On January 20th, 2025, Gitxaała Nation is going to the BC Court of Appeal to ensure that B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) has legal teeth and that ALL B.C. laws must be interpreted consistently with UNDRIP. This would ensure that the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples is required ahead of granting mineral rights or permitting mining on their territories.
Background
Off the north coast of B.C. lies Lax K’naga Sts’ool, – colonially known as Banks Island – an island home to lush forests, watchful mountains, and life-giving wetlands, rivers, lakes, and ocean waters. Lax K’naga Sts’ool is an integral part of Gitxaała’s territory that has sustained generations of Gitxaała’s economy and culture, providing food, shelter, and security to those who steward the land and the more-than-human kin it’s shared with.
In 2015, Gitxaała discovered the pollution of their territory after the Yellow Giant gold mine released tailings and effluent into the ecosystem, devastating salmon-rich creeks and near-shore areas. Shortly after, the company went bankrupt and abandoned the site, leaving the mess behind for Gitxaała to clean up. At the root of this problem is a gold-rush-era colonial regime that allows companies or individuals to acquire mineral rights in Indigenous territories without consultation or consent. So when a swath of new mineral claims was registered on Lax K’naga Sts’ool, Gitxaała decided to take legal action.
What’s Next?
Gitxaała wants to hold mining companies like the Yellow Giant gold mine accountable, and they want the rights of Indigenous Peoples to be respected. After several weeks in court in the spring of 2023, they received a favourable decision in September 2023; the BC Supreme Court ruled that B.C.’s system for granting mineral rights without consultation was inconsistent with the Crown’s constitutional duties to Gitxaała. B.C. later agreed to end mineral claim staking on Lax K’naga Sts’ool, pause all mining activities related to existing claims on Lax K’naga Sts’ool for five years, and prevent new claims in the rest of Gitxaała’s territory for three years. However, the argument that DRIPA requires all B.C. laws to be in line with UNDRIP, and that the law allows Nations to hold the government to account in court, was not successful.
Gitxaała Nation launched an appeal to this part of the ruling. If successful, it would hold B.C. accountable to its own DRIPA, which requires B.C. to take all measures necessary to align laws with UNDRIP, including the UNDRIP standard of free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples ahead of granting mineral rights or permitting mining on their territories. Gitxaała Nation returns to court January 20-22, 2025 where their appeal will be heard.
Gitxaała Nation, alongside Ehattesaht First Nation, has already set an incredible precedent and managed to get B.C. to suspend any new mining claims in their territories – for now. They could have stopped there, but the Nations are pushing onward to ensure all First Nations will have access to the courts if B.C. does not uphold its DRIPA commitments, and to ensure that all B.C. laws are interpreted consistently with Indigenous rights affirmed in UNDRIP. Doing so will allow Indigenous peoples to continue to uphold their responsibilities to protect and care not only for ecosystems but the human and more-than-human beings who live in them.
We need your help to build on the success of Gitxaała’s previous legal challenge. Gitxaała’s appeal will set a new precedent for how DRIPA is interpreted. Be a part of the movement and show up in solidarity with Gitxaała Nation as they go to court on Monday, January 20th.
Join RAVEN at the solidarity rally for Gitxaała on January 20th from 9-10 AM on the stairs of the Law Courts building at the corner of Nelson St. and Hornby St., Vancouver, B.C. Let us know if you can make it!
Can’t make it to the rally? Show your solidarity with a donation to Gitxaała’s legal challenge here.
