In a sometimes emotional discussion that lasted nearly two hours at its Oct. 26 meeting, Revelstoke city council opted to move forward with a subdivision process and key OCP amendments using a new First Nations contact list that does not include the Sinixt Nation.
'As the people gathered here well know, this Supreme Court victory marks one small step on the road to justice and reconciliation.'
'The stakes are big, with implications for indigenous peoples and provinces/territories all along the Canada-US border. If the Sinixt win their case, this may set a precedent for other indigenous nations whose people were divided by the border.'
The project, a collaboration between the Revelstoke Museum and local filmmaker Agathe Bernard, will tell the stories of the displacement of the Sinixt people, the salmon and the settlers.
Listen to our interview with Mark Underhill, the lawyer who represented a Sinixt man in a key court case held in Nelson, B.C. He said the ruling was a milestone for the Sinixt struggle to gain legal rights under Canadian law and reverse their 'extinct' status.
A new Revelstoke Museum & Archives exhibit explores Sinixt history, and seeks to set the historical record straight on aboriginal history in the region.
