TheNemiahValley:Titleland,sacredland

HarlanCampbell

“We,theXenigwet’inpeopleoftheNemiah,areonlysayingwhatoureldershavealwayssaid. ‘Ifyoutakecareofandrespectthelandyouliveon,thelandwilltakecareofyou.’ThatiswhywemadeourDeclaration–toprotecttheland.ThefaceofTs'ylosisshownonourDeclaration.Helooksoverus.Oureldershavepassedthisdowntous,asithasbeenpasseddowntothembytheirelders,sincetimebegan.WebelievethatTs'yloswillprotectusandthelandweliveon.”

Statementfromthe‘NemiahValleyIndianBand’,August4,1992

A “judgment for the ages”1declared the front-page of the Vancouver Sun. The

NationalPostcalledita“legalearthquake.”2The“mostimportantSupremeCourt

rulingonaboriginalrightsinCanadianhistory,”3reportedtotheGlobeandMail.

On June26th2014,aftermore than25years4, thousandsofhoursof testimony

and cross-examination, Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia, one of the most

expensiveandlengthylegalbattlesinCanadianhistory,hadcometoanend.Ina

unanimousandhistoricdecision,thecountry’shighestcourtrecognizedthatthe

Tsilhqot’in people have “Aboriginal Title,” land ownership to 1,750 square

kilometersoftheirtraditionalterritory.Moreover,thecourtdefinedforthefirst

timewhat constitutes Aboriginal Title under Canadian law: the right to occupy

theland,controlhowitwillbeused,andbenefiteconomicallyfromitsresources.

Thesignificanceofthecase-thereasonwhyitmadefront-pagesofnewspapers

across thecountry- isnotsimplydueto the fact thatAboriginalTitlehas finally

beenrecognizedanddefinedbythecourts.Inacountrywhoserelationshipwith

nativepeoplehasbeensotroubledandtumultuous,itmaybe,asonearticleinthe

Globe andMail suggested, “one of those rare Supreme Court of Canada rulings

thatpointsthecountryinanewdirection.”5

“Itonlytook150years,”acknowledgedGrandChiefStewartPhillip,presidentof

theunionofBC Indian chiefs, “butwe look forward to amuchbrighter future.”

Admittedly overwhelmed with the verdict, he believes the decision “without

question, will establish a solid platform for genuine reconciliation […].”6 Craig

BenjaminspeakingforAmnestyInternationalduringthetrialonthestepsofthe

Supreme Court put the case in an even larger context: “It’s an incredibly

important case, not only inCanadabut around theworld. Iwould say actually

morebroadly,forthecauseofhumanrights,becausethesituationofindigenous

peoples, the denial of their land rights, the suffering and the harm that that

causes,isoneofthemostcrucialhumanrightsissuesofourtime.Andwhatthe

Tsilhqot'in are doing here today is advancing a standard that everyone should

standbehind.”7

HowdidtheTsilhqot'inwinthe fight forAboriginalTitle?Andwhyhassucha

decisiontakenso long? Tobesure, theTsilhqot'inwerethebeneficiariesofthe

effortsofmanywhofoughtforTitlebeforethem.Alonghistoryoflitigationand

near-wins upon which the Tsilhqot'in could stand –Calder in 1973 and

Delgamuukwin1997,amongothers—allowedthemtoreachtheultimateprize.8

Andwithout a doubt, the huge body of evidence brought forth9 -a plethora of

historicalaccounts, legends,andthe testimonyof traditions thatestablishedthe

necessary “regular and exclusive use of the land”– was critical in securing the

landmarkverdict. Yet,whenoneconsiders themonumentaleffortsput forth in

achieving such anunlikely and costly victory, it is clear that legal evidence and

precedentsalonecannotaccountforthisunprecedentedoutcome.

Toagreatextent,theanswerliessomewherewiththe“TitleLand”itself,heard

in the songs that thread together myth and meaning, alive in the dances and

drumbeats thathavealwaysboundapeopleandplace. AsChiefRogerWilliam,

theTsilhqot’inchiefinwhosenamethelegalchallengewaslaunched,declaredon

the day of the court’s ruling: “We come from our land… somany stories and

legendsandhistory…thesongsthatwesing,thedrum-songs,thedancethatwe

do,itcomesfromtheland.”10

***

Until1973,whenthe firstroadwasbuilt, theNemiahValleyand theTsilhqot’in

people who live there, while less than 150 miles as the crow flies from the

skyscrapersofdowntownVancouver,remainedessentiallycutofffromtheworld.

Governmentassistancetothecommunitydidnotcomeuntil1975. TheNemiah

wasonlyconnectedbytelephonein2000.11Tothisday,theNemiahValleyisnot

connected to the electrical grid. “As if caught in a back-eddy of time,” wrote

journalistSageBirchwater,whoventureddownthenewroadinthespring1973.

Thelandscapehesawwas“raw,”ashedescribed,“withinnocencethatisalways

there when the balance between the natural forces and mankind is tilted

noticeablyonnature'sside.”

Nestled between the fifty-five-mile long ice blue Chilko Lake to the west, the

snow-cappedMount Ts'ylos to the south, the Taseko River to the east and the

BrittanyTriangle–avastplateauwherewildhorsesstillroam—tothenorth,the

Nemiah Valley is a place where nature has conspired with history to allow a

continuityofculturethatistrulyremarkable.

Thepeopleof thevalleyare theXeniGwet’in(pronouncedHoneyCoteen), the

most traditional of six Tsilhqot’in bands. Numbering in the hundreds, they are

consideredbyallTsilhqot’intobethecaretakers,“chargedwiththesacredduty

toprotecttheland.”Tothem,theirlandistheirculture.Theyhavealwaysbeen

notonlypro-active,butmilitantinthedefenseoftheirtraditionsandtothisday

theTsilhqot’in languageisaliveandwell12, taught inthecommunityelementary

school and spoken at all band meetings and community events. The younger

generationistaughtandencouragedtofish,huntandridehorses.Thiscontinued

capacity for cultural survival has, without doubt, been made possible by their

isolation,theresultofauniquehistoricallegacy.

Until1808,evenasQuebecCityentereditsthirdcentury,theTsilhqot’inhadyet

toencounterEuropeans.Onlyinthatyear,alongthebanksofthegreatriverthat

wouldonedaytakehisname,didtheexplorerSimonFrasermeetafewtravelling

“Chilk-odins,”apeople“fromtheheadofaRiver[TheChilcotin]thatfallsintothis

River[TheFraser].”Henoted:“TheyspeakoftheirCountryasplentifullystocked

withallkindsofanimals.”

