Coast Salish Territory, Vancouver, BC – Coastal First Nations-Great Bear Initiative is proud to announce that Christine Smith-Martin, T’aaw gyaat’aad: Copper Blanket, the Chief Executive Officer of CFN-GBI and a member of the Haida Nation and Lax Kw’alaams communities, has been awarded with the King Charles III Coronation Medal in recognition of her outstanding service to community and country.
The King Charles III Coronation Medal was announced on May 3, 2023, three days before the coronation of King Charles III, and candidates must “have made a significant contribution to Canada or to a particular province, territory, region or community of Canada, or have made an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada.”
Coastal First Nations-Great Bear Initiative’s mission is to build strong, sustainable economies for its member Nations while protecting the terrestrial and marine environments for future generations, and Smith-Martin, as the CEO, has led the organization since 2021.
Smith-Martin was nominated in the category of “Politics, Public Service, and Justice” by the former Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honorable Joyce Murray, MP, for her outstanding work on the Great Bear Sea Project Finance for Permanence. She was among 25 recipients, including nine women and four Indigenous people, honoured at a ceremony on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Kitsilano Neighbourhood House.
“Joyce’s willingness to engage with and respect our Nations’ rights, responsibilities and traditional knowledge helped pave the way for the policy discussions we needed with DFO to shape the Great Bear Sea agreements,” said Smith-Martin. “Joyce took the time to build the meaningful relationships necessary to bring this agreement to closing, and it was an honour to work with her on this important initiative.”
In June 2024, in partnership with 17 First Nations and under direction from CFN leadership, Smith-Martin and the PFP team led CFN to the signing of the Great Bear Sea Project Finance for Permanence initiative. This historic $335M funding agreement launches a new era of collaborative governance in marine conservation and stewardship, ensuring that CFN communities have access to durable, long-term funding to care for their marine territories and support sustainable economic development on the coast.
The Great Bear Sea PFP builds on the work of the Great Bear Rainforest (GBR) Agreements, of which CFN was a signatory to in 2006. This historic achievement, known as the world’s first PFP, launched a sustainable conservation-based economy across the 6.4M-hectare Great Bear region and has since been replicated in nine countries and counting.
The Great Bear Sea PFP will fund the implementation of the Great Bear Sea Marine Protected Area (MPA) Network, protecting 30 percent of the Great Bear Sea while revitalizing sustainable economic activities, protecting and enhancing culture, biodiversity and helping coastal communities thrive for generations to come.
“Our communities remain the foundation of our work, and making life better for future generations underpins everything that we do,” said Smith-Martin. “Receiving this medal is another recognition of the work of our CFN leadership and community members, who have always understood that the wellbeing of our people is tied to the wellbeing of our lands and waters.
These are not mutually exclusive goals, and they can only be achieved together. Thanks to the knowledge of our ancestors and the perseverance of our leadership, we have created a model for conservation and sustainable economies that is being replicated around the world.”
