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There is a spectre haunting British Columbia.
If you’ve been paying any attention to BC politics over the last eight months, the province has been whipped up into a panic over Indigenous rights.
And all of it can be traced back to one man — and no, it’s not Premier David Eby.
The man haunting the province is Joseph Trutch, BC's first Lieutenant-Governor and the individual most responsible for the fact that the province resisted signing treaties with First Nations for a century.
Instead, provincial government after provincial government closed their eyes, put their fingers in their ears and just pretended that Indigenous title didn’t exist.
And now, that past is coming back to haunt British Columbia.
That is the story that is largely missing from all of the panic about land rights in BC. Because if we do what the pundits and right-wing politicians want us to do — which is ignore First Nations and the legal claims they have to their territory — we will be opening the door to true chaos.
Featured in this episode: Adam Olsen
To Learn More:
“How Joseph Trutch Set the Stage for BC’s Indigenous Policies” by Adam Olsen in The Tyee
“The True Threat to Private Property? Ignoring Indigenous Title” by Adam Olsen in The Tyee
“Cowichan Decision and Beyond: Letting Go of Zero-Sum Thinking” by Adam Olsen in The Tyee
“Eby Sent the Wrong Signals on DRIPA Amendments” by Adam Olsen in The Tyee
