{"content":[{"text":"BC FIRST NATIONS LANDS, TITLE, AND GOVERNANCE \n BACKGROUNDER","bbox":{"left":0.438563,"top":0.042158,"width":0.449096,"height":0.049227999999999994}},{"text":"12. Reconciliation and Indigenous Rights and Title","bbox":{"left":0.147059,"top":0.123227,"width":0.641349,"height":0.027091000000000004}},{"text":"A fundamental issue that remains largely \n outstanding in BC today is the reconciliation \n of pre-existing Aboriginal sovereignty with \n the assertion of sovereignty by provincial and \n federal governments (the Crown).","bbox":{"left":0.147059,"top":0.178521,"width":0.34319099999999997,"height":0.08991600000000002}},{"text":"Many milestone court decisions arise from \n cases in BC, culminating in the historic Tsilh- \n qot’in decision in 2014. This was the first time \n the Court made a declaration of Aboriginal Ti- \n tle over a specified area of land.","bbox":{"left":0.509797,"top":0.178536,"width":0.34319900000000003,"height":0.08991600000000002}},{"text":"The fact that First Nations were here first and \n have inherent Indigenous Rights and Title must \n be reconciled with what the Crown asserts as \n its rights and powers.","bbox":{"left":0.147059,"top":0.281426,"width":0.34319200000000005,"height":0.071606}},{"text":"Court cases continue today, but the conflicts \n and legal arguments made are changing based \n on the evolution of the law and our under- \n standing of Section 35.","bbox":{"left":0.509797,"top":0.281441,"width":0.34323000000000004,"height":0.071606}},{"text":"Generally speaking, Indigenous Right and Title \n are about the First Nations’ rights to occupy \n and use lands and resources in their tradition- \n al territories, including for economic benefit. \n They also include rights to determine their \n own lives, govern themselves, and to practice \n and continue their cultures, languages, and legal \n traditions.","bbox":{"left":0.147059,"top":0.366021,"width":0.345024,"height":0.14484599999999997}},{"text":"The courts have confirmed that the purpose \n of Section 35 is “reconciliation” – that is, to \n reconcile the fact that First Nations were \n pre-existing societies with inherent rights and \n title, with the assertion of Crown title and ju- \n risdiction. Reconciliation requires negotiation \n to agree on who owns what lands, and whose \n laws apply where.","bbox":{"left":0.509797,"top":0.366035,"width":0.343182,"height":0.14484600000000003}},{"text":"In some parts of Canada, Indigenous Rights \n and Title were formally recognized through \n treaties, but the same did not happen in BC. \n Instead, decades of conflict and litigation oc- \n curred over land, resource use and governance \n powers. Few historic treaties were made, and \n modern treaty negotiations have been slow.","bbox":{"left":0.147059,"top":0.523855,"width":0.34509799999999996,"height":0.1265360000000001}},{"text":"First Nations in BC have always fought to have \n their Indigenous Rights and Title recognized \n and respected, and to reconcile what the fed- \n eral and provincial governments assert as their \n jurisdiction. Recent First Nations’ successes in \n the courts have pressured the governments to \n negotiate based on recognition of Indigenous \n Rights and Title, rather than continuing to deny \n their existence.","bbox":{"left":0.509797,"top":0.52387,"width":0.34321100000000004,"height":0.16315600000000008}},{"text":"Early court cases recognized that First Na- \n tions had some form of rights. Then Section \n 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, was enacted. \n It states that the “existing aboriginal and treaty \n rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada are \n hereby recognized and affirmed.”","bbox":{"left":0.147059,"top":0.66338,"width":0.345042,"height":0.10822600000000004}},{"text":"Today, First Nations communities and individ- \n uals are taking diverse paths on how best to \n protect and exercise their Indigenous Rights \n and Title. One means for achieving reconcilia- \n tion is through the BC Treaty Process. A small \n number of First Nations have signed treaties, \n and some are participating in the process, but \n have made little progress. Some are finding \n ways to revitalize the treaty process. Other \n Nations choose not to participate in the BC \n Treaty Process.","bbox":{"left":0.509797,"top":0.700014,"width":0.3451510000000001,"height":0.19977599999999995}},{"text":"Many cases were brought forward testing what \n this meant. Cases focussed on what are “ab- \n original rights” and what are the correspond- \n ing obligations or restrictions of the Crown.","bbox":{"left":0.147059,"top":0.784595,"width":0.343219,"height":0.07160599999999995}},{"text":"Much common law (judge-made law) on the \n meaning of Section 35 has come from BC.","bbox":{"left":0.147059,"top":0.869189,"width":0.343182,"height":0.03498600000000007}},{"text":"BC First Nations Land, Title, and Governance • FNESC/FNSA","bbox":{"left":0.117647,"top":0.936364,"width":0.43179700000000004,"height":0.014986999999999973}},{"text":"247","bbox":{"left":0.908843,"top":0.936364,"width":0.029981000000000035,"height":0.016486}}],"images_bbox":[],"images_bbox_not_text_overlap":[]}