The Haida Nation has been granted Aboriginal title to all one million hectares of the islands of Haida Gwaii, in a historic agreement reached outside of the courts or the B.C. treaty process.
Captain Gold with a youth group in the Gwaii Haanas National Park on July 5, 2012. Captain Gold is a Haida elder who several years ago found what has turned out to be one of the richest archeological sites on the islands, where thousands of artifacts have been collected.In a ceremony beneath a totem pole representing unity, the B.C.
The agreement includes a commitment from the Haida to leave privately owned lands unchanged and under B.C. authority. Governance over the existing Crown land tenures and protected areas will now be negotiated in a process that must reconcile Haida and provincial law. The agreement, which has been approved by the Haida Nation and will be enshrined in provincial legislation, says that Aboriginal title will not affect anyone’s private property, nor local government jurisdiction and bylaws on Haida Gwaii. It also says public services including highways, airports, ferry terminals, health care and schools will not be affected. Residents will continue to receive municipal services and pay property taxes in the same way they do today.
To the Haida people who make up 45 per cent of the population on this archipelago of more than 200 islands, the agreement means returning to the way things were before the colonial construct of land title arrived in their territory, and the destructive extraction of their natural resources began. While the courts have set out some definitions of Aboriginal title, just what it will look like in this case remains unclear at this time. “It will mean what we negotiate it to mean, and the details will be in the agreement and will be nailed down over time,” Mr. Rankin said.
Haida Nation Aboriginal Title Haida Gwaii Islands Historic Agreement Indigenous Rights
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