No. of Recommendations: 3
For years in many places there have been "Land acknowledgements" by various outfits that usually state something along the lines of "We acknowledge that we are gathering on indigenous land of the xxx tribe". Something like that.
Welp. Up in the great white north in Canada...a nomadic tribe sued and *won* in court, claiming the land is theirs:
https://www.junonews.com/p/bc-supreme-court-recogn...B.C. Supreme Court recognizes Aboriginal title over most of Richmond
In a decision that is sure to ruffle feathers, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Barbara Young declared the Cowichan Tribes have established Aboriginal title to roughly 800 acres in Richmond.Richmond, for those who don't know, is a suburb of Vancouver. It has a population of about 210,000.
Anyway:
A B.C. Supreme Court judge has recognized the Cowichan Nation’s Aboriginal title to parts of Lulu Island and the Fraser River’s south arm, concluding a five-year, 513-day trial — described as the longest in Canadian history.
The plaintiffs, including five tribes and several individuals, sought declarations of Aboriginal title over approximately 1,846 acres on Lulu Island, which now forms part of Richmond, home to B.C.’s largest airport.
“I agree that Aboriginal title is a prior and senior right to land,” Young writes in the ruling.
“The question of what remains of Aboriginal title after the granting of fee simple title to the same lands should be reversed. The proper question is: what remains of fee simple title after Aboriginal title is recognized in the same lands?”
Six defendants opposed the claim: the federal and provincial governments, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, the City of Richmond, and two other First Nations groups.
The 863-page judgment will have wide-reaching legal implications.
The court confirmed the Cowichan Nation has legal ownership, known as Aboriginal title, over specific lands on Lulu Island and parts of the Fraser River’s south arm.
The court found that when the government issued private land ownership (fee simple) and transferred certain highway lands in Cowichan territory, it wrongly interfered with the Cowichan Nation’s Aboriginal title.
Subsequently, except for lands tied to the Vancouver Airport Fuel Delivery Project, the court ruled that land titles held by Canada and the City of Richmond in Cowichan territory are legally flawed and invalid.
It instructs the federal government to negotiate a fair agreement with the Cowichan Nation that respects their Aboriginal title.In other words, that town gets to pay up.
And the town is telling its residents...you may not even own your property:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-col...The City of Richmond has distributed letters to hundreds of property owners in the southeast of the British Columbia city warning them that a landmark B.C. Supreme Court ruling “could negatively affect title” to their property.
The letter, signed by Mayor Malcolm Brodie, says that the Cowichan Tribes v Canada land claim ruling, handed down in August, “may compromise the status and validity of your ownership.” The letter invites recipients to an information session to be held on Oct. 28, at Richmond City Hall.
The Mayor said in an interview that many affected property owners were unaware of the ruling and, once informed, became deeply concerned about what it might mean, prompting the information session.
“I think this is one of the most significant rulings in the history of the province, and maybe the country,” Mr. Brodie said Sunday. “I think it potentially could dismantle the land title system, certainly in our province, with ramifications across the country.”Ya think?
