NISGA’A TREATY WITH BRITISH COLUMBIA AND CANADA
On August 4, 1998, a land-claim stemming from 1887 was settled by treaty between the Nisga’a, the government of British Columbia (BC), and the Government of Canada. The treaty settled a lawsuit brought in 1969 by then-Nisga’a Nation Tribal Council President Frank Calder. As part of the settlement in the Nass River valley, nearly 2,000 square kilometers of land was officially recognized as Nisga’a, and a 300,000-cubic-decameter water reservation was also created. The Bear Glacier Provincial Park was also created as a result of this agreement. The land-claims settlement was the first formal treaty signed by a First Nation in BC since the Douglas Treaties in 1854 (pertaining to most of BC) and Treaty 8 (pertaining to northeastern BC). The land that is owned collectively is currently exposed to internal pressures from the Nisga’a people to turn it over into a system of individual ownership. This would have an effect on the rest of Canada in regard to native land.
Source:
"Nisga'a Lisims Government". Government of British Columbia. Retrieved 6/10/2020, https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/natural-resource-stewardship/consulting-with-first-nations/first-nations-negotiations/first-nations-a-z-listing/nisga-a-lisims-government
“Understanding the Treaty,” Nisga’a Lisims Government. Retrieved 6/10/2020, https://www.nisgaanation.ca/understanding-treaty
Flag: Walden69, 1/14/2006. Public Domain.
Indigenous America Calendar 