InJanuary1822,fur-traderGeorgeMcDougallwasthefirstwhitemantoenter

Tsilhqot’in territory. He took note of the astonishing natural abundance of the

landandwasmuch takenby thenativepeople: “theyarecertainlya fine,brave

lookingsetofIndian,whoselandsarefarfrombeingpooreither,astobeaveror

LargeAnimals[…][TheChilko]RivertheysayyieldsthemabundanceSalmonin

itsSeason.”

Despite word of such bounty, it was several years before the Hudson’s Bay

Company established a trading post in Tsilhqot'in territory in 1829; and then

withonly limited success. ‘FortChilcotin’was situatedat the confluenceof the

ChilkoandChilcotinRivers,withinTsilhqot'interritorybutfarremovedfromthe

NemiahValley.WhencompanymanJosephMcGillvaryventureduptheChilko,he

foundthegrandChilkoLake“surround[ed]byloftyMountains”anddeclared:“it

aboundsinlargeAnimals.”

Fromthestart,relationsbetweenthecolonialtradersandtheTsilhqot’inwere

tenseandcombative. Thetradingpostwasclosedforthefirsttimein1830and

whenre-openedthefollowingyear,was“metwithaveryroughreception.”13In

1838,ChiefAllaw,aTsilhqot’inchief,orderedtheHBCtraders“offfromhisLands

immediately, so that they might have the pleasure of burning the Fort.” This

dispute was eventually resolved, but friction remained and the post was

ultimatelyclosed.

Catholic missionaries first appeared on the margins of Tsilhqot’in territory

duringthe1840s.However,missionaryeffortswereforthemostpartineffective.

CatholicpriestModesteDemers,havingfoundthejourneynorthratherstrenuous

-“afeverishatmosphere,anoppressivesun,achokingdust,ahilltoclimb,aravine

tocross”-hadlittlesuccess.

WiththediscoveryofgoldontheFraserRiverin1859,afloodofminersarrived

onthemarginsofTsilhqot’inland,buttheirimpactwaslimitedastheTsilhqot'in

avoided contact. However, as colonialpresence intensified–the colonial settler

populationgrowingfromlessthan1,000towellover10,000duringthelatterhalf

ofthe1850s-intrusionsintotheirterritorycompelledtheTsilhqot'intoact.

In1864, SirAlfredWaddington, theman forwhomBritishColumbia’shighest

mountainisnamed,setouttobuildawagonroadfromButeInletonthePacific

coast, up theHomathkoRiver, through Tsilhqot’in territory to the Fraser River

andultimatelytotheCariboogoldfields.Theconstructioncrewwasmakinggood

progressabout70milesinlandwhen,intheearlylightofdawnonApril30th,they

were attackedby a groupofTsilhqot’inwarriors. The foreman’sheartwas cut

outand,bysomeaccounts,eatenraw14.Itwasthestartofwhatbecameknownas

the“ChilcotinWar,”ahistoricmilestone,as itwasarguably theonly instanceof

significantmilitaryresistancetocolonialpowerswestoftheRockyMountains.

Newsoftheattack(“themoststartlingthingofthekindthathasyettakenplace

ineithercolony”asonenewspaperexclaimed)madeitswaybacktoVictoria,care

ofthreeunlikelysurvivorswhoescapedbythrowingthemselvesintheriverand

floatingdownstream.Inresponse,amilitiawasformed,andsentofftofight“until

everymemberoftherascallymurderers’tribeissuspendedfromthetreesoftheir

ownforests,”asoneVictorianewspaperurged.

As to what had provoked the surprise attack, some suggested that it was in

responsetotheroadcrew’sabuseofasmallgroupofTsilhqot’intheyhadhired

onaslaborers.Waddingtontookexceptionwillthefactthathis“innocentparty”

wasguiltyofanywrongdoing.And,despitethefactthathewasmarkedlywrong

on this point –hismen had starved, raped and threatened smallpox upon their

Tsilhqot’in workers- an editorial he wrote for the Daily British Colonist

newspaperonJune13th1864,doesprovidesomecontextforwhytheTsilhqot’in

chosetoretaliateastheydid:

“Did not the whites also, around the same time bring the small-pox to Bella

Coola whence it spread […] and was not one-third of the population carried

off by that first visitation? […] And did not about the same time one Angus

McLeod and another named Taylor go and collect those same infested

blankets in the bushes, which the Indians had deposited with the bodies of

three men dead of the small-pox, and put them up carefully as new ones and

sell them again to the Indians which brought on a second contagion,

carrying off another third of the population. […] The Indians that came down

on Bute Inlet had been shamefully treated, unknown to ourselves” [and thus]

“those Indians were naturally tempted to take a cruel revenge and to plunder

where they had been plundered.”15

Indeed,theTsilhqot’inhadbeenparticularlydevastatedbythesmallpoxepidemic

that swept through northwest coast. (It is estimated that the total aboriginal

populationmayhavefallenfromoveronehundredthousandin1800tolessthan

fortythousandby1863.)

Theresulting ‘war’ lastedall summer,withmanyattacksandambushes taking

placewithintheNemiahValley.Allofthis,totheapparentdelightoftheColonial

Governor:“ThatEuropeansshouldthusrundownwildIndians,”wroteGovernor

Seymour, in a letter dated September 9, 1864 “and drive them to suicide or

surrenderintheirownhuntinggroundsinthefruitandfishseasonappearstome

Iconfessalittleshortofmarvelous.”16

InOctober 1864, five Tsilhqot’in chiefs arrived unarmed inQuesnel under the

impressiontheyhadbeeninvitedtonegotiatepeace.Immediatelybetrayed,they

wereseized,jailed,andtriedbeforeajudgewhoquicklysentencedthemtodeath,

guilty ofmurder. “Wemeantwar, notmurder,” the Tsilhqot’in Chief Klatsassin

famously asserted. There was no forgiveness or sympathy. Reverend Lundin

Brown, who was tasked with converting the condemned to Christianity before

theirexecutionnoted:“Ignoranceintheeyesofthelawisnoexcuse.Terrormust

bestruckintoalltheIndiantribes.Allfivemustdie.”17

In the wake of the hangings, the Tsilhqot’in retreated ever deeper into their

territory,manyintoisolatedcornersoftheNemiahValley.But“terror-struck”as

theymayhavebeen,theywerealsovictoriousandempowered.Iftheobjectiveof

thewar had been to rid themselves of thewhiteman, they hadmost definitely

succeeded. Following the ‘war’,Waddington’sambitiousprojectwasabandoned

andtheTsilhqot’inwereleftlargelyundisturbedbyoutsidersforyearstocome.

