Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Wet'suwet'en Nation Trial Exhibits
General material designation
- Multiple media
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
- Source of title proper: Title based on the contents of the series.
Level of description
Series
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
-
1984 - 1997 (Creation)
- Creator
- Delgamuukw Trial
- Place
- British Columbia
- Note
- Delgamuukw Trial Conclusion December 11, 1997
Physical description area
Physical description
Textual records and other materials
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
The results of the Delgamuukw v. British Columbia Trial are considered a turning point in treaty negotiations, land use policy, and the recognition of the legal concept of Aboriginal title. The case concluded on December 11, 1997, and the Supreme Court of Canada observed that aboriginal title is an ancestral right protected by the Constitution Act of 1982. The action was brought forward by the 51 appellants, all Hereditary Chiefs either of the Wet’suwet’en Nation or Gitxsan Nation, and who individually or on behalf of their Houses and its members, claimed one or more separate specific portions of the 133 individual hereditary territories in Northwest British Columbia, totalling 58,000 square kilometres.
Custodial history
Scope and content
At trial, the Wet’suwet’en people were represented by the 13 Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs, whose territories during that time lay mainly in the watersheds of the Bulkley and parts of the Fraser-Nechako River systems and their tributaries. The original claims were altered and replaced with claims for aboriginal title and self-government, and eventually the individual claims by each House were amalgamated into two collective claims, one on behalf of the Wet’suwet’en Nation and the other for the Gitksan Nation. The Wet’suwet’en Exhibits consists primarily of records relating to Wet'suwet'en history, territory, and traditions. Series also includes Plaintiffs’ expert witness evidence, Wet’suwet’en genealogy information, photographs, oral histories, maps, letters, interviews and commission evidence.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script note
Some of the oral histories and testimonies are in indigenous languages
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
The Wet'suwet'en exhibits (all schedule B exhibits and schedule C exhibits pertaining to the Wet'suwet'en Nation) may be accessed with written permission from the Office of the Wet'suwet'en. Contact information may be obtained from the RBSC archivist.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Materials may not be redistributed. Research or Personal use must be indicated. Photocopies for research must be stamped, and any products from the research must be shared with the Wet'suwet'en Nation.
Finding aids
Generated finding aid
Associated materials
Accruals
General note
Some Wet'suwet'en Exhibits are cross-listed as Gitxsan Exhibits.
Physical description
949 Exhibits
Rights
Testimonies or materials submitted by individuals belonging to the Wet'suwet'en Nations are considered the intellectual and cultural property of the Wet'suwet'en people.