Delgamuukw

Delgamuukw is a landmark Supreme Court of Canada case from 1997 concerning Aboriginal title and rights. The case was brought by the Gitxsan and Wet'suwet'en First Nations against the government of British Columbia. They asserted Aboriginal title to over 58,000 square kilometers of land in north-central British Columbia. The First Nations argued that their traditional laws and governance systems predated Canadian sovereignty and constituted a form of title to their ancestral territories.

The Supreme Court's decision in Delgamuukw affirmed the existence of Aboriginal title, which is a right to the land itself, not just a right to hunt or fish on it. The Court recognized that Aboriginal title is a burden on the Crown's underlying title and that it cannot be infringed without justification. This justification requires the Crown to consult with and, in many cases, obtain the consent of the Aboriginal title holders before undertaking activities that affect their lands.

While the Court did not definitively resolve the extent of the Gitxsan and Wet'suwet'en title in this specific case, the judgment established important legal principles for all Aboriginal title claims in Canada. It clarified that Aboriginal title can be proven through oral histories and traditional knowledge, in addition to documentary evidence. The decision has had a profound impact on resource development, land use planning, and reconciliation efforts between Indigenous peoples and the Crown in Canada.