***

Thechoiceswemakewithrespecttothelandonwhichwelivehaveagreatdeal

todowithourrelationshipwiththatland.Apeoplewhohavelivedgenerations

inaplacenodoubtformadeepconnectiontothatplaceandwillchoosetocare

for it, as it has cared for them. But the changes we would like to see for our

homeland,oftenhavelittletodoindetermininghowthelandscapeisultimately

transformedwhendominantoutsideforcescomeintoplay.Inthisrespect,isthe

landscape but a passive player in its destiny? Do the mountains stand idle,

helplessly looking down as those below determine their fate? Perhaps. But a

peopleexistinnatureasafunctionofplace:characterdefinedbylandscapejust

asspiritissustainedbyone’ssurroundings.

Apeoplehavinglivedofftheland,nodoubtgatherstrengthfromtheland,and

giventheopportunity,theywillfighttoprotectthatlandwithalloftheirstrength.

IntheNemiahValley,themountainsdonotstandidle.

Over the centuries, the Nemiah has held outsiders at bay with its geography,

guns, roadblocks, andmost recently lawyers. But if you asked theXeniGwet’in

whathasprotectedtheirhomeland,theymighttellyouitwasallonemountain,or

rather, onemanwho became amountain. “Mount Ts'ylos looks over us,” they

wouldtellyou.“WebelievethatTs'yloswillprotectusandthelandweliveon.”

ThecreationmythofTs'ylostellsusthatmanyyearsago,longbeforethearrival

ofwhite settlers, aman andhiswife lived in theNemiahnearXeni Lake. Even

though they had six children together, Ts'ylos and 'Eniyud had trouble getting

alongwithoneanother.Afterdisagreementswithherhusband,'Eniyudflungher

newborn into Ts'ylos' lap, took three of her six children, and left. She walked

throughthe landtowardstheTatlayokoValley. Inher journey,shesculptedout

theNemiahValleyandplantedthewildpotatoesthatarestillharvestedtoday.

With'Eniyudgone,Ts'ylosandthethreechildrenturnedintorock.'Eniyudwith

herchildrenalsoturnedtorock.TheyarethemountainssurroundingtheNemiah

today.Ts'ylos,thehighestpointintheChilcotinRangestandstall.Asfarawayas

thehighwaywestofRiskeCreek,someeightymilestothenortheast,Ts'yloscan

beseen,standingdominantinthedistance.

The Xeni Gwet’in are cautious to refer to Ts’ylos with appropriate decorum,

taking care to show him respect. The mountain does not appreciate people

pointingorstaringathim,andthereareconsequencesforthosewhodo.TheXeni

Gwet'inelderssaythat ifyoupointatTs’ylos,hewillmakeitrainorsnow. Bad

luckwillfalluponyou,theweatherwillchangewhenyouareleastpreparedand

arefarfromhome.

Despitesuchprominence,youmighthavetroublefindingTs'ylosonamap. On

most, the mountain is named Mount Tatlow, after British Columbia’s finance

minister at the turn of the 20th century, Robert Garnett Tatlow, who famously

“rescued the province” from debt in 1903with the rapid sale of vast swaths of

“Crownlands”andforestrights,thesesoldon“veryfavourableterms,”nodoubt.18

***

Followingtheeventsof1864,BritishColumbiaunderwentastonishingchanges.

In1871,theBritishColonyjoinedtheConfederationofCanadaandin1885,was

connected to rest of the country with the completion of the Canadian Pacific

Railroad.19 InthefourdecadesfollowingtheChilcotinWar,the(non-aboriginal)

populationgrewmorethanten-foldtoover150,000bytheturnofthetwentieth

century. 20 Despite these rapid changes, the Nemiah Valley, deep within

Tsilhqot’in territory remained relatively untouched. When, at the turn of the

nineteenthcentury, inSeptember1899,A.W.VowellvisitedtheNemiahwiththe

goalofcreating“Indianreserves”hereported: “thetrailstoNemiahValleywere

of the roughest kind and being beyond the settled portions of the country they

have never been improved by either Government or settlers; remaining in the

veryprimitiveconditionof‘Indiantrails’.”

While theTsilhqot'in did their best to keep outsiders out,migration toBritish

Columbiaonlygrewmorerapidly:intenyearsthepopulationmorethandoubled

withmore than 370,00021(non-aboriginal) living in the province by 1911. And

yet,theNemiahValleystillremainedincrediblyisolated.22

WhenalpinistMalcolmGoddardarrivedintheNemiahValleyin1912withthe

objective of climbing the peaks surrounding Chilko Lake,whichwas even then

“said to be the most beautiful lake in British Columbia,” he noted with

bewilderment that “Very fewwhitemenhaveever seen the lake, and thenonly

from the north end.” Goddard described Chilko Lake as “the colour of Lake

Genevawithjagged,forbidding,black,icehungpeaks,risingoutofthewaterfive

to six thousand feet.” Despite his many successful climbs and his published

accountsof“peakscomparabletothoseoftheRockiesortheSelkirks,”fewwould

repeathisjourney.

The first whites to permanently settle in the Nemiah arrived in 1923. Twin

cowboybrothers fromIdaho,ElmerandOliverPurjuesetuparanchandbyall

accountshadafriendlyrelationshipwiththeXeniGwet’in.Infact,Elmerwenton

tomarryaXeniGwet’inwomanMaryBaptisteandtheirdescendantscontinuedto

liveoflandforgenerations.23

By the 1950s a certain mythic aura had enveloped “Chilcotin Country”.

Outsiders came looking for ranchlands in what was professed to be the last

frontierofthewest.By1970,whileranchershadmadehomeswithinTsilhqot'in

territory, itremainedawildanduntamedplace,withonenewspaperconcluding

that“asyoudrivethedustymilesalongtheChilcotinRoadyouknowthatdespite

man'smania for raping virgin land, this is a land thatwill never be tamed, and

where peoplewill remain just as they are today: rugged, individualistic, proud-

and free.” In 1973, when the road was completed, the Xeni Gwet’in, incredibly

isolatedforso long,werefinallyconnectedtotheoutsideworldandtheNemiah

Valleywasonthemapatlast.

