Supreme Court ruling gives Natives edge in land talks - Erasmus

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An historic Supreme Court of Canada decision to recognize aboriginal hunting and fishing rights will push traditional lifestyle before commercial gains and will give Indian bands the edge in negotiating future land claims with the federal government, says the nation's top Native leader.

George Erasmus, grand chief of the Assembly of First Nations in Ottawa, said the unprecedented May 30 ruling "is a very significant victory for all first nations that have treaties."

The ruling by the seven-judge appeal panel found British Columbia Musqueam band member Ron Sparrow innocent of a 1984 charge of fishing salmon in the Fraser River without a license.

The 500-member Musqueam band is based in Vancouver, 10 miles from the Fraser River where they have fished for generations.

Although treaties are non-existent in B.C., the decision will put aboriginal rights to fishing and hunting ahead of commercial and sporting rights, according to Erasmus, national political leader for more than 500,000 treaty Indians across Canada.

He said the decision means Canadian law now recognizes Native people had inherent rights before Europeans settled North America.

He's optimistic the ruling will give treaty Indians a greater position when they fight the government for land.

The court's decision demonstrates the government's tactics of denial and avoidance will not longer be tolerated and our rights are real and must be fully respected," he said.

"The struggle is far from over, but certainly the rules of the game are now clearer."

Conservation concerns will still take precedent over the rights of Native people to hunt and fish, but Erasmus said commercial and sport fishing has always taken precedent over the rights of Natives to practice their traditions.

He said treaties will have to be viewed by the federal government as binding agreements that can't be changed without the consent of Native leaders and their bands.

The Sparrow decision comes on the heels of another Supreme Court of Canada ruling upholding a 230-year-old treaty right of the Huron Indians of Quebec to practice their customs and traditions in federal and provincial parks.