A lawyer representing the Sinixt First Nation says a the recent dismissal of a Crown appeal by a BC Supreme Court judge validates much more than their hunting rights.
Mark Underhill with Vancouver law firm Arvay Finlay LLP says the decision demonstrates the strength of Aboriginal identity.
Last week a judge upheld an earlier decision allowing the Sinixt to hunt in Canada.
Underhill says the decision means “everything” to the Sinixt.
The decision stems from an incident in 2010 when a Sinixt man was charged after he was found hunting elk near Castlegar.
The area falls within traditional Sinixt territory but they had been declared extinct in Canada since 1956.