***

ThereisamarvelousanecdotethatshowsjusthowbountifultheNemiahValley

remainsinrecenttimes.Saint-ClairMcColl,awell-travelledpilotfromSaltSpring

Island, remembershis first trip to theareaquitewell. In theearly90s,hewas

hired to fly a floatplane from Vancouver, over the Coast Mountains and down

ontoChilko Lake. “Itwas a beautiful flight thewholeway,” recalls Saint-Clair.

“Flyingat10,000feetovermassiveareasofglaciers,itwasjustgreat.”Butwhen

hearrivedaboveChilkoLake,hisheart sank. Lookingdown to the largealpine

lakehesawlargeblackswathscrossingthewater.“I immediatelythoughtsome

kind of oil spill.” The large dark black patches “circles half a mile or more in

diameter” lookedworrisome indeed. “From theair, the lakewas stainedblack.”

Fortunatelyhowever,itwasn’toilinthelake.Thelakewasstainedwithsalmon.

Onanaverageyear,someonemillionsalmonwillleavethePacific,swimupthe

FraserRiver,uptheChilcotinRiver,andfinallyuptheChilkoRivertoarriveinthe

greatChilkoLake. Fromwhere theystart the journeynearVancouver, theywill

travelsome500milestoreachtheirdestination.Andthoughwemaybefamiliar

with the legendary “Fraser sockeye run”, few of us realize that, of the many

millionsofsockeyesalmonwhoswimuptheFrasereverysummer, themajority

areheadedtotheChilkoRiver.24Butthemostamazingthingaboutthesefishisn’t

their staggering abundance. Recent research suggests that these fish are truly

unique.The“Chilkosockeye”mustnotonlyswimalengthydistancetoreachthe

lake theymust climba substantial elevation. ChilkoLake, knownas the “largest

high-elevationlakeinNorthAmerica”sitsat1,172meters(3845feet)abovesea

level. Therequiredelevationgainhasendowedthefishwithmuchlargerhearts

andmoreefficientmetabolism.

“I like to call theChilkopopulationof sockeye ‘Superfish,’” saysErikaEliason,

whoconductedtheresearchwithbiologistsattheUniversityofBritishColumbia.

“Chilko were able to swim at higher and a broader range of temperatures

comparedtotheotherpopulationsweexamined.Webelieveithastodowithhow

they’veadaptedtocopewiththeirdifficultmigration.”25

InlateAugust,theXeniGwet’inwillharvestthefishastheyhaveforthousands

ofyears. ByearlySeptember, theSockeyewillbeginspawning,congregatingat

theheadof the lake. Thereare somany in suchhighdensity, that thevalley is

saidtobe“alivewiththesoundsoffish”.

Baldeaglesdescend,joiningblueheronsandseagullsforameal,whileospreys

andravens flyabove. On theriverbanks, coyotesandblackbearsrejoice in the

bounty. But most impressive of all, are the grizzly bears who, in incredible

numbers,descendonChilkoLakeandtheupperChilkoRivertofeastonthedead

salmon.Somanygrizzliesassembleherethatviewingplatformshavebeensetup

for tourists to observe and photograph the bears.26 Recent DNA evidence

suggestsChilko salmonprovide a critical food source for grizzlies in an area as

largeas41,000km2-4timesthesizeofBanff,YohoandKootenayNationalParks

combined (9,360 km2) and over 4 times the size of Yellowstone National Park

(8,983km2). And just like the ‘Chilko sockeye’ these bears are unique

creatures.UnlikethegrizzlieslivingalongthePacificcoast,the“drylandgrizzlies”

of the Tsilhqot'in not only feed on salmon and berries, but also travel the

grasslands in search ofwhite-bark pinenuts, corms ofwild potatoes, and bear-

claw. What’s more, these bears represent the last viable stronghold27for the

drylandgrizzlybear(whichhistoricallyinNorthAmerica,roamedthedryeastern

slopes of the Coast Range), and as such are considered by biologists as an

“internationallysignificantpopulation.”28

Whiletheabundanceofsalmonandbearsisastounding,whatmakestheNemiah

andsurroundingareaparticularlyunique is that, sharing the forestsandvalleys

withthegrizzly,blackbearsandwolves,29areroamingherdsofhundredsofwild

horses.

Thoughitisimpossibletosayjusthowlongthehorseshavebeenroamingwild

in theNemiahand throughoutBrittanyTriangle to thenorth,historical records

confirm that Tsilhqot'in people were living with and riding horses well before

Europeancontactin1808.30Overcenturies,thepracticeofcapturingandriding

wildhorseshasbecomeanextremelysignificantpartofXeniGwet’inculture.As

a 1922 report to the BC Surveyor General noted: “[the Tsilhqot'in] are born

horsemenanddonot likegoingwheretheycannotride.” JonakiBhattacharyya,

anethnoecologistwhohasstudiedthehorsesatlengthconcluded:“Thepractice

ofchasing,capturingandeventrainingthosehorseskeepslocalpeopleoutonthe

land, aware of not only the health and characteristics of the horse populations,

but also of other landscape elements and wildlife. In turn, working and

interactingwiththosehorses facilitatescontinuedrelationshipsbetweenpeople

andtheland.”

In2003,inanefforttoprotectthehorses,theXeniGwet’inestablishedtheEagle

Lake Henry ?Qayus wild horse reserve, the only wild horse reserve in British

Columbia.31HarrySetah,awell-skilledhorsemanwasnamedthefirst“WildHorse

Ranger.” While the reservebroughtmuchneededprotection to thehorseswho

are threatened and considered pests by neighboring ranchers, it also brought

substantial attention to theXeniGwet’in fight for land rights. "Youcan'thavea

horsepeoplewithouthorsesandthehorsesarenotgoingtosurvivewithoutthe

XeniGwet'in," confessedDavidWilliams,presidentof theFriendsof theNemiah

Valleyorganization.

ChiefRogerWilliamattributesmuchofthestrengthandskillsthatallowhimto

beasuccessfulleadertoyearshespentwithhorses,firstasachildintheNemiah

thenasprofessionalriderontherodeocircuit:“Ihadtoprovemyself,I’msmall.

I’velearnedtoworkhardtobecompetitive,that’stheonlywayIsurvive.”Hehas

wonmanyofthelegendary“MountainRaces,”thethrillinghighlightoftheannual

NemiahValleyRodeowhereyoungXeniGwet’inthunderdownthemountainside.

