Tell BC: Stop opposing Nuchatlaht title
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- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
Stand with Nuchatlaht
Hi Paov,
On March 30, the BC NDP government released a plan to put its Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) into practice.
The action plan was widely celebrated by Premier John Horgan and members of cabinet, but while they were patting themselves on the back, provincial government lawyers were in the BC Supreme Court fighting against the Nuchatlaht Nation with outdated colonial arguments.
The Nuchatlaht title case is now in its fifth week. Lawyers working under BC Attorney General David Eby oppose the nation’s claim that their core territory on Nootka Island belongs to Nuchatlaht. Government lawyers argue the nation abandoned their territory, lost connection to their lands, are too small, and have not been there long enough to have legal title. The Crown is even seeking costs from the Nuchatlaht, placing an unfair burden on the small community that’s had its territory ravaged by industrial logging and fishing! This shameful conduct could be stopped today.
Action 2.3 of the new DRIPA Action Plan directs the attorney general to issue new guidelines to Crown counsel involved in litigation regarding the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
This is a golden opportunity to end the government’s colonial treatment of the Nuchatlaht — it’s up to us to convince them to take it. TAKE ACTION The Nuchatlaht have always been on their land. Their vision to restore it to abundance after a century of overexploitation is an exciting path forward. Environmental justice requires the return of land to Indigenous people and we should all stand with Nuchatlaht to that end.
Governments can easily tell their lawyers to stop fighting First Nations and denying title — in January 2019, former federal attorney general Judy Wilson-Raybould issued such a directive to federal lawyers. Canada is named in the Nuchatlaht case and its lawyers are in the courtroom, but they’re not opposing Nuchatlaht title.
Despite their promises on Indigenous rights and DRIPA legislation, the Horgan NDP government continues to fight this nation tooth and nail.
It’s time for this to end. Write your letter today.
For a healthy coast and a just future,
For the wild,
Torrance Coste
National Campaign Director
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