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On Monday, prime minister Justin Trudeau offered an official exoneration for six Tsilhqot’in men hanged in 1864 for leading an uprising against colonial authority in British Columbia.

“We recognize that these six chiefs were leaders of a nation, that they acted in accordance with their laws and traditions and that they are well regarded as heroes of their people,” Trudeau said.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or What really happened in the Chilcotin War, the 1864 conflict that just prompted an exoneration from Trudeau? Back to video

The prime minister joins former B.C. premier Christy Clark, who in 2014 offered her own apology for the “wrongful” executions.

Over the decades, the conflict has entered Canadian national myth as a struggle between good and evil: Indigenous warriors defending their land against rapacious colonists. As Clark said in her 2014 apology the executed chiefs were “leaders, and they were engaged in a territorial dispute to defend their lands and their peoples.”

Photo by The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

But one of B.C.’s darkest events is filled with more nuance than political speeches may let on. The history of the Chilcotin War reveals a drama of conflicting allegiances and a colonial population that may not have been surprised that a Canadian leader would one day be apologizing on their behalf.