InadditiontobeingofgreatspiritualimportanceintheNemiahandsymbolicof

the unconquered land they roam, horseswere, prior to the construction of the

road in 1973 a primary form of transportation. Having a good horse meant

havingthefreedomtotravelbetweencommunities,andbeyond.

HenrySoloman,chiefin1973,remembersthechangesthatcameoncetheroad

wascompleted.“Lifechangedovernight,”herecalls. Theroadmeantthetripto

William’sLake,thenoneofthefastestgrowingtownsintheregion32,wasonlya

day’sjourney.ChiefSolomanremembersotherbenefitsthatcamewiththeroad.

“Before,noonewantedtohelptheIndian.”herecalled,“Wenevergotwelfareor

anythingandhadtomakeourownmoney.”In1975,governmentstartedpaying

welfare.

Otherchangeshappenedquicklyaswell.In1985,followinganoutbreakofthe

mountain pine beetle, the Ministry of Forests opened up much of Tsilhqot’in

territorytologgingcompanies. WhiletheforestsofNemiahwereleftintact,the

five other Tsilhqot’in bands saw much of their forests cleared away. At the

industry’sheight,250loadedloggingtrucksdepartedTsilhqot’interritoryevery

day.

In 1989, when the Ministry of Forests issued permits for logging across the

ChilkoRiver,theXeniGwet'infearedthattheNemiahValley,withitscenturies-old

standsofspruce, firandendangeredwhitebarkpine3334,wouldbenext. What’s

more, BC Hydro expressed ambitions to dam the Chilko, Taseko and Tatlayoko

Lakesforamassivehydroelectricproject.Withtheseconcerns,theNemiahband

hiredlawyerJackWoodward,whohadbeensuccessfulfightingfortheprotection

of Meares Island in Clayoquot Sound on Vancouver Island’s West Coast. (It is

worth noting that until 1951, it was illegal for natives to hire a lawyer for the

purposeoflandclaims.)

Woodwardencouragedthemtowriteouttheirpositions inadeclaration. The

NemiahDeclaration forbid commercial logging,mining, road building, and dam

constructioninNemiah:“WearepreparedtoenforceanddefendourAboriginal

rightsinanywayweareable.” Otherthreatstothelandarose.In1991,theXeni

faced another threat to the land. Taseko Mines Ltd., a Vancouver company,

conducted exploratory drilling northwest of Taseko mountain and discovered

whatwasestimatedasthetenth-largestundevelopedcopper-golddepositinthe

world:2.4billionkilogramsofcopperand380,000kilogramsofgold.

OnMay6th1992,whenwordthatloggingcompaniesweretobeginconstruction

onabridgeovertheChilkoRiverataplaceknownasHenry’sCrossing,theXeni

acted immediately. At one-o-clock in the morning, band members mounted a

road-blockade thatwould last twomonths asnegotiationswith the government

wentbackand forth. Ontwooccasions,ChiefRogerWilliambroughtnegotiated

logging plans to his community for a vote. On each occasion the Xeni Gwet'in

turned them down. Relations between the provincial government and the

Tsilhqot’inNationalGovernmentwereextremelyheatedandin1997,thingsboiled

over,with controversyover the rights to re-burry ancestral remains foundona

localrancher’sfield.35

Theprovincedidmakesomeconcessions,andin1999issuedanapologyforthe

1864hangingofthe“ChilcotinWar”chiefs.Butultimately,afterthirteenyearsof

backand forthwithnoagreementover logging,ChiefRogerWilliamand lawyer

JackWoodwarddecidedtomakethefightforAboriginalTitle.OnNovember18th,

2002,Tsilhqot’inNationv.BritishColumbiawenttotheprovincialSupremeCourt.

***

The trial was anything but ordinary. Represented by lawyers from the BC

Attorney General, the federal Department of Justice, as well as one of Canada's

largestlawfirms,BordenLadnerGervais,thegovernmentsofCanadaandBritish

Columbia tried to have the case terminated on technicalities in ten separate

attempts before a judge ever heard arguments at trial. The Xeni, having

essentially no money of their own, funded the case with donations from the

AssemblyofFirstNations,andenvironmentalorganizations.Whenfundsranout,

the XeniGwet'in appealed to the court for support and JackWoodward andhis

legalteamagreedtoworkforhalf-pay.

In the days prior to trial, Chief Roger William was subjected to a series of

questionsfromthegovernmentlawyers,sothattheymightbuildtheircase.“They

wanted to know howmuch I know about rights and title, about our land, do I

knowmylanguage,doIknowmyhistory,”recallsRogerWilliam.“Sotheyasked

meawholebunchofquestions.” Whenhesays “awholebunch,” thechiefdoes

not exaggerate. Over the course of 28 days, before the trial even started, he

answered11,042questions.36Oftheseanswers,notasingleonewasusedduring

trial. RogerWilliamwas not deterred. During the trial he took the stand for a

record-setting46days.

When it became clear thatmanyXeniGwet'in elderswereunable tomake the

journeytoVictoriatotestify,thecourtwasmovedtotheNemiah. Intwofeetof

snow,courtwasheldfor14daysinanemptyclassroomofthecommunityschool.

Elders gave testimony in their native tongue, recalling stories and legends

includingthecreationmythsofTs'ylosand'Eniyud.Physicalobjectsgaveweight

to their connection with the land: a gwezinsh, the specialized tool for digging

mountain potatoes was one of many exhibits, evidence that the Xeni had, for

countlessgenerations,harvested'Eniyud’swildpotatoes.

InNovember2007,after339daysofcourthearings,JusticeDavidVickersissued

a verdict. In a 458-page decision, he concludedwith unique andunprecedented

language:“Tsilhqot’inpeoplehavesurviveddespitecenturiesofcolonization.The

centralquestioniswhetherCanadianscanmeetthechallengesofdecolonization.”

Despite accepting the Xeni Gwet'in’s claims, Justice Vickers declined to make a

declarationofAboriginalTitleduetotechnicalities.Allpartiesappealed,andthe

caseheadedtotheBCCourtofAppealin2012,andultimatelytheSupremeCourt

ofCanadainNovember2013.

