Wilderness Committee, Stand.earth and Awi’nakola Foundation — members of the Friends of Nuchatlaht — are celebrating the Nuchatlaht Nation’s historic legal victory, as their Title to part of their territory on Nootka Island was formally recognized by the BC Court of Appeal on April 2. This landmark decision reflects generational work by the Nuchatlaht Nation to uphold their rights and responsibilities to their territory.

Through the many years of this court case, our organizations have been honoured to support Nuchatlaht. We have feasted together, visited the lands and waters together, been told histories and stories, and seen firsthand the connection Nuchatlaht people have to their lands and waters on Nootka Island. Friends of Nuchatlaht are grateful for the generosity of Nuchatlaht leaders, community members and their legal team in welcoming our organizations to support this inspiring work. We will continue to support Nuchatlaht as they undertake the challenging work to restore their territory after decades of exploitation and mismanagement by successive colonial governments.

The relationship between the trees and the Nuchatlaht was a significant part of the ruling. The BC Court of Appeal criticized the narrow approach of the lower court, and said in its ruling:

“…we are of the opinion that the evidence of harvesting of cedar in the interior of Nootka Island at the time of the assertion of sovereignty, seen in light of the evidence of the importance of cedar bark and logs in the Nuchatlaht’s culture, constitutes evidence of a strong presence on or over the land claimed.” — BC Court of Appeal

These ancient cultural keystone ecosystems hold centuries and millennia-long histories of Nuchatlaht stewardship and land management practices, including in the cultivation of cedar groves, food and medicine forest gardens, and sacred sites that predate the advent of so-called Canada. The presence of these culturally modified trees ultimately provided evidence of Nuchatlaht economy within their forest lands and contributed to the declaration of Title to the 210-square kilometre claim area.

British Columbia’s logging tenure and standards have been tantamount to cultural erasure and the destruction of evidence of Indigenous Title, as forests are destroyed and culturally modified trees are removed. Despite being both critical cultural touchstones and archaeological sites, these trees are still allowed to be logged in B.C. today — and often are without proper documentation. It is a testament to Nuchatlaht’s stewardship over their territory and their legal struggle, that these trees still existed to support their Title case.

The court’s recognition of Nuchatlaht’s Title to part of their territory means a monumental opportunity for the Nation to reclaim jurisdiction and decision-making power, heal their lands, restore their community presence on Nootka Island and develop new economic pathways to support members and neighbours. Friends of Nuchatlaht whole-heartedly support the Nation’s efforts and will continue to help in any way we can.

We are calling on Premier David Eby and the provincial government to respect the court’s ruling, and to fully support Nuchatlaht as the Nation moves forward with plans for developing and implementing their land use vision, improving housing access for community members, and pursuing their self-determination.