1. Ibid. at para. 50.
2. Expert report of Jesse Morin, PhD, “Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s History, Culture and Aboriginal Interests in Eastern Burrard Inlet (Redacted Version).” Prepared for Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP (Toronto, Ontario: 2015) at para. 123.
3. The Constitution Act, 1982, Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11, s. 35(1) The existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada are hereby recognized and affirmed.
4. John Borrows, “Creating an Indigenous Legal Community” (2005) 50 McGill L.J. at 160.
Acknowledgment
I acknowledge I live and work on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam),
Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səlil̓wətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations. The land I personally occupy is in a corner of East Vancouver near New Brighton Park. New Brighton was first known as X̱í7nam̓ut (Kha-nah-moot), which was a Tsleil-Wauthuth village site. Its occupancy extends back over 1,000 years and some Tsleil-Waututh trace their origin story to the stream that weaves through the park.
It's humbling.
What is known as British Columbia has never been surrendered by treaty or war. It’s occupied territory under both historical and modern international law. This is a legal truth that Indigenous peoples know.
Although BC was never surrendered by treaty, other lands in Canada were. Those treaties are protected under s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. When they were signed, both parties used Indigenous law and ceremony to recognize the treaties they were entering. Because of this, our Constitution legitimizes Indigenous legal orders as a part of Canadian law.
I don’t practice Indigenous law however I hope that my work within the current system can support the shift that must happen to make room for its recognition. I support the incorporation of Indigenous jurisdiction and decision-making powers over their lands and cultures. I look forward to a British Columbia that recognizes and respects Indigenous legal orders and a country that includes them within our shared constitutional landscape.
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