Kwakiutl Commemorated the 163rd anniversary of its 1851 Douglas Treaty

On Feb. 8, the Kwakiutl Commemorated the 163rd anniversary of its 1851 Douglas Treaty as the First Nation entered into its 12th day of protest against the province of British Columbia, Canada and forest companies over the clear-cutting of cedar trees on lands with exclusive Kwakiutl Aboriginal title, rights and interests, and treaty rights, a press statement reads. “The people of Kwakiutl have been left with no choice but to protest and stop Canada and B.C. from allowing companies to cut and remove cedar trees from our land,” said Chief Coreen Child of Kwakiutl First Nation. Cedar is vital to the Kwakiutl people, contributing to every facet of life—from ceremony to sanctuary, the release states. “As our respected ones taught us, the trees are the ‘standing people’. They have the same energy as a bear, a salmon, a mountain, or a human being. The trees in the forest are like family,” said Tom Child, Lands Manager and Band Member of Kwakiutl First Nation. The 1851 Treaty with the British Crown stipulates that lands and waters were to be set-aside for the exclusive use by Kwakiutl to maintain livelihood “Our people viewed the treaty as vital to protecting land, water, and a way of life,” said Chief Child. “But treaty implementation never happened. It was denied. And by way of denial, natural resource-based industries sprang up around us and decimated our lands and waters. In June 2013, the BC Supreme Court found that BC and Canada had failed to implement and respect the Kwakiutl Douglas Treaty and challenged both levels of government to begin honorable negotiations with the First Nation “without any further litigation, expense or delay.”  The press statement said BC has decided to appeal the decision. Kwakiutl First Nation calls upon the federal and provincial Crown governments to cease their delay tactics, stop their denial of Aboriginal rights, title and interests, and acknowledge that the Treaty of 1851 exists and needs to be honored and implemented.