Inmanyways, thestrength thathassustained theXeniGwet'in in the fight for

theirhomelandoriginatesinthelanditself.AsJonakiBhattacharyyawrites:“The

XeniGwet’in take strength from the land; theydraw their values from the land;

theywrestlewiththeland’schallenges.” Duringcenturiesofstruggle,theoption

ofsimplymovingon,ofabandoningtheNemiahandadaptingtourbanlifeinthe

citieshasneverbeenpossibility. AsHarrySetahconfessed in2004: “Ifwe lose,

thenwe’renotaculture,we’renotapeople.”

Forthoseofthecity,landmaybeconsideredverymuchas“property”,aphysical

space to occupy and inhabit. The Xeni Gwet'in have an entirely different view.

The land iswhere the livingspiritofplace,historyandculture, resides. For the

Xeni Gwet'in, the fight to protect the land is a fight to protect their identity,

safeguardtheirlanguageanddefendtheirbeliefs. Thelandissacred,asistheir

dutytoprotectit.

While the titlecasewasbeing fought in thecourts, theXeniGwet’inwerealso

fightingonanotherfront.TheTasekogoldandcopperdiscoveryin1991resulted

inthe`Prosperity’miningproposal,submittedforenvironmentalreviewin2008.

In January 2010, then Xeni Gwet’in ChiefMarilyn Baptiste (Xeni Gwet’in Chief

between2008and2011)ledelders,scientificexpertsandcommunitymembersin

presentations to the environmental review panel, which ultimately rejected the

miningproposal.Butwithinayear,arevisedproposal,the‘NewProsperityMine’

was submitted and heavymachinery beganmoving into the Fish Lake area for

preliminarywork.ChiefBaptisterespondedimmediately,initiatingaone-woman

road blockade that prevented construction crews from accessing the proposed

mine site. In doing so she turned long lines of trucks and machinery around.

When the mining company complained to authorities, Baptiste obtained an

injunctionfromtheBCSupremeCourtprohibitingthetrucksandmachineryfrom

comingback.Whenaskedaboutthefightshenoted:

“WhenIwasyoung,myfathertookourfamilytoFishLakeandshowedushowto

fish.Hetolduswheretoplacefishtrapsandhowhereliedonthesetrapsforfood.

HealsotaughtmysonandniecesandnephewshowtofishonFishLake….These

visions particularly stuck with me when I decided to take up the fight against

Prosperity Mine. […]. In our teachings, in our way, much of our rituals, our

medicineandhowtomakeourmedicinearesacredthings.[…]WhatIcansayis,

whenwewalk on our land,whenweare able to drink out of thewaters of our

lakes,ourrivers,ourcreeks,ourstreams–thosethingsaresacredbecausethose

arethegiftsfromMotherEarth.Thosearewhatbringusourfortune,ourvalues,

ourwayoflife,ourstrength.”37

Inearly2014thefederalgovernmentonceagainrejectedtheproposedTaseko

mineandBaptistewasawardedtheinternationallyacclaimed$175,000Goldman

Prizeforenvironmentalactivism.

FinallyonJune26th2014,theSupremeCourtofCanadadeclaredtheirrulingin

the title case.38The response fromboth sideswas immediate. "This decision[…]

will be a game-changer in terms of the landscape in British Columbia and

throughout the rest of the countrywhere there is un-extinguishedFirstNations

title," proclaimed Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Regional Chief JodyWilson-

Raybould,(now FederalMinister of Justice). Former BCAttorneyGeneral Geoff

Plantagreed:“Realizethat150yearsofgovernment’sattempttodenyortolimit

or tonarrowaboriginal rightshasbeenprettymuch thrownout thewindowby

theSupremeCourtofCanada.”39

***

Itwaswithmuchenthusiasm,thatIvisitedtheNemiahValleyinthesummerof

2014, not long after the title judgment was declared. The road to get there

remainsunpavedandrugged.Indeed,atonepointwerequiredthehelpofatow-

trucktopullourvehicleoutofanembankment.Although,tobefair,thecauseof

the accident probably had more to do with being distracted by the beautiful

scenery,thenwiththeroughconditionoftheroad.

Onmylastday inthevalley, IwokeupearlytoacoldSeptembermorning. In

the hours before sunrise, Iwalked through the tall dry grasses to a small bluff

alongtheeastshoreofChilkoLake.AsImademywayupthehillside,alightwind

whispered softly through the aspens, the leaves faintly goldenwith the coming

autumn.WhenIreachedthetop,theviewsuddenlyopenedup,overlookingthe

vastlakeandthesurroundingmountains,stilldimlylit.Theviewwasexpansive.

Allwasaquiet.Theairwascold.

Eversosuddenly, thesunlightappeared,castinga faint first lightonthepeaks

alongthefarshore. Slowly, themountainsturneda luminousgold,andthesoft

fierylightdescendedevenlytowardsthecoldbluelake.

Twodays earlier, elders andmembers of theTsilhqot’in andXeniGwet’in had

stood on this very hilltop, joined by none other than the Premier of British

Columbia,ChristyClark.ShedescribedtheNemiahasbreathtaking:“Nowonder

this place is sacred to the Tsilqhot’in people who have watched over it for

centuries.”Standingtogether,onthisnewlyrecognizedtitleland,thosegathered

acknowledgedthattheSupremeCourt’sjudgment“offersaprofoundopportunity”

andtheyagreedtoworktogether“towardsa lastingreconciliation.” Tobesure,

thereisstillatremendousamountofhardworktocome.

Protecting theNemiahwill require a continuing effort. “Yesterdaywas a very

beautifulday,”saidChiefRogerWilliam,“Itstartedoffminus3athome,clearsky,

abriskday.Thisremindedusthatwecannotgettoocomfortable.”

As I stood on the hilltop, for a shortmoment thewind calmed and thewater

became a delicate reflection of the bright clouds above. Is one place anymore

sacred thenanother? Is everyplace sacred to thepeoplewho live there, if they

have livedthere longenough? “Weexperienceslums,prairies,andwetlandsall

equally as ‘places’,” writes poet Gary Snyder. “Like a mirror, a place can hold

anything,onanyscale.”

Over the mountains, on the lake, and in valley beyond,the sunlight, finally

shiningbrightandstrongwarmedtheearth,asifonecouldreachoutandtouchit.

TheNemiahValleyglowedgoldenintheearlymorninglightofanotherday.

