Supreme Court of Canada Grants Aboriginal title over Tsilhqot'in First Nation land

A Supreme Court of Canada decision has granted the Tsilhqot'in First Nation of British Columbia Aboriginal title over a wide area of traditional territory. The unanimous 8-0 decision, gives the Tsilhqot'in First Nation rights to more than 1,700 square kilometers of land. The group now has rights to the land, the right to use land and the right to profit from the land. Reports indicate that this is the Supreme Court's first on Aboriginal title, and can be used as a precedent wherever there are unresolved land claims.

In 2012, the B.C. Court of Appeal granted the Tsilhqot'in rights to hunt, trap and trade in its traditional territory, but agreed with both the federal and provincial governments that the Tsilhqot'in must indicate specific sites where its people had lived instead of claiming a broad area. The Tsilhqot'in criticized that initial decision, arguing that they had traditionally never resided permanently in one area of the land and that the government had failed to consider their traditional way of life.

This decision by the Supreme Court of Canada now requires governments to meet one of two criteria before conducting economic development on Aboriginal land.

First Peoples release Indigenous Rights Risk Report

First Peoples have released their Indigenous Rights Risk Report. The report analyses 52 US-based extractive companies and 370 oil, gas, and mining sites that are situated on or near indigenous peoples' lands. Given findings that 92% of sites posed a medium to high risk to shareholders, the report proposes a new risk assessment tool. The report documents how conflicts or tensions between companies and indigenous communities can cause great losses. For example, one company First Peoples analyzed was Southwestern Energy. Protests by activists at one of their sites was costing them $60,000 a day.

Only 5% of the companies analyzed had an indigenous peoples policy, pointing out a serious gap for communities, companies and shareholders. The report warns that the risks of not having an indigenous peoples policy or respecting their rights are continuing to increase as more and more indigenous peoples rights are incorporated into national and international legal frameworks. At the same time, extractive industries increasingly find sites on indigenous peoples lands. The report suggests that the report can be a risk analysis tool and platform for indigenous peoples and investors to work together as shareholders to pressure companies to both respect indigenous peoples rights and maximise shareholder returns. The report is available for download in English here.