?Esdilagh First Nation: ʔElhdaqox Dechen Ts’edilhtan (Sturgeon River Law)

Summary

In May 2020, the ʔEsdilagh First Nation in British Columbia—one of the six communities that make up the Tsilhqot’in National Government—enacted the “Sturgeon River Law” which declares “the ʔEsdilagh of the Tŝilhqot’in Nation have rights and responsibilities as caretakers of ʔElhdaqox [otherwise known as Sturgeon River or the Fraser River] to ensure that ʔElhdaqox provides for the entire Tŝilhqot’in Nation and is protected for this generation and the generations to come…in accordance with Tŝilhqot’in dechen ts’edilhtan.” (pg 4)

“Dechen ts’edilhtan” (which translates to “laying down the stick) is Tŝilhqot’in ancestral or customary law. It encompasses the traditional teachings, rules, and inherent responsibilities that have governed the Tŝilhqot’in people and their lands (nen) and waters (tu) since time immemorial. The Sturgeon River Law is a written form of Tŝilhqot’in dechen ts’edilhtan and was adopted by the ʔEsdilagh First Nation Chief and Council on 27 May 2020 and subsequently endorsed by all six Tŝilhqot’in Chiefs.

Jurisprudential Framing
Our Nation’s relationships to our territory make us who we are; The River People. These relationships define us a Nation and highlight our protection and stewardship responsibilities that are grounded in our inherent and self-government rights. The tu (“waters”) in our territory, including ʔElhdaqox, are vital to our Nation. We cannot survive without them. The tu that our babies are carried in in the womb is sacred and is a direct connection to the tu in our landscape which continues to give us life after we are born. It is therefore critical we express this dechen ts’edilhtan in written form to protect the tu within our territory for our children, grandchildren and the generations to come. (pg 2)

The following values form the foundation of Tŝilhqot’in laws regarding ʔElhdaqox (among others listed):
(a) Tu is sacred;
(b) Tŝilhqot’in people have a sacred relationship with ʔElhdaqox and we have an ancestral responsibility to ʔElhdaqox that defines us as Tŝilhqot’in people;
(c) Tu is a gift, not a resource;
(e) ʔElhdaqox cannot be subject to pollution or harm;
(f) Humans and non-humans are interconnected and their actions impact one another;
(g) There are consequences for mistreating ʔElhdaqox. ʔElhdaqox is powerful and any mistreatment of it can have dire foreseen and unforeseen consequences for the next generations;
(i) Tŝilhqot’in people must respect ʔElhdaqox as a responsibility and dechen ts’edilhtan of the Tŝilhqot’in people;
(k) Tu is a life form, it has its own spirit with human qualities;

The following principles apply to ʔElhdaqox (among others listed):
(e) We must consider the needs of the fish, plants and other relations before we take, use, or allow the use of any tu;
(f) People, animals, fish, plants, the nen, and the tu have rights in the decisions about their care and use that must be considered and respected;

Legal Provisions
The law states that “settler governments have grossly mismanaged the nen and tu causing ecosystem collapse, human induced climate change, severe tu quality degradation, extreme stress upon ecologies and the extinction of species at an unprecedented scale and rate. Several ts’eman [sockeye salmon] runs are extirpated, or are on a worrisome decline within the watershed. It is evident that the existing regulatory processes have not protected our nen and tu.” (pg 3)

The law provides that Tŝilhqot’in people have a right to clean tu from ʔElhdaqox and use and access for basic human needs, social, economic and cultural purposes, and stipulates the right to FPIC on all uses, projects, or proposed projects that may affect or impact ʔElhdaqox and/or their Aboriginal rights. (pg 6)

“No person may undertake any use or activity, or construct, operate, modify or abandon a project, with the potential to negatively affect ʔElhdaqox or contravene the protections set out in this Law unless the person first obtains an Authorization.” The ʔEsdilagh Government must not grant an Authorization for any use that could adversely impact the quality or quantity of tu in ʔElhdaqox or Tŝilhqot’in rights and responsibilities. The law authorizes the ʔEsdilagh Government to suspend or cancel an Authorization where necessary to protect fish, Habitat, and water flow, and to impose reasonable monetary penalties to finance the costs of recovery for harm caused by a person using the river under any Authorization. The protection of the fish, plants, and other animals which the Tŝilhqot’in people rely on, and their Habitat, is paramount to all decisions by ʔEsdilagh Government made under this Law. (pg 7-8)

The term “Person” includes a corporation, partnership or party, and the personal or other legal representatives of a person to whom the context can apply according to law.

Further laws, regulations and policies may be enacted by ʔEsdilagh Government and/or Tŝilhqot’in Nation to implement this Law.

Ecosystem and Community Context
The ʔEsdilagh people of the Tŝilhqot’in Nation live in the mountainous region on both sides of the Fraser River, between Williams Lake and Quesnel, B.C. The Tŝilhqot’in Nation have occupied their ancestral nen since time immemorial and “have never ceded, surrendered or abandoned our rights, title and responsibilities to our nen and tu” to which their identity is bound. Tŝilhqot’in culture, livelihood and governance are inextricably linked to the tu and life (including fish) in ʔElhdaqox, which is the main river of a network of streams, lakes and wetlands that make up the ʔElhdaqox watershed. (pg 2)

Involved Organizations