This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has exonerated six indigenous chiefs, more than 150 years after they were executed by the colonial government of British Columbia.

Members of the Tsilhqot’in Nation have long argued their ancestors were tricked by the promise of peace talks to end a conflict with white road construction workers building a road through their territory – only to be arrested and convicted by the colonial government.

In a statement to the House of Commons, Trudeau offered the government’s “profound regret” for the killings. “As much as it is in our power to do so, we must right the wrongs of the past,” he said. “We are truly sorry.”

Canada confronts colonial past as Halifax removes statue of city's founder Read more

The executions followed the deaths of 14 white road workers who had entered Tsilhqot’in territory without permission.

“Our warriors defended our women, our children, our lands,” said Chief Joe Alphonse in a video posted to Facebook. “To come into Tsilhqot’in territory, you had to have Tsilhqot’in permission.”



Five chiefs – Telloot, Klatsassin, Tah-pitt, Piele, and Chessus – met colonial officials after receiving assurances of friendship, but were arrested, convicted and executed in the city of Quesnel shortly after the deadly encounter. A sixth chief, Ahan, was hanged the following year in the British Columbia city of New Westminister.

The British Columbia government placed a commemorative plaque at the location of the hangings in 1993 and formally exonerated the chiefs in a 2014 speech by the then premier, Christy Clark.

“I still feel their spirit. I still hear those songs. I still speak their language,” said Peyal Francis Laceese in the same Facebook video.

The move by the Trudeau government comes amid a tense relationship – both federally and provincially – with the Tshilhqot’in Nation.

The Nation made headlines in 2014 after a victory against the British Columbia government when the supreme court of Canada granted them title rights to land that was slated for logging.

“The first order of business is to exonerate our war chiefs – and then we’ll get to work to bring back our lands to the way they were before [European] contact,” said Alphonse. “It’s time for Canada to step up to the plate. It’s time to get this done. It’s time to make this a better Canada.”

