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Much has been made of the approval given by Wet’suwet’en band council chiefs to Coastal GasLink. Band councils are creatures of the Indian Act, constructed through that act to manage reserves as per the act. They have a difficult job in an impossible structure with insufficient funding. But it is the hereditary chiefs who are the legitimate authority over their traditional territories (which are far larger than the reserves).

The situation of the Wet’suwet’en is very similar to that of the Ktunaxa Nation (of which I am a citizen) and of many other nations. There are still traditional legal and political protocols in place that lay out Ktunaxa responsibilities to the land and all in it. Here in “amakis Ktunaxa” (Ktunaxa territory), that law is framed as “akxamis qapi qapsin” — all living things. Ktunaxa are responsible for their lands, including the water, and for all living things. Yet, the example being set in the case of the Wet’suwet’en suggests Canada and B.C. will completely ignore those Indigenous laws and protocols when it suits them. There is reason to fear that the treatment of Wet’suwet’en foreshadows what awaits other Indigenous nations when there is a conflict with corporations and non-Indigenous governments over the use of the land.

Finally, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is the gold standard for Indigenous human rights at international law. It is imported into Canada, and has been explicitly adopted by the B.C. government. The right of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) prior to any external use of traditional territory is part of this declaration and is now part of the law of Canada. It is far more robust than the legally anaemic “duty to consult” set by the Supreme Court of Canada. Canadian governments need to respect the FPIC rights of the Wet’suwet’en and of all Indigenous peoples.