By Radha Agarwal, Delta Optimist, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Drawing on nearly two decades of self-governance, Tsawwassen First Nation (TFN) is endorsing the ratification of the K’ómoks and Kitselas Final Agreements.
The Nation asserts that the success of these new treaties is a vital legal precedent required to unlock TFN’s own pending treaty modifications.
Continue reading Tsawwassen backs K’ómoks and Kitselas ratification amid mounting territorial disputesBy Radha Agarwal, Delta Optimist, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A rare 2,000-year-old fishing net unearthed in Tsawwassen is undergoing conservation at the First Nation’s repository, providing a window into the coastal life that flourished in the region millennia ago.
“It really highlights the deep cultural importance of fishing for our people. It’s a privilege to be able to care for and hold a piece of our ancestors’ history and perpetuity,” said Tia Williams, Archaeology Coordinator at the Tsawwassen First Nation (TFN).
Continue reading Fishing net defies time, resurfaces 2,000 years later in Tsawwassen
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.”
Continue reading Reconciliation on hold as BC blocks Cowichan land win
By Melissa Renwick, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Alliance of BC Modern Treaty Nations has developed a framework with the province to advance treaty implementation in British Columbia, which was announced on May 24.
It is the first of its kind within the province and renews B.C.’s commitment to effectively implement modern treaties, according to the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation.
Continue reading Framework developed to advance modern treaty implementation in B.C.By Kelsie Kilawna, The Discourse, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Despite being raided twice last month by the Province of B.C.’s cannabis enforcement agency for operating without a provincial license, Vernon-based Indigenous cannabis dispensary Tupa’s Joint has been seeing a rise in customers.
Cory Brewer, shop owner and Okanagan Nation member, is taking a stance and exercising his rights as a sovereign member of his traditional territory. He and his employees say they will continue to stand behind Tupa’s Joint and the movement it’s creating in order to achieve respect for Indigenous sovereignty.
Continue reading Indigenous SoverEignty & Rights On Unceded Territory
