First paragraph (Teaser):

haida land claims and offshore drilling bc

Rest of the text:

Haida peoples of BC have recently launched a comprehensive land claim to the Haida Gwa'ii (Queen Charlotte Islands) and the surrounding sea floor.

An eight question referendum in BC on aboriginal issues will begin next week, allowing a majority vote on the status of minority rights. The liberal government seems likely to open up the offshore oil and gas moratorium on the BC coast. link

The Delgamuukw decision in 1997 has set the legal precedent which the Haida people can use in order to successfully defend their claims to the Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands). After nearly ten years of being stalled in stage 2 of the BC treaty process, it seems to me that the time for an effective Haida Land claim is now.

One of the ways in which this land claim is unique is that the Haida people are asking the courts to consider not only the archipelago of the Haida Gwaii but also the sea floor as part of their traditional territory.

Working outside the BC Treaty Commission, the Nisga'a peoples negotiated the first modern treaty in BC. Nisga'a chief Joseph Gosnell made a speech to the BC legislature and spoke through out Europe about the groundbreaking Nisga'a settlement in 1997. It is his opinion that negotiations are the path to greater autonomy and control and better lives for Aboriginal peoples.

How long did the Nisga'a negotiate for? In 1887 they approached then BC premier Smithe, in 1913, drafted a petition to London to address "the land question". The Nisga'a treaty was at least 110 years in the making.

I hope that the Haida peoples are successful in their land claim. I hope that a solution that the Haida peoples think is fair can be reached in a minimum amount of time. I hope that non-native people from the poor and working class, environmentalists and unionists and social activists will stand in solidarity with the Haida peoples for a resolution that puts the Haida people first.

I do not support offshore drilling because I think it is wasteful, regardless of who is doing it.

The haida peoples have stated that they will not be pursuing offshore drilling.