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The Nisga’s a Claim!”

-By ROD ROBINSON
‘Executive Director

_ _eaNingarh Tribal Council
.. Lwill start by telling you a lit-
tie -bit about my people,” the
“<Nisga’a, We live in the Nass
_-Yalley or lisims as it is called in
“the Nisga’a language. It’s flat-
bottomed, Picturesque and un-

polluted with very high moun- ’

tains on either side.
:The Nisga’ a traditional

homeland since . time im--

memorial stretches from the
source of the Nass River to its
mouth, from mountain top to
mountain top on either side of
the valley. If you stand in any of
the: four villages you can see the
traditional. boundaries of our
territories.

‘There are about 3, 500
Nisga’ a — about: 3, 500 of
whom live in the valley, along
with approximately 100 non-
natives. —

During: the summer: of 1793,
Captain George Vancouver,
who, like Bill Vander Zalm, was
from Holland, ascended the
waters of Alice Arm in search of
the: northwest passage.

‘Until 1871, the crdwn
recognized aboriginal.ti--
le and several treaties.
_ Were negotiated on Van-

, _couver Island. _— .

On July 24 he met with seven
chiefs of the Nisga'a and shared
bread, smoked salmon and ‘a
glass of brandy. Little did they
know that this simple act of
friendship would begin almost a
century of trade relations
characterized by mutual respect
and mutual benefit.

It is'important to note that
the Euro-American traders and
the Nisga’a had absolutely no
difficulty understanding each
other or dealing with each cther
as reasonable, acceptable, fully
functioning persons. :

‘The northwest fur trade was a
very big international business.
In fact, it was the most lucrative
business known at. that. time.
Manufactured goods from
western Europe and New
England were traded first to the
Nootka, then the Haida and
later, the Nisga’a.

7 Rod Robinson

The furs fetched high prices
in China where they were used
to trim the robes of. Chinese
mandarins. Silk, china and tea
purchased in the Orient. was
sold in London and- Boston.
The profits on each leg of the

_ triangle were considerable, The
Nisga’a, as key players, also did

very well.

The point here is that the
Nisga’a are no strangers to
trade and commerce. and had
long defended, controlled and
benefitted from the extremely
valuable oolichan fishery,

Regarding the oolichan’s im-
portance, U.S. Army Lieute-
nant George Chismore noted in
1870 that it:

“forms, probably the best
example of an intertribal com-
merce...prosecuted long before
the advent of the whites, and
still in existence, substantially
unchanged...that can be found
upon this continent...”"

“By canoe, it travels to Sitka
on the north and Puget Sound
on the south, as well as up all
the navigable rivers. Inland,

Terrace Standard, Wednesday, August 8, 1990 — Page AS om

borne upon the backs of men it}.

goes, no white man knows how
Jar; certainly to the headwaters
of the Fraser River and the Arc-
tic Slope.”"

The breakdown of this har-
monious relationship, one car

safely say, began in the 1890s |

when gold was discovered on
the Queen Charlotte Islands, It
drew several shiploads of failed
California ‘49ers who brought
field cannons to meet any In-
dian resistance.

Gold was next found near
Victoria then at Yale and on up
the Fraser to the Cariboo and
finally to the Skeena and

.Omineca.

Many miners, we are told,
were ‘‘low life’’ murderous
types of the worst. kind. Sir
James Douglas, first with the
Hudson Bay Company and then
as governor of B.C., worked
diligently to discourage them.‘

Douglas and Judge Matthew
Begbie did much to bring the
miners under ‘English law’.
The American miners were
ready to wipe out any Indians
who got in their way.

When the gold claims were

cont'd A6

a ‘ Frank tie .
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‘Kitsumitaura
River

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sum

f NISGA'ALAND |
CLAIM BOUNDARY

- Seeking a just settlement

The Nisga’a Tribal Council is
the representative of the Nisga’a
nation which has owned and oc-
cupied the Nass Valley area of
northwestern British Columbia
since time immemorial.

The Nisga'a nation has been
at the forefront of the struggle
for recognition of aboriginal ti-
tle and a just and equitable set-
tlement of the native land
claims question in British Col-
umbia since the mid-nineteenth
century.

The Nisga’a nation has never
entered into a treaty with

Canada in respect of our land,
our resources or our right to
govern ourselves, Canada and
the provinces must not lose
sight of this unfinished
business, A treaty is necessary
in order to legitimize the
presence of the crown on our
ancestral lands.

This struggle led us to take
our case to the Supreme Court
of Canada. In 1973, the court
decided that aboriginal title is a
part of the law of Canada. It
split its decision on whether or
not our title continues to exist.

Ownership of the land

Long before the arrival of the
first, non-Nisga’a to the Nass
Valley, ownership of Nisga’a
land,.was clearly defined by a
complex and sophisticated
system. ‘of law which imposed a
responsibility. to care for the
land and ‘all its resources. The
basis of this is our tribal system.

Within the Nisga’a nation we
are born into a four-crest social
order: the eagle (Laxsgiik) tribe,
the Wolf (Laxgibuu) tribe, the
Killér ‘whale (Gisk'aast) tribe
and' the Raven (Ganada) tribe,

It-is a tribal system which, is
matrilineal, or from. the female
side, wherein bloodline descen-
dants are specifically identified
as each generation of Nisga’a ‘is
born. The estimated 5,500.
Nisga‘a citizens are still organiz-
ed within this system.

