Tŝilhqot’in Call for End to Political Fear-mongering About Title
Press Release
November 6, 2025
The Tŝilhqot’in Nation is calling for an end to the political fear mongering about Aboriginal title coming from all levels of government and across political parties in British Columbia. Aboriginal rights and title have gone unaddressed by Canada and the Province of BC for over a century. It is only in 2014 that the Tŝilhqot’in Nation secured the first court declaration of Aboriginal title in Canadian history, after decades of denial.
The Tsilhqot’in Nation is deeply disappointed to see the Premier of British Columbia, Opposition Leader John Rustad, and others, play politics around Aboriginal title and generate fear and misinformation about First Nations — at the same time First Nations have made every effort to advance our rights in a spirit of reconciliation, and with care and attention to the interests of individual property owners.
The Tŝilhqot’in Nation, with a court declaration of Aboriginal title, has never targeted private property and has no intention of doing so. Private lands were excluded from the declaration of title that the Nation sought — and received — from the Supreme Court of Canada. Recently, the Haida Nation consented to the continuation of private land interests as part of its title recognition agreement with BC and Canada. The Cowichan Nation has also taken care to ensure that the declaration of Aboriginal title it secured in its recent judgment does not interfere with the rights of private owners.
Since first contact, Indigenous peoples have been vilified and portrayed as the enemy, while our peoples have faced the relentless taking of our lands, culture, language, and way of life. Our home is our territory. The Tŝilhqot’in and other Nations are still fighting for the survival of their lands and cultures. The Provincial NDP has passed Bills 14 + 15 to fast-track major projects without the explicit requirement of Indigenous consent, and John Rustad has called for the repeal of the Declaration Act — direct threats to Indigenous human rights, safety, and security — while painting Indigenous peoples as a threat to people’s private property.
The Tŝilhqot’in Nation calls on all levels of government to engage with First Nations to resolve long standing questions related to Indigenous rights and title, in a positive way.
The Tŝilhqot’in National Government is the governing body for the Tŝilhqot’in people. The Tŝilhqot’in Nation is comprised of six communities located throughout the Tŝilhqot’in (Chilcotin) territory and is the first Nation in Canada to secure a court declaration of Aboriginal title (Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia).
“Time and again, First Nations have shown care and respect for the private property of our neighbours, even when those lands were wrongly taken from us in the past. It is frustrating to see these genuine efforts by First Nations towards reconciliation met by misinformation and fearmongering by politicians. We call on everyone to take this as an opportunity for true leadership and positive, respectful relationships that will promote certainty and address the land questions we see today. Those that lead with fear aren’t looking for things to improve — they just want to score easy political points at the expense of the most marginalized and vulnerable people in this province.”
—Nits’ilʔin Otis Guichon, Tribal Chief, Tŝilhqot’in National Government
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More Information
Media Contact
Nikki Berreth, Communications Manager
250-305-8669
nberreth@tsilhqotin.ca
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