Tenyearsago,whenthefateofthisplacewasnotsoclear,whenitmighthave

seemed inevitable that the land would be transformed irrevocably by outside

forces–thepowerfulinterestsof loggingandmining-RogerWilliam,amanwho

has,withoutexaggeration,spenthisentireadultlifefightingforthehishomeland,

confessedinadream:

“Ifmydreamcomestrue,I’dhavenothingtoworryabout.Becausemychildrenand

theirchildren,they’llknowourTsilhqot’inlanguage,they’llknowthehistory,they’ll

knowthelegends.Andusingthehistoryandlegendsthey’llhaveagoodlife.”

u

References

ArticlesandBooksForawonderfulaccountofthelegalfightforaboriginaltitle,seeArnoKopecky’s2014articleintheWalrusavailableat:http://thewalrus.ca/title-fight/ForadetailedaccountoftheTitlecaseandthelegalprecedents,seethelegalreviewbyHarrySwain,long-timefederaldeputyminister,andJamesBaillie,seniorcounselwithTorysLLPathttp://www.torys.com/~/media/files/insights/publications/2015/01/ar20151.pdfMoreinformationisavailablefromWoodward&CompanyLLPat:http://www.woodwardandcompany.com/Allcourtdocumentsareinthepublicdomain,includingofficialdecisionsandappellant’sfactums.Theseareextremelyhelpfulinunderstandingthelegalandhistoricalbackgroundofthecase.ReactiontotheSCCrulingfromotherfirstnationsinBChasbeenstrong,seeforexample:“B.C.FirstNationwritesitsowndeclarationoftitlerightsandstrategy,”TheCanadianPressOctober282015,availableathttp://www.vancouversun.com/first+nation+writes+declaration+title+rights+strategy/11474798/story.htmlForthehistoryofaboriginal-settlerinteractionsincludingpopulationstatisticsforearlyBritishColumbia,seeJohnLutz’saward-winningbook:“Makúk:ANewHistory

ofAboriginal-WhiteRelations”and“TheWestBeyondtheWest:AHistoryofBritishColumbia,”byJeanBarman.ForadramaticfirsthandaccountofthehangingsoftheChilcotinWarchiefs,seethe1873book“Klatsassan,andotherreminiscencesofmissionarylifeinBritishColumbia”byRev.L.Brown.AdditionalhistoryonChilcotinWarisfrom:Hewlett,EdwardSleigh."TheChilcotinUprisingof1864."BCStudies:TheBritishColumbianQuarterly19(1973):50-72.Forabetterunderstandingoftheindigenousviewofsacredland,see“MountainsMadeAlive:NativeAmericanRelationshipsWithSacredLand,”ByEmilyCousins,CrossCurrents(Winter1996/1997)http://www.crosscurrents.org/mountainsalive.htmandthewonderfulessaysofPulitzerPrize-winningnovelistNavarreScottMomadayin“TheManMadeofWords:Essays,Stories,Passages.”ForinformationonMtTs’ylos,see:WalkingTs’yl-os,Mt.Tatlow,byJohnSchreiber,publishedalongsideWadeDavis“IntheShadowofRedCedar”inManoa,vol.25,no.1:Cascadia(2013):TheLifeandBreathoftheWorld,UniversityofHawai’IPress.ForadetailedaccountofTsilhqot’inhistory,seetheaward-winningbookbyWilliamTurkel:“ArchiveofPlace-UnearthingthePastsoftheChilcotinPlateau”ForadescriptionoftheNemiahandXeniGwet’in,see“Nemiah.HomeoftheXeniGwet'in”byRichardLittlemore,DavidSuzukiFoundation,2000.Foranacademicaccountofhoworalhistoryisconsideredbythelaw,see:Weir,Lorraine."TimeImmemorialandIndigenousRights:AGenealogyandThreeCaseStudies(Calder,VanderPeet,Tsilhqot'in)fromBritishColumbia."JournalofHistoricalSociology26.3(2013):383-411.Forapost-verdictopinionbyPremierChristyClark,seeherSeptember192014editorialintheKelownaCapitalNews:“We’rebetterofwithFirstNationpartnerships”FortheopinionsofChiefRogerWilliam,seehis2012reporttotheEnvironmentalReviewPanel(https://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/documents/p63928/83517E.pdf)andBhattacharyya,Jonaki,etal."It’sWhoWeAreLocatingCulturalStrengthinRelationshipwiththeLand."SocialTransformationinRuralCanada:NewInsightsintoCommunity,Cultures,andCollectiveAction(2012):211.ForinterviewswithMarilynBaptiste,see“Chilcotinnativeleaderwinsmajorawardformineprotest,”LarryPynn,VancouverSunApril19,2015andtheGoldmanPrizewebsite:http://www.goldmanprize.org/recipient/marilyn-baptiste/

Whileperhapsoverlynostalgic,TerryGlavin’s1992“Nemiah:TheUnconqueredCountry”commissionedbytheNemiahBandcouncil,offersabeautifullookatthepeopleandhistoryoftheNemiah.“Chiwid”bySageBirgewater,1995,offersanotherexcellentaccountthepeopleandtheplace.ForanearlyaccountofChilcotinCountry,see“Chilcotin:PreservingPioneerMemories,”byBonner,Veera,IreneE.Bliss,andHazelHenryLitterick,1995,and“HeartoftheCariboo-Chilcotin:StoriesWorthKeeping”ByDianaWilson,2010.Also,seethefirst-handtravelogueofMalcolmGoddard:“TheMountainsofLakeChilko,”publishedintheCanadianAlpineJournal,1913.ResearchontheWildHorsesandGrizzlybearsisin“KnowingNalhiny(Horse),UnderstandingtheLand:Free-RoamingHorsesintheCultureandEcologyoftheBrittanyTriangleandNemiahValley”byJonakiBhattacharyya,2012and“GrizzlybearsintheTatlayokoValleyandalongtheupperChilkoRiver:Populationestimatesandmovements,”2009.Finally,“FriendsofNemiahValley”maintainsextensiveresourcesavailableathttp://www.fonv.ca/Films:VideoofthehistoricmeetingbetweenthepremierofBCandFirstNationsleaders-featuringChristyClark,ChiefRogerWilliam,GrandChiefsEdJohnandStewartPhillip,andAFNRegionalChiefJodyWilson-Raybould(2014):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cz1Y6kNAcY&ab_channel=CommonSenseCanadianBlueGold:TheTsilhqot’inFightforTeztanBiny(FishLake),afilmbySusanSmitten(2010)http://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/festival/play/3352/Blue-Gold--The-Tsilhqot-in-Fight-for-Teztan-Biny--Fish-Lake-WildhorsesoftheNemiah–TelevisionDocumentary(2004)http://www.omnifilm.com/factual/wild-horses-nemiahWildhorses,unconqueredpeople-Documentary(2004)http://webcat1.library.ubc.ca/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=6391095Tsilhqot'inJourneyforJustice,ThreePartDocumentary,(2014)byJeremyWilliamsat:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaU4LAJiwvw&ab_channel=jeremywilliamsRiverVoices,ThreePartDocumentary,(2014)byJeremyWilliamsat:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3wJ6DFJkkc&ab_channel=jeremywilliams

