Good News about Haida Sovereignty

 

According to my Air Canada app we will be leaving in 50 days for Haida Gwaii, the archipelago of islands about 100 kilometres off the coast of British Columbia. We are both excited and a bit apprehensive about our trip given that we had booked to go in 2020, then again in 2021, both trips kiboshed by COVID. We actually thought this trip wouldn't happen either because of a lack of rental vehicles (a reality on many islands) but we will be there for the Summer Solstice and we do have a junket booked to Hai Gwanaas, the national park only acessible by water or air.

We are very interested in the culture of the Haida Indigenous people whose numbers were greatly reduced by diseases brought by settlers and whose language dwindled dangerously. We have seen and heard of how Haida culture and spirituality have been revived from the embers to illuminate the Nation once again. 

As a retired minister in a denomination that was part of the colonial assault on Indigenous spiritual identity and connection to the land and sea across the country I want to find my way humbly into a greater understanding and respect for this proud culture. I'm not sure if there is a United Church presence on Haida Gwaii and honestly it isn't of particular interest to me. 

You may be aware that the Haida Nation has been involved in a decades-long fight to stop the plundering of the rich forest resources of the islands by companies given cutting rights by the government of British Columbia. This led to confrontations involving police and activists but in the end the Haida prevailed, to a degree, in ways that are now serving as models for Indigenous groups around the world. 

Recently the government of British Columbia entered into an agreement with the Haida Nation regarding sovereignty. This agreement builds on those already formulated and enacted during the past 50 years. Here are excerpts from the release issued by the BC government: 

The Province of B.C. and the Council of the Haida Nation (CHN) stood in HlGaagilda and signed the historic Gaayhllxid • Gíhlagalgang “Rising Tide” Haida Title Lands Agreement, a first-of-its-kind negotiated agreement recognizing Haida Aboriginal title in Haida Gwaii.

Title recognition shifts the ownership and jurisdiction of land from the Crown to the Haida Nation in Crown law. The agreement provides for a staged implementation of the title, creating stability and certainty for all residents of Haida Gwaii, now and for generations to come.

CHN and the Government of B.C. have been working actively since 2021 to formally recognize Haida Aboriginal title in Haida Gwaii. The staged approach reflected in this agreement means that CHN and B.C. can determine in a planned and orderly way how the title will be implemented.

The agreement explicitly protects and maintains private property rights and existing government services and infrastructure in Haida Gwaii, including:

• Private property interests are confirmed and are not affected by this agreement.
• Local governments, public infrastructure, programs and services will continue under current B.C. laws.
• Highways, airports, ferry terminals, health care and schools are not affected.
• Haida Gwaii residents will continue to receive municipal services and pay property taxes in the same way they do today.
• Provincially issued leases, permits and other approvals to use Crown lands and recreational access remain in effect over a several-year transition period, with future management to be negotiated with input from communities, businesses and residents.

Haida citizens voted 95% in favour of the agreement at a special assembly on April 6, 2024. Later this month, B.C. will introduce supporting legislation to formally recognize Haida Aboriginal title in provincial law.

Quick Facts:

• The Council of the Haida Nation has been the governing body for the Haida Nation for 50 years.
• Haida Gwaii is located approximately 100 kilometres west of the northern coast of British Columbia and is a group of more than 200 islands totalling approximately one million hectares (3,750 square miles).
• The Haida have been on Haida Gwaii for millenia.
• The Council of the Haida Nation was formed in 1974 and the Constitution of the Haida Nation was formally adopted in 2003.
• The constitution mandates the CHN to conduct the external affairs of the Haida Nation and to steward the lands and waters of Haida Gwaii on behalf of the Haida Nation, ensuring that the Haida relationship with Haida Gwaii continues in perpetuity.
• The CHN has negotiated and signed agreements with other coastal First Nations, non-governmental organizations and local communities, and continues to work on agreements with both the federal and provincial governments.