{"id":89,"date":"2014-06-13T19:40:25","date_gmt":"2014-06-13T19:40:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geography\/?post_type=chapter&p=89"},"modified":"2014-08-27T16:13:58","modified_gmt":"2014-08-27T23:13:58","slug":"4-3-territories-natural-resources-and-treaties","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geography\/chapter\/4-3-territories-natural-resources-and-treaties\/","title":{"raw":"Territories, Natural Resources and First Treaties","rendered":"Territories, Natural Resources and First Treaties"},"content":{"raw":"The Constitution Act, 1982 <\/strong><\/a>[footnote]Constitution Act, 1982 http:\/\/laws-lois.justice.gc.ca\/eng\/CONST\/page-15.html#h-38<\/a>[\/footnote] and Canadian court decisions indicate that treaties\u00a0over land and natural resource use must be negotiated with Aboriginal communities in order to respect Aboriginal title and rights.\u00a0Yet unlike many of the First Nations in\u00a0the rest of Canada who\u00a0have negotiated treaties such as the Numbered Treaties<\/strong><\/a> [footnote]Numbered Treaties, http:\/\/www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca\/eng\/1360948213124\/1360948312708<\/a>[\/footnote] the majority of\u00a0First Nations in BC have no negotiated treaties. Aboriginal rights and title are thus\u00a0contentious\u00a0issues in\u00a0BC where many\u00a0lands are sometimes referred to as \"unceded territory,\" and many\u00a0seminal constitutional law\u00a0court cases regarding Aboriginal title and rights have unfolded.\r\n\r\nSince there were very few historical or modern treaties within BC, the\u00a0British Columbia Treaty Process<\/a> (BCTP) <\/strong>[footnote]British Columbia Treaty Process http:\/\/www.bctreaty.net<\/a>[\/footnote] began\u00a0in 1992 involving\u00a0the provincial government (BC), federal government (Canada), and several First Nations. According to the BC Treaty Commission (2014), a modern treaty<\/strong> is a negotiated agreement that sets out clearly defined rights and responsibilities of First Nations and the federal and provincial governments over far-reaching matters. These include land ownership, governance, wildlife and environmental management, financial benefits and taxation. A treaty is also a full and formal expression of reconciliation between First Nations and government.\r\n\r\nIn recognition of\u00a0the need for an orderly framework for negotiation with indigenous communities in 18th century\u00a0North America, the British Crown issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763<\/strong><\/a> [footnote]Royal Proclomation of 1763 http:\/\/indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca\/home\/government-policy\/royal-proclamation-1763.html<\/a>[\/footnote]. Among its several functions, the proclamation\u00a0affirmed Aboriginal rights and title. For this reason, it\u00a0is called\u00a0the Indian Magna Carta<\/strong> by some scholars. The proclamation is enshrined in the Constitution Act, 1982\u00a0in Section 25 (of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms) and has bearing on\u00a0Section 35, which provides constitutional protection for Aboriginal treaty rights.\u00a0While the proclamation now forms\u00a0the basis of many Aboriginal claims to land and resources in Canada, the historical implementation of the proclamation may have undermined the sovereignty of existing indigenous communities.\r\n

First Treaties in BC<\/h2>\r\nThe first treaties created in BC were established by Sir\u00a0James Douglas (Vancouver Island governor)\u00a0as the Hudson's Bay Company moved it's fur-trading headquarters in 1849 from Fort Vancouver (present-day Vancouver, Washington, at the mouth of the Columbia River) to Fort Victoria (present-day Victoria, BC), and the Colony of Vancouver Island was established. These treaties are called the Douglas Treaties<\/strong> and resulted in land purchases\u00a0covering some 930 square kilometres on Vancouver Island.\r\n\r\nBy 1858,\u00a0thousands of gold prospectors had arrived in the Fraser Canyon gold rush.\u00a0The\u00a0influx and dispersion of population from this gold rush and the\u00a0Cariboo gold rush (1861) strained government resources, led to the establishment of the Colony of British Columbia (1858), and resulted in several conflicts with and failure to negotiate treaties\u00a0with Aboriginal populations. The Colony of Vancouver Island was merged into the\u00a0Colony of British Columbia in 1866, and the Colony of British Columbia then joined the Canadian Confederation in 1871. There were no new treaties signed with BC First Nations until the 1899\u00a0signing of Treaty 8 by First Nations in the northeast of BC.\r\n\r\nThe historical political lineage described above\u00a0is important as the BC provincial government has\u00a0argued in court that\u00a0the Royal Proclamation of 1763 does\u00a0not apply to BC as there was no British settlement in BC at the time and\u00a0that Aboriginal title\u00a0was extinguished when Canadian Confederation occurred in 1871 (see Delgamuukw v. British Columbia\u00a01997<\/a>).\r\n\r\nAttempts to create further treaties and to address Aboriginal title and rights have, until relatively recently,\u00a0been stymied by laws that made First Nations customs illegal (such as the potlatch) and limited political enfranchisement and legal representation. For example, the 1876 Indian Act not only defined status and non-status Indians, it enforced a particular type of governance model\u00a0within the band and made it a federal crime to prosecute, raise money or organize to pursue First Nations claims in court. Of significance to Aboriginal land claims, this\u00a0last limitation on litigation\u00a0was repealed by the revised 1951 Indian Act.\u00a0A number of court decisions since the 1970s have\u00a0provided some clarification of\u00a0aspects of Aboriginal title and rights and a legal framework for pursuing claims.\u00a0For example, the cumulative impacts of the Calder (1973), Sparrow (1990) and Delgamuukw (1997) legal decisions have traced the contours of Aboriginal claim making.","rendered":"

