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Gitxsan Chiefs’ Office Media Alert. For Immediate Release 4:00 p.m. pst.

On March 8, 1991, the Gitxsan simgigyet (hereditary chiefs) listened in disbelief as the BC Supreme Court released justice McEachern’s decision on aboriginal title extinguishing all aboriginal rights and describing life before colonization as “nasty, brutish and short.” The simgigyet tenaciously appealed that decision all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada and won a resounding victory when the top court in the land released its ruling Dec. 11, 1997 setting a new precedence for proving aboriginal title and putting the adaawk (oral history) on the same footing as written testimony in the courts.

Today, on the 13th anniversary of that BC Supreme Court decision in the Delgamuukw aboriginal title action, the Gitxsan announced they are returning to the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) to protect the hard-won victories from that titanic struggle.

The Gitxsan simgigyet will intervene in the appeal by the BC Ministry of Forests versus the Haida Nation in front of the SCC, March 24-25 in Ottawa. At stake for the Gitxsan is the recognition that their traditional governance system is the authority that BC and Canada must consult and accommodate when issues of aboriginal title and rights are in question.

“We want to reinforce that the Gitxsan Wilp (House group) is the main decision-maker under our traditional laws and that will involve both operational and administrative decisions on the land,” said Gitxsan Chiefs’ Office executive director Gordon Sebastian. “We have our own rule of law, the ayookw, that clearly defines the decision making process and authority that lies with the Wilp. It is strong and it is distinctive. If Canada left for Mars tomorrow the Gitxsan would still be here with a governing system.”

At the SCC, the Ministry of Forests, Attorney General, and forest company Weyhaeuser Ltd. will appeal a decision by the British Columbia Court that involved the finding the province failed to consult and accommodate the Haida on transfer of a timber harvesting tenure.

The need for the Crown to consult and accommodate with a First Nation before sanctioning an action that would infringe upon aboriginal rights was clearly set out in the Delgamuukw Supreme Court of Canada decision from1997. The Gitxsan have always maintained that any consultation or accommodation on their traditional territories must respect that the decision-making authority rests with the Wilp and will be seeking a ruling from the SCC in that vein.

For more information:

Gordon Sebastian, Gitxsan Chiefs’ Office Executive Director, (250) 842-6780

Gwaans (Beverley Clifton-Percival), Treaty Negotiator, (250) 842-6780

Tenimgyet (Art Matthews), Hereditary Chief & Petitioner, (250) 842-6780