_. -Bach tribe (pdeek) is sub-

divided.into, clans (wilnaat’ahl) :-
. of. houses (wilp), the . basic
group ‘being the wilp. The wilp

_ owns, territory. It also.owns the

titles/riames which its members.
h ve," : ‘songs, ° dances, stories,
crests — which is how the -
wilp is‘ ‘represented.

“There are, about 60 houses -
aniong, the Nisga’ as. each: with :

its properties, and each iden-
tified by the highest ranking ti-
tle. One who holds the highest-
ranking title in one’s wilp is the
chief. He is the delegated holder
of all wilp property.

Because title to the territory i is
vested in the chief, it is impor-
tant to recognize that the chief’s
name forms a crucial historical
reference point..

Thats to say, while the name
stays the same, the individuals
being, called by that name
change over time. Their collec-
tive histories and ac-
complishments, and those of all
the individuals who have
preceded them and who. will
take’ the iname.in.the future,

-become part-of the name. |
Thus we see the relationship -

between land, titles, and

titleholders as a kind of cycling.

of people.through the name. >
The chief’s name then, and ti-

tle to the territory is formatly, -

or legally, passed on through

the institution of a settlement :
feast. (yukw).. No Nisga’a name"
‘can ever be assumed without. a

feast ceremony,

each of - the wilps,

bring together the whole
Nisga’a nation, or represen-
tatives of the communities, to
witness the transaction and give
affirmation or denial.

In this very important sense,
it is clear that the. Nisga’a peo-
ple as a.whole, vested through
the chiefs as representatives of
are the
owners of the. Nass Valley
(K’ali’aksim Lisims).

And since the territories were
$0. economically important, and
the chiefs functlons so central
to Nisga’a: society, ownership of
the territory is proven during
settlement. feasts through the
oral presentation: ‘of the wilp

adaawak, or-history.

The wilp adaawak tells about
the.. historic and geographic
traditions of the wilp, and is the
legal. title to- _the . territory.

“Nisga’a law States: “that only a

—wilp: member can tell. their
adaawak, «

And although the territory is

collectively owned by the

wilp/clan, because title to the

., territory is: ‘Vested in the chief,

the “heir to, a: I
“The role of. the yukw in ‘the “responsible ttle is_peimarily

sible for. the feast,. and

‘transfer of. property rights. is: to the-etitite clania

Pr res a ee iad

ES pedals aa nda heim Te Ce ileal

ice atts

We have sought resolution of
this uncertainty both in land
claim negotiations and through
active participation in the more
recent constitutional evolution
of the Jast decade.

The Nisga'a Tribal Council
appeared before the joint
Senate and House of Commons
Committee on the Constitution
in December of 1980. We par-
ticipated in the four First
Ministers’ Conferences on
Aboriginal Affairs.

We made submissions on the
constitution to the Senate com-

mittee considering the 1983
amendments, and we have re-
mained closely involved with
the constitutional debate.

We are opposed to the con-
stitutional entrenchment of a
Canada which is comprised of
only two distinct societies, two
founding peoples, a constitu-
tional pact between the
newcomers, with no recognition
that we, too, constitute a “‘fun-
damental characteristic’ of
Canada,

For more than 100 years the
Nisga‘a nation has struggled for

the proper recognition of our
distinct place in. Canada, we
have argued for the recognition
of our aboriginal title to our
ancestral homeland, we have
struggled to preserve our right
to govern ourselves, and we
have sought to promote and
preserve our language, laws and
traditions.

We have shared these strug-
gles in common with other First
Nations and aboriginal peoples
of Canada, each of whom

cont'd AG

Pdeek.

Gisk’*aast

So while the actual ‘transfer
of title’ is of paramount
significance in a settlement
feast, the successor, on behalf
of his wilp, must also publicly
settle over the deceased.

That is the successor must
pay back everyone who per-
formed a service for, or provid-
ed goods to, or expended cash
on behalf of the wilp of the
deceased, all. of which is in
keeping with Nisga'a traditions.

The expense, and the energy
which goes into a settlement
feast is tremendous, and is the
way. in which we continue to
prove our title to our land.

It is no Wonder that our elders

say that in the Nisga’a system, °
- “The.landis. the bank." One :

ag a me

could not make a withdrawal,
that is use a particular territory,
without recognized rights of ac-
cess to a particular ‘account’.
One must have paid in or have a
wilp relation to someone who
has paid their appropriate dues
as chief to Nisga’a society
through the feast.

Title to territory with the
chief's name, along matrilineal
lines, is’ an. ancient’ ' Nisga’a
tradition called Gwilxyenskw,
This is the way it has been done
for generations and° is . the
reason the Nisga’a, land. cannot
be bought or sold since the right
to it is governed by this ancient
tradition... -

‘Tt is from the land that food i is

obtained, It -is also ‘fromthe -

we

ERO: lee Ce, EL

takes another 100. years :

nr FE a tpt re tags ct ti me ot

land that we draw our social
identity. Our names are part of
the land, and by transferring the
names in our ceremonies, we
maintain our ties with our.
ancestors and preserve the land
for our future generations.

The land is part of Nisga’a
life, part of our economy, our
society, and our traditions,

Our world view is holistic,
We see ourselves as a whole be-
ing, the Nisga’a and the land as
a whole entity. Recognition of
the Nisga’a way of owning the:
land and using. its resources".
through the Nisga’a laws is:.

vital. Even if the process of set-.

tling the Nisga land’ questi