The Constitution Act, 1982 <\/strong><\/a>[1]<\/sup><\/a> and Canadian court decisions indicate that treaties\u00a0over land and natural resource use must be negotiated with Aboriginal communities in order to respect Aboriginal title and rights.\u00a0Yet unlike many of the First Nations in\u00a0the rest of Canada who\u00a0have negotiated treaties such as the Numbered Treaties<\/strong><\/a> [2]<\/sup><\/a> the majority of\u00a0First Nations in BC have no negotiated treaties. Aboriginal rights and title are thus\u00a0contentious\u00a0issues in\u00a0BC where many\u00a0lands are sometimes referred to as “unceded territory,” and many\u00a0seminal constitutional law\u00a0court cases regarding Aboriginal title and rights have unfolded.<\/p>\n

Since there were very few historical or modern treaties within BC, the\u00a0British Columbia Treaty Process<\/a> (BCTP) <\/strong>[3]<\/sup><\/a> began\u00a0in 1992 involving\u00a0the provincial government (BC), federal government (Canada), and several First Nations. According to the BC Treaty Commission (2014), a modern treaty<\/strong> is a negotiated agreement that sets out clearly defined rights and responsibilities of First Nations and the federal and provincial governments over far-reaching matters. These include land ownership, governance, wildlife and environmental management, financial benefits and taxation. A treaty is also a full and formal expression of reconciliation between First Nations and government.<\/p>\n

In recognition of\u00a0the need for an orderly framework for negotiation with indigenous communities in 18th century\u00a0North America, the British Crown issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763<\/strong><\/a> [4]<\/sup><\/a>. Among its several functions, the proclamation\u00a0affirmed Aboriginal rights and title. For this reason, it\u00a0is called\u00a0the Indian Magna Carta<\/strong> by some scholars. The proclamation is enshrined in the Constitution Act, 1982\u00a0in Section 25 (of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms) and has bearing on\u00a0Section 35, which provides constitutional protection for Aboriginal treaty rights.\u00a0While the proclamation now forms\u00a0the basis of many Aboriginal claims to land and resources in Canada, the historical implementation of the proclamation may have undermined the sovereignty of existing indigenous communities.<\/p>\n

First Treaties in BC<\/h2>\n

The first treaties created in BC were established by Sir\u00a0James Douglas (Vancouver Island governor)\u00a0as the Hudson’s Bay Company moved it’s fur-trading headquarters in 1849 from Fort Vancouver (present-day Vancouver, Washington, at the mouth of the Columbia River) to Fort Victoria (present-day Victoria, BC), and the Colony of Vancouver Island was established. These treaties are called the Douglas Treaties<\/strong> and resulted in land purchases\u00a0covering some 930 square kilometres on Vancouver Island.<\/p>\n

By 1858,\u00a0thousands of gold prospectors had arrived in the Fraser Canyon gold rush.\u00a0The\u00a0influx and dispersion of population from this gold rush and the\u00a0Cariboo gold rush (1861) strained government resources, led to the establishment of the Colony of British Columbia (1858), and resulted in several conflicts with and failure to negotiate treaties\u00a0with Aboriginal populations. The Colony of Vancouver Island was merged into the\u00a0Colony of British Columbia in 1866, and the Colony of British Columbia then joined the Canadian Confederation in 1871. There were no new treaties signed with BC First Nations until the 1899\u00a0signing of Treaty 8 by First Nations in the northeast of BC.<\/p>\n

The historical political lineage described above\u00a0is important as the BC provincial government has\u00a0argued in court that\u00a0the Royal Proclamation of 1763 does\u00a0not apply to BC as there was no British settlement in BC at the time and\u00a0that Aboriginal title\u00a0was extinguished when Canadian Confederation occurred in 1871 (see Delgamuukw v. British Columbia\u00a01997<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Attempts to create further treaties and to address Aboriginal title and rights have, until relatively recently,\u00a0been stymied by laws that made First Nations customs illegal (such as the potlatch) and limited political enfranchisement and legal representation. For example, the 1876 Indian Act not only defined status and non-status Indians, it enforced a particular type of governance model\u00a0within the band and made it a federal crime to prosecute, raise money or organize to pursue First Nations claims in court. Of significance to Aboriginal land claims, this\u00a0last limitation on litigation\u00a0was repealed by the revised 1951 Indian Act.\u00a0A number of court decisions since the 1970s have\u00a0provided some clarification of\u00a0aspects of Aboriginal title and rights and a legal framework for pursuing claims.\u00a0For example, the cumulative impacts of the Calder (1973), Sparrow (1990) and Delgamuukw (1997) legal decisions have traced the contours of Aboriginal claim making.<\/p>\n

  1. Constitution Act, 1982 http:\/\/laws-lois.justice.gc.ca\/eng\/CONST\/page-15.html#h-38<\/a> ↵<\/a><\/li>
  2. Numbered Treaties, http:\/\/www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca\/eng\/1360948213124\/1360948312708<\/a> ↵<\/a><\/li>
  3. British Columbia Treaty Process http:\/\/www.bctreaty.net<\/a> ↵<\/a><\/li>
  4. Royal Proclomation of 1763 http:\/\/indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca\/home\/government-policy\/royal-proclamation-1763.html<\/a> ↵<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":37,"menu_order":2,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-89","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":225,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geography\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/89","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geography\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geography\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geography\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geography\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/89\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1200,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geography\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/89\/revisions\/1200"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geography\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/225"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geography\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/89\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geography\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geography\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=89"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geography\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=89"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geography\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=89"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}