faq.

If you live, work, or play on the South Island, you can contribute to Reciprocity Trusts! Whether you own a home or rent, run a business or non-profit, host events or produce media, are part of a church group or union or something in between – there is space for you and your unique contribution to the South Island Indigenous Reciprocity Trust.

No. It’s all in the name! Engaging in reciprocal relationships with local First Nations is not an act of charity. It’s a way of showing long-overdue respect and gratitude to our hosts, assuming our Treaty rights and responsibilities, and divesting from the settler colonial private property system in a small but meaningful way.

For homeowners, the total recommended payment is equal to 1% of your property taxes per month (12% of your annual property tax).

For renters, the recommended payment is equivalent to 1% of your monthly rent.

For small businesses and non-profits, we recommend committing 1% of sales, shares, space rental, operational budget, time and/or product.

For events & productions, we recommend contributing 1% of ticket sales or the production budget.

Reciprocity payments are designed to reflect  a small percentage of the financial value that we receive from owning property on unceded Indigenous lands. Under settler colonialism, property wealth is supposed to belong exclusively to individuals, to industry and to the state. We want to turn that status quo on its head.

Because we understand that, on shared lands, we are all dependent on one another. Leaning into community makes us all stronger and more resilient.

Reciprocity payments are deposited directly into regional, Indigenous-owned Trusts. From there, Reciprocity payments go to beneficiary Indigenous Nations, who have control over where they accept payments from and what priorities they go towards.

90% of every Reciprocity payment goes directly to the Nations, and 10% helps cover some of the administration, communications and outreach costs associated with building and growing reciprocity.trusts.

We envision Reciprocity payments as one tangible step you can take to engage in reciprocal relationships with the Indigenous Nations whose lands you’re on. Being a part of the reciprocity.trusts. community connects you (virtually and IRL), to other like-minded contributors and local Nations. We’ll send you annual updates about what types of initiatives Reciprocity dollars in your Trust area are being used for and connect you with initiatives in your neighbourhood that help recognize and support Indigenous lands and rights.

Our Acts of Reciprocity resource explores non-financial ways of engaging in reciprocity.

Regional Reciprocity Trusts are Indigenous-led, with each participating Nation given the opportunity to appoint a Trustee to govern the Trust at any time. The Trustees of the South Island Trust, for example, have adopted the Coast Salish Principle of Naut’sa Mawt (together with one heart and one mind) to guide decision making.

Beneficiary Nations have total discretion over the use of their received funds, but are encouraged to put them towards land-, language- and Nation-building initiatives.

In 2022, with early support from Reciprocity Trusts, the City of Victoria opened its Reconciliation Contribution Fund to collect voluntary contributions from residents which flow to Songhees Nation and Xwepsum Nation. Contributions are made separate from tax payments, are not tied to property value, and do not receive tax receipts.

Payments made through the City of Victoria’s Reconciliation Contribution Fund go to the Songhees and Xwepsum Nations, while payments made through reciprocity.trusts. are shared equally amongst all ten Nations with core territory on the South Island.

This regional trust exists to acknowledge our watershed-level reliance on Indigenous lands. Recommended Reciprocity Payments are tied to your property value and unique footprint on Indigenous lands, and you will receive a tax receipt for your contribution.

Regional Indigenous Reciprocity Trusts are established at the pace of trusting relationships with local Nations. We hope to have a Trust established with local Nations in the Vancouver Coastal region soon.

Longer term, we do hope for this living model of financial reciprocity to be of value to Nations throughout British Columbia and even across other provinces. Please reach out if you are interested in getting something going near you!

All levels of colonial governments certainly have a responsibility to right relationships with First Nations. While there has been much advancement in these relationships, there is still a long, long way to go.

We also believe that every guest on Indigenous lands carries unique responsibilities that flow from treaties, our inherent interdependence on shared lands, or our desire to create the types of worlds we want to live in. reciprocity.trusts. provides one way of living these responsibilities.

Reciprocity Trusts provides a simple and direct way of meaningfully recognizing the  Indigenous lands we call home by making voluntary “real rent” payments into a regional, Indigenous-led trust that is distributed annually amongst participating Nations.

We offer the opportunity for homes, small businesses, non-profits and events to start saying “thank you” by returning a little wealth every year, and creating a direct and ongoing Indigenous-owned revenue stream that is independent of federal or provincial governments, and increases over time as land values increase.

The South Island Indigenous Reciprocity Trust is the first regional trust operated by reciprocity.trusts. It launched in June of 2023, and accepts payments from those who live and work in the Capital Regional District. Payments go to the ten First Nations who have core territory in this area