1http://www.vancouversun.com/Vaughn+Palmer+Welcome/9979280/story.html?__lsa=d99b-0a032http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/andrew-coyne-after-aboriginal-land-title-ruling-why-not-protect-property-rights-of-all-canadians3http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/supreme-court-expands-aboriginal-title-rights-in-unanimous-ruling/article19347252/4http://www.woodwardandcompany.com/?page_id=875http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/tsilhqotin-brings-canada-to-the-table/article20521526/

6 "Itonlytook150years,butwelookforwardtoamuchbrighterfuture.This,withoutquestion,willestablishasolidplatformforgenuinereconciliationtotakeplaceinBritishColumbia.””Ididn'tthinkitwouldbesodefinitive,"Phillipadded."Iwasactuallypreparedforsomethingmuchless.”“It'snotveryoftenthatI'mwithoutwords,andI'mquiteoverwhelmedatthemoment."Tsilhqot'inFirstNationgrantedB.C.titleclaiminSupremeCourtruling,CBCNews,June262014.http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/news/story/1.2688332

7https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3wJ6DFJkkc&ab_channel=jeremywilliams8Amongstothers,Calder(1973)foundthatAboriginalrightssurvivedEuropeansettlementandDelgamuukw(1997)establishedthatoralhistoryisadmissibleasevidence.9“Thedocumentaryevidencewasvoluminous.Six-hundredandfourexhibitswereentered–exhibit156alonecontainedover1,000historicaldocuments;exhibit0250contained150-200historicalmaps;andexhibit450comprised58volumeswhichcontained3,000-4,000documents.WhenfinalargumentsweresubmittedinApril,2007,thejudgereceivedabout7,000pagesofwrittensubmissionsfromthelawyersonallsides.”http://www.woodwardandcompany.com/?page_id=8710http://aptn.ca/news/2014/06/26/supreme-court-hands-tsilhqotin-major-victory-historic-ruling/11Courttestimonygivestheyearas2000,whileXeniGwet’inwebsitestatesthattheNemiah“wasconnectedtoatelephonesystemin2009.”12A2012surveyofthecommunityfoundthatamongthe416Xenicounted,128ofspeakTsilhqot’influentlyand164understandand/orspeaksomewhat.13FortStJamesPostJournal1831-2,http://www.woodwardandcompany.com/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Final_Argument.pdf

14Foravividtellingofthemassacre,see:Klatsassan,andotherreminiscencesofmissionarylifeinBritishColumbia;Brown,R.C.Lundin(RobertChristopherLundin),-1873

15SeeJune13th1864issueoftheDailyBritishColonist,availableathttp://www.britishcolonist.ca/dateList.php16FrederickSeymour,TheForgottenGovernor,byMargaretA.Ormsbyhttp://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/bcstudies/article/viewFile/801/844 17“Klatsassan,andotherreminiscencesofmissionarylifeinBritishColumbia,”Page11118http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/tatlow_robert_garnett_13E.html19Untilthattime,alettermailedfromVancouvertoTorontoneededanAmericanstampandwasdeliveredviaSanFrancisco.20TheWestBeyondtheWest:AHistoryofBritishColumbia,page430

21Makúk:ANewHistoryofAboriginal-WhiteRelations,page16622ThesituationwassomewhatdifferentontheperipheryTsilhqot’interritory,wherenewlybuiltroadsprovidedcorridorsofaccesstotheoutsideworld.Mailwasbeingdeliveredbystage-coachandby1905,Hanceville,astoreoperatedbyNormanLeeHance,only50milesnorth-eastoftheNemiahValley,wasconsidereda“postofficeofimportancetotheranchersandotherresidentsofthatlocality.”TheTsilhqot’instillactivelydefendedtheirlandsagainstoutsidersasbesttheycould.WhenanEnglishman,Mr.Hewer,appliedtosettlewithintheTsilhqot'interritory,ChiefAnahamrodetoHancevilletowarnMr.Hancethat,so

enragedweretheTsilhqot'in,thattheymay“gocrazy”and“Killem’allwhiteman.”Mr.Hewer,frightenedbythethreats,optedtosettlesomewhereelse.22Mr.Hance,havingfearedtheworst,wasrelieved.BusinesscontinuedatHancevilleandamazinglythestoremaintainedoperationuntilburningdownin2017.

23Chilcotin:PreservingPioneerMemories,page37024http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/up-to-4-million-sockeye-expected-in-run-1.1107354Seemoreat:http://www.tsylos.com/chilko-river-salmon-run#sthash.7z82QQbV.dpuf25http://www.forestry.ubc.ca/2011/05/scott-hinchs-research-on-salmon-adaptation-to-climate-change-cover-story-in-april-issue-of-science/26http://www.tsylos.com/chilko-river-salmon-run27http://www.ceaa.gc.ca/050/documents/43054/43054E.pdf28http://www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=82329http://www.vws.org/pdf/WolfwildhorsestudyVWSNewsAug11.pdf30http://www.voiceforthehorse.com/files/mccrory_report_v2.pdf31http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/ma05/feature.asp31https://williamslake.civicweb.net/document/4416833http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/mtn/feuveg-fireveg/veg-veg/pin-pine.aspx34http://www.fgcouncil.bc.ca/Factsheet1-WhiteBarkPine_2011.pdf

35TheArchiveofaplace,Turkel,page204.

36http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=1f758a01-36ee-4211-9df8-26407efc41b3&sponsor=“Legalodysseyendswithadvicetogetatreaty,”TheVancouverSun,November22,200737http://www.goldmanprize.org/recipient/marilyn-baptiste/38 http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/canadian-first-nations-are-ecstatic-over-historic-supreme-court-ruling39GeoffPlant–June27,2014.http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2468398421http://theplantrant.blogspot.ca/2012_03_01_archive.html