Aboriginal Rights
…own occupation of their home territories as well as their ongoing social structures and political and legal systems. As such, Aboriginal rights are separate from rights afforded to non-Aboriginal Canadian…
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
…of the UN. General Assembly. The non-signatories: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States initially refused to sign the UNDRIP. The…
Aboriginal Title
…afforded to non-Aboriginal Canadian citizens under Canadian common law. Over time, various court decisions have contributed to this definition of title. Along with defining Aboriginal title in more precise terms,…
Gustafsen Lake
…the “largest paramilitary operation in Canadian history.”1 The Gustafsen Lake Stand-off stemmed from the longstanding conflict over Aboriginal land occupied by non-Aboriginal settlers without having first signed treaties. People who…
Van der Peet case
…Aboriginal people to fish solely for the purposes of sustenance and ceremonial use, and prohibited the sale of fish to non-Aboriginal people. Van der Peet challenged the charges, arguing that…
Indian Homemakers’ Association of British Columbia
…Rose Charlie Rose Charlie describes the beginnings of the Indian Homemakers Association. The Indian Homemakers’ Association (IHA) of B.C. was a non-profit organization made up of Indian women in…
The Residential School System (2009)
…their non-Aboriginal peers. Post-secondary education was still considered out of reach for Aboriginal students, and those students who wanted to attend university were frequently discouraged from doing so.15 The process…
Totem Poles
…Robyn Hanson For many years in the history of British Columbia, the presence of totem poles in the province came under threat by non-Aboriginal settlers who predominantly viewed the poles…
Sparrow Case
…Ronald Sparrow was arrested for fishing with a net longer than was permitted by his food fishing license. His arrest and subsequent court case led to one of the most…
Musqueam Legal History Digital Media Archive
…Band member Ronald Sparrow was arrested for fishing in traditional Musqueam territory with a net that was longer than was permitted by his food fishing license. Musqueam recognized that this…