What was the Nisga'a Final Agreement of 2000?

The Nisga'a Final Agreement was a modern treaty signed on May 11, 2000 between the Nisga'a Nation, the Government of British Columbia, and the Government of Canada. The Agreement came into force on May 11, 2000 after ratification by the federal Parliament (through the Nisga'a Final Agreement Act, S.C. 2000, c. 7), the British Columbia Legislature, and the Nisga'a Tribal Council. The Agreement ended a century-long Nisga'a land-claim struggle, granted Nisga'a self-government, and was the first British Columbia treaty since 1899. The Nisga'a Lisims Government now governs about 2,000 square kilometres of the Nass River valley in northwestern British Columbia.

The Nisga'a land claim had begun with the Nisga'a Land Committee's 1913 petition to the British Crown, which sought recognition of Nisga'a title and the negotiation of treaty terms. The Nisga'a Tribal Council was formally established in 1955 under President Frank Calder. Calder's 1969 Supreme Court of Canada case (Calder v. British Columbia (Attorney General), decided January 31, 1973) split 3-3 on whether Nisga'a Aboriginal title still existed (with one judge declining on procedural grounds). The Calder decision transformed Canadian law by acknowledging that Aboriginal title could exist independently of treaty or statute. The federal government responded with the August 8, 1973 Comprehensive Land Claims Policy.

The Nisga'a-Canada negotiations began in 1976 and the Nisga'a-British Columbia negotiations in 1991. Major negotiation milestones included the Agreement-in-Principle of February 15, 1996, the Nisga'a Final Agreement Initial signing on August 4, 1998, and the formal signing on May 11, 2000. The Nisga'a Tribal Council ratification referendum (November 6 to 7, 1998) approved the Agreement by 70.7 per cent. The British Columbia Legislature passed the implementing legislation in April 1999 over Liberal Opposition opposition. The federal Parliament passed the Nisga'a Final Agreement Act in April 2000.

The Nisga'a Final Agreement's main provisions included: Nisga'a fee-simple ownership of about 2,000 square kilometres of Nisga'a Lands, including subsurface mineral rights (an area of about half the original Nisga'a claim); Nisga'a self-government with constitutional status (the first modern treaty to constitutionalise self-government); Nisga'a citizenship and legislative authority over many areas including land and resources, education, health services, family services, and Nisga'a culture; an annual federal-provincial transfer payment of about 32 million dollars; the Nisga'a Lisims Government (legislature in New Aiyansh, now Gitlaxt'aamiks) and four Village Governments (Gitlaxt'aamiks, Gitwinksihlkw, Laxgalts'ap, and Gingolx); about 11.5 per cent of Nass River salmon catches; and shared management of broader traditional territory. The Agreement was challenged in court but withstood challenges (Campbell v. Attorney General BC, 2000; James v. Canada, 2000). The Nisga'a Final Agreement is a model for subsequent modern treaties in British Columbia and elsewhere.