLACEHOLDER — language speaker, on learning as an adult — 60–90s
PLACEHOLDER — Caption naming the speaker. Vertical format — this one is shot for phone.

PLACEHOLDER — Short paragraph on what official status changes for a language that people are still working to recover. Around 50 words.

Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim and English

4.1

PLACEHOLDER — What "official language" obliges the Government to do, and the difference between the commitments in 4.2 and the aspiration in 4.4. Around 70 words.

Part 5

Our Siyám̓in (Territory)

PLACEHOLDER — The territory the Nation is responsible for, and what that responsibility obliges.

[INTRO SECTION to be written in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim and then translated into English with a focus on the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh worldview. This will be included in the next version.]

PLACEHOLDER — territory map — the boundary described in 5.1
PLACEHOLDER — Caption describing the extent of the territory in words, so the map is not the only way to get the information.

PLACEHOLDER — Opening paragraph in a community voice on the land itself — named places, not abstractions. Around 70 words.

has inherent responsibility for all lands, waters, air and all living things

5.2

PLACEHOLDER — What 5.1 is doing — a boundary description in a constitution, what it asserts, and what it does not by itself resolve. Around 80 words, careful, because this is the provision most likely to be read as a claim about someone else's land.

PLACEHOLDER — landscape, Squamish Valley
PLACEHOLDER — Caption naming the place, in sníchim and English, supplied by the Nation.

Part 6

Working Together (including Government and Administration)

PLACEHOLDER — How the Nation governs itself — Council, administration, and how money is accounted for.

[INTRO SECTION to be written in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim and then translated into English with a focus on the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh worldview. This will be included in the next version.]

PLACEHOLDER — diagram — the bodies that comprise the Government
PLACEHOLDER — Caption describing the structure in words.

PLACEHOLDER — Short paragraph on transparency as something people have asked for repeatedly. Around 50 words.

making budgets, audits, and expenditures publicly accessible

6.8(f)

PLACEHOLDER — What this Part settles and what it leaves to a later law — notably that the structure of government and the process for selecting Council are both deferred to 6.3. Around 75 words.

Part 7

Dispute Resolution

PLACEHOLDER — What happens when there is a disagreement, and who resolves it.

[INTRO SECTION to be written in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim and then translated into English with a focus on the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh worldview. This will be included in the next version.]

PLACEHOLDER — Short paragraph on restoring relationships rather than assigning fault. Around 50 words.

to restore harmony, strengthen relationships, and uphold accountability

7.2

PLACEHOLDER — What the judicial council is, what it can decide, and how its independence is meant to work. Around 70 words.

Part 8

Law-Making

PLACEHOLDER — How Sḵwx̱wú7mesh laws get made, published, and found.

[INTRO SECTION to be written in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim and then translated into English with a focus on the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh worldview. This will be included in the next version.]

PLACEHOLDER — Short paragraph on being able to read the laws that apply to you. Around 45 words.

PLACEHOLDER — What law-making authority the Constitution asserts, and the specific areas listed in 8.4. Around 70 words.

Part 9

Agreements

PLACEHOLDER — When the Nation can sign an agreement on its own, and when it has to ask you first.

[INTRO SECTION to be written in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim and then translated into English with a focus on the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh worldview. This will be included in the next version.]

PLACEHOLDER — Short paragraph on the referendum trigger in 9.3 — the provision that most directly hands members a say. Around 55 words.

PLACEHOLDER — What counts as a significant impact, why the Constitution does not define it here, and what 9.4 defers to a later law. Around 70 words.

Part 10

Amendments to and Oversight of the Constitution

PLACEHOLDER — How this document can be changed later, and what it takes to change it.

[INTRO SECTION to be written in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim and then translated into English with a focus on the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh worldview. This will be included in the next version.]

PLACEHOLDER — diagram — the amendment process end to end
PLACEHOLDER — Caption describing each step in words.

PLACEHOLDER — Short paragraph on this being a living document rather than a final one — the point most likely to reassure someone hesitating. Around 60 words.

This Constitution is a living document

10.1

PLACEHOLDER — The five ways an amendment can start, the 60-day notice, and the double majority in 10.4 said in plain numbers. Around 75 words.

Part 11

Definitions

PLACEHOLDER — The words the Constitution uses in a specific way, and what each of them means.

PLACEHOLDER — A short note on why definitions matter in a legal document and how to use this section as reference rather than reading it through. Around 45 words.

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