By Sonal Gupta, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A BC government appeal of a court ruling recognizing aboriginal title to part of the Cowichan Nation’s ancestral land in Richmond will delay reconciliation and prolong generations of harm, the nation’s lead lawyer said.

“This land was where the nation lived together, where they harvested together, where they were defended together and where they were literally embedded in the earth,” said David Robbins.

Last week, Justice Barbara Young granted the Cowichan title to almost 7.5 square kilometres of their ancestral Tl’uqtinus village lands on the south shore of Lulu Island in Richmond, BC across from Tilbury Island. The largely industrial area, long described by the Nation as their traditional settlement area, includes land owned by the federal government, the City of Richmond, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and private holdings. The ruling affirms their constitutionally protected title and right to fish for food in the south arm of the Fraser River — after more than 150 years of struggle since the land was taken from the Cowichan during the colonial era. 

However, within days of the decision, BC Attorney General Niki Sharma released a statement stating the province would appeal, warning the ruling could have “significant unintended consequences for fee simple private property rights in BC.”