Chief Roy Mussell Bursary Fund

The Fraser Basin Council established the Chief Roy Mussell Bursary Fund in 2024. The Fund is in honour of the legacy of the FBC Society’s founding Vice-Chair, Chief Roy Mussell, his commitment to sustainability and his passion for supporting Indigenous youth in BC.

The Bursary Fund – to which contributions are warmly invited —will provide bursaries to young Indigenous leaders in BC (aged 17-30) who are pursuing studies related to sustainability and/or reconciliation.

About Sxela’:wtxw till — Chief Roy Mussell

Chief Roy Mussell, also known as Sxela’:wtxw till, was a founding member of the Fraser Basin Council Society and Vice-Chair of the Council. He was a four-term Chief of Sqwá (Skwah) First Nation and held numerous leadership positions with various organizations, boards, and committees throughout his lifetime. As a highly respected leader in both his community and throughout British Columbia, Roy advocated for sustainability, community-based decision-making, and results-driven planning.

Roy was known for his kindness and earned widespread respect for his ability in bringing people together. He firmly believed in working and collaborating with others, and advocated for different groups to come together to tackle challenges and blaze trails for those who follow. He spearheaded innovative initiatives to bring together leaders from all orders of government to work together for sustainability, while also emphasizing the importance of responsibility and accountability. He left a great legacy, and the results of his work continue to inspire and influence many today.

Roy also had a particular passion in supporting Indigenous youth in their education and blazing their own leadership paths. He believed that providing youth with meaningful tasks and challenges will help them to move into the kind of leadership roles he had taken through his own life. He actively encouraged seasoned leaders to help foster the leadership capacity of younger generations by supporting youth to be involved in decision-making and to even initiate their own projects and initiatives.

Known to be a pragmatic leader who delivered results, Roy often said, “What gets measured gets done!”. In his own words, his work with the Fraser Basin Council was very special and dear to his heart, and he greatly believed in its mission and work in British Columbia.

About the Bursary Fund

The Chief Roy Mussell Bursary Fund is intended to support an annual award —beginning in 2025 — to an Indigenous youth to pursue studies related to sustainability and/or reconciliation and potentially other focus areas with direction from the family of Chief Roy Mussell.

The Fund was founded by donation by the Fraser Basin Council and through additional donations.

Contributions to the Fund are now invited and gratefully accepted, with a view to supporting annual bursary awards and being able to increase the bursary amount over time. You can make a donation through Canada Helps and the FBC page Support our Work by choosing the bursary fund on the Fund drop-down menu.

The Fund is administered by the Fraser Basin Council, with program the participation and approval of the Mussell family and with support from staff of the FBC Youth Program.

Choose "Chief Roy Mussell Bursary Fund" on our donation form.

Support the Bursary