While the Makah's exertion of their treaty rights in pursuing a whale hunt has gotten a lot of local press, up north in B.C.., the Nisga'a people of the lower Nass River valley have just ratified their first treaty with the Canadian Government. The treaty was signed by the tribe, the B.C. government, and the federal government in August; it's the first treaty to be signed in B.C. in over 100 years. The B.C. legislature is currently debating the treaty in a special session. The Canadian Parliament is scheduled to address the treaty early in 1999.

The Nisga'a have been pursuing this treaty for 111 years. In 1887, tribal leaders traveled by canoe from their home near the Alaskan panhandle, to Victoria, to petition the B.C. legislature for settlement of the Nisga'a land claim. The then premier barred them from meeting the legislature. He told the Nisga'a: "When the white man first came among you, you were little better than wild beasts of the field." The tribe did not give up. Canada's own laws, including a proclamation by King George III, served as the crowbar they used to painstakingly pry open Parliament's doors.

It took a while. Chief Joseph Gosnell recalls that, "When I began this process I was a young man. When I first became involved in our Tribal Council, I was 25 years old. Now I am 63. Today, my hair is gray. The terms of six prime ministers chart the years I have grown old at the negotiating table." The Nisga'a are not alone. The continued pressing of land claims by aboriginal groups began to have repercussions on Canada's version of "business as usual." Somewhere along the way, the government found the will to negotiate.

The treaty grants the Nisga'a title to 20,000 square kilometers of land surrounding the Nass River. Essentially, the natives would quit their status as wards of the state and assume the powers of a local government--like a county or city--as an integral part of B.C. and Canada. In addition, they would maintain a share of the B.C. fishery subsistence hunting rights in a "management area" to be determined. They obtain control of forestry on their lands, receive some $250 million from the Canadian Government, and some economic development assistance. In return the Nisga'a surrender all past, present and future claims, based on any aboriginal status. Tribal enrollment would continue to be governed in accord with tradition.

The treaty appears to be fairly well favored by the tribe's members. Out of 2,376 eligible voters, 1451 (61% of eligible voters) voted for ratification, 558 (23%) voted against and 356(15%) did not cast ballots. Another 11 ballots were listed as "spoiled."

B.C. politicians are not unanimously enthusiastic. As Chief Joseph Gosnell pointed out in his recent speech before the legislature: "We are not naive. We know that some people do not want this Treaty. We know there are naysayers, some sitting here today. We know there are some who say Canada and B.C. are "giving" us too much. And a few who want to re-open negotiations in order to "give" us less."

The attitude of former B.C. premier Bill Vander Zalm of the Reform party might be described as "poisonous." In place of reasoned debate, he managed to blurt out: "I'm afraid what we're seeing here is another Yugoslavia being developed." Meanwhile, Liberal party leader Gordon Campbell described giving land title to the natives as creating "gated communities that will divide us all." Then there's always the media. In late October, the B.C. government filed a complaint with the British Columbia Press Council, asking that David Black be forced to rescind his decision to prohibit the editors of his 54 "community" newspapers from publicly supporting the treaty.

The Treaty itself seems to argue against any vision of gated communities thriving in New Yugoslavia. Owners of private property within the Nisga'a lands maintain all of their rights as before and non-Nisga'a residents are given the right to vote in local government elections. Public land will remain accessible to the public. The tribal government will function in a way that's similar to other municipalities of its population and location. The law of Nisga'a land will be integrated completely into provincial and national law. The Nisga'a would become full citizens of Canada.

The treaty has strong support. Besides the usual suspects (including over 100 religious groups), supporters include political and corporate leaders. The power brokers see the treaty process as a way to clear away the obstructive uncertainty of First Nations' numerous land claims. Not every endorsement of the treaty can pass without at least eliciting pause for thought. After hammering out a framework with the province for minimizing the treaty's impact on logging companies, the president of the Truck Loggers Association said, "we are giving our full support to the forestry section of the Nisga'a Treaty and encourage the parties to proceed with ratification and implementation."

Given the history of this continent over the last 500 years, it's certainly not going to be all fun and games. The juxtaposition of "native" and "treaty" is sure to arouse a reflexive skepticism from anyone painfully aware of history, but this treaty might be different from the others in one essential. Instead of a specific, ethnic oppression, this treaty allows the Nisga'a to participate in a general oppression in common with all non-elite citizens of western corporatocracies. It's not everything, but it is something.

In the words of Chief Gosnell:

"Today marks a turning point in the history of British Columbia. Today, aboriginal and non-aboriginal people are coming together to decide the future of this province.

I am talking about the Nisga'a Treaty, a triumph for all British Columbians, and a beacon of hope for aboriginal people around the world.

A triumph, I believe, which proves to the world that reasonable people can sit down and settle historical wrongs. It proves that a modern society can correct the mistakes of the past. As British Columbians, as Canadians, we should all be very proud.

A triumph because, under the Treaty, the Nisga'a people will join Canada and British Columbia as free citizens--full and equal participants in the social, economic and political life of this province, of this country.

It is a triumph because, under the Treaty, we will be allowed to make our own mistakes, to savor our own victories, to stand on our own feet once again."