In a decision delivered on Thursday, June 26, 2014, Canada’s Supreme Court has granted aboriginal title to the Tsilhqot’in Nation of British Colombia for 1,700 square kilometers of land that they can prove they have traditionally occupied or used for hunting, fishing, or spiritual ceremonies.

By Jenna Winton

By Elliot Setzer, Intercontinental Cry

Taseko Mines Ltd. applied to the Federal Government for a second judicial review on March 26, 2014 after their proposal for the New Prosperity gold and copper mine in Tsilhqot’in territory was yet again rejected.

Known by the Tsilhqot’in people of the area as Teztan Biny, Fish Lake is a small lake located on the Chilcotin plateau in the Cariboo region of British Columbia on the Fish Creek Watershed, 125 kilometers southwest of the town of Williams Lake. Fish Lake lies within the picturesque lakes and forests of the Tsilhqot’in territory and is of great significance culturally and spiritually to the Tsilhqtot’in people. Throughout the last decade this land has been the subject of a battle between First Nations people and their supporters and Taseko Mines, Ltd.

By Jenna Winton

On February 14, 2014, the 23^rd annual Women’s Memorial March (WMM) was held I in Vancouver, Canada. While some celebrated Valentine’s Day with their sweethearts eating chocolate and swapping Hallmarks, thousands of Indigenous people and supporters joined the March to honor their murdered and missing loved ones.

By Idle No More

The February 14th Annual Women’s Memorial March is held on Valentine’s Day each year to honour the memory of Indigenous women, including trans and two-spirit women, who have died as a result of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual violence. Now in its 23rd year, the March remembers and honours murdered and missing women, and seeks to organize against ongoing gendered violence that women face.

By Jenna Winton

The Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage research project (IPinCH) at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada has received an additional $50,000 in funding for the first Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Partnership Award. A previous $2.5 million grant provided the initial funding for the project, which began in 2008. The project explores the rights, values and responsibilities connected to cultural objects and cultural knowledge, as well as the ethics of heritage research.

Thanks to your commitment, thousands of letters were sent to Federal Review Panel and Canadian government officials during the Panel Review of the proposed New Prosperity Mine at Fish Lake. 

On October 31, 2013, Canada’s Federal Environmental Review Panel submitted an extensive report with their major findings regarding Taseko’s plan to mitigate adverse impacts of the “New Prosperity” gold-copper mine, a project proposed on the lands of the Tsilhqot’in First Nation. Weeks earlier, the Panel heard considerable testimony from members of the Tsilhqot’in community. The Panel was required to review information presented by Indigenous groups in British Columbia.

On November 7, the Tsilhqot’in community members appeared in Canada’s Supreme Court to assert their title to traditional lands. This comes more than 20 years after a lawsuit was filed against the government of British Columbia over commercial logging on land the Tsilhqot’in claim as traditionally theirs.