Nisga'a Treaty

NISGA'A TREATY is a formal agreement between the NISGA'A people of the NASS R valley and the provincial and federal governments. It was the first treaty made in BC between government and FIRST NATIONS people since TREATY NO 8 was signed 100 years earlier, and it was made possible by a fundamental change in policy on the part of the provincial government, which in 1991 decided to recognize aboriginal title. As such, it is considered a turning point in relations between aboriginals and non-aboriginals in BC. The agreement resolved a land claim that the Nisga'a first began pursuing in 1887 (see also CALDER CASE; ABORIGINAL RIGHTS). Under its terms, the Nisga'a will collectively own 1,992 sq km of land in the Nass Valley plus small parcels of land elsewhere (about 8% of what they say was their traditional territory), a $190-million cash settlement (mostly paid by the federal government; see also FEDERAL-PROVINCIAL RELATIONS), $11.5 million earmarked for fisheries development, a guaranteed share of fish, animal, timber and mineral resources, and a form of self-government with some jurisdiction over a variety of local services. (The total cost of the agreement is a matter of dispute; estimates have varied from $312 million to $500 million.) In return the Nisga'a agreed to give up their longstanding exemption from taxation under the Indian Act and to make no further claims based on aboriginal title. The agreement was initialled on 4 Aug 1998, ratified by the Nisga'a people in a referendum, approved by the provincial legislature on 22 Apr 1999 and ratified by the federal Parliament later in 1999.

During debate over its terms, the Nisga'a Treaty aroused much controversy in the province. Opposition to it centred on 3 arguments. Some people argued that the self-government provisions created a new order of government, thereby amending the Canadian Constitution and, under BC law, requiring approval in a provincewide referendum. Commercial fishers (see FISHING, COMMERCIAL) argued that the fishery provisions of the agreement established a fishery based on race (see also FISHING, ABORIGINAL). Other commentators argued that the treaty gave the Nisga'a special privileges not enjoyed by all British Columbians. As well, the Gitanyow First Nation of the GITKSAN people argued that the agreement included overlapping land they claim as their own. Treaty proponents, on the other hand, argued that it acknowledged a just claim by the Nisga'a to their traditional lands, that it helped to end the economic uncertainty associated with unresolved land claims, and that a negotiated settlement was a better solution than continued litigation in the courts.

Reading: Alex Rose, Spirit Dance at Meziadin: Joseph Gosnell and the Nisga'a Treaty, 2001