EDITORIAL – Land claims cases a step forward, or backward on reconciliation?

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

THE LANDMARK CASE giving the Cowichan Nation aboriginal title over a large piece of land in Richmond, including privately held property, is a vital “step toward reconciliation” in the opinion of one of the chiefs.

Unfortunately, public reaction to the B.C. Supreme Court decision suggests otherwise. Despite the fact the Cowichan say they don’t intend to go after private property, people are worried.

Some of that worry has broken out into anger, misinformation and racism. Social media commenters are vowing to “fight back” and are making nasty remarks about indigenous folks living off government handouts, how they’d have nothing if not for the white man, and all the usual stuff some people like to spout.

Kamloops, as noted in an Armchair Mayor column a few days ago, has been swept into the controversy. A lawsuit filed jointly by the Skeetchestn and Secwe̓pemc bands against the Ajax mine project in 2015 was based on a claim of aboriginal title over the property on which the mine would be built.

But it also claimed a vast area including the city of Kamloops, Sun Peaks and rural land in between. So, the issue has become very much local, and it has the potential to set reconciliation back many years if not handled very, very carefully.

This comes after years of slow progress ranging from land acknowledgements at every public meeting, protocols of co-operation, renaming of lakes, rivers and mountains, and a plethora of land deals and other agreements.

Kamloops City Council and Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc need to get together quickly to talk about this. TteS needs to explain its lawsuit to the council; if it follows the path taken by the Cowichan, and has no intention of going after private property, that should be made abundantly clear.

But there’s the issue of public land as well. The Cowichan want federal and provincial lands in the affected Richmond area back. What that will translate into remains to be seen but could well involve money.

Is that the intention for Kamloops and Sun Peaks as well? Think about all the parks, sports fields and other public lands in Kamloops. How would that be affected?

Any unfounded fears need to be nipped in the bud via the outstanding co-operative relationship between the City and TteS before reconciliation is dealt a damaging blow.

Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Webster Foundation Commentator of the Year finalist. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor.  He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.