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Established in 1989, the Tsilhqot'in National Government meets the needs of, and represents its six communities: Tl'etinqox, ?Esdilagh, Yunesit'in, Tsi Deldel, Tl'esqox and Xeni Gwet'en. These communities work as one nation to continue the fight of their six War Chiefs who, in 1864 stood against the Canadian Government in an effort to gain Tsilhqot'in aboriginal rights and title to the lands they call Tsilhoqot'in (Chilcotin). Those six Chiefs were wrongfully tried and hanged for protectiong the Tsilhqot'in people and territory from the threat of smallpox and the appropriation of land. On March 26, 2018, in Ottawa, 154 years after the war, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau fully exonerated the War Chiefs of any wrongdoing.
The Tsilhqot'in National Government published a photobook in 2018, Tsilhqot'in Voices: Our Place, Our People, Our Story to trace the journey of the Tsilhqot'in Nation from a tradition of strength and self-sufficiency, through battles for protection of their land. The book strongly focuses on two recent fights: (1) the proposal of Taseko Mines Ltd. to develop a gold-copper mine (the Prosperity project) within the caretaker areas of Xeni Gwet'in and Yunesit'in; and (2) the 25-year court case to be recognized as the true landlords of their traditional territory. The latter resulted in a victory with the precedent-setting case Tsilhqot'in Nation v. British Columbia, also known as the Tsilhqot'in Decision, in 2014. The photobook contains testimonies and quotes mainly from Tsilhqot'in people during the 2010 and 2013 Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency panel hearings regarding the Prosperity project and New Prosperity project, both of which were rejected by the federal government due to the irreversible and immitigable damage the project would have on the culture and lands of Tsilhqot'in.
Tsilhqot'in Voices: Our Place, Our People, Our Story (Tsilhqot'in National Government 2018) 978-0-9916826-0-7
[BCBW 2019]
The Tsilhqot'in National Government published a photobook in 2018, Tsilhqot'in Voices: Our Place, Our People, Our Story to trace the journey of the Tsilhqot'in Nation from a tradition of strength and self-sufficiency, through battles for protection of their land. The book strongly focuses on two recent fights: (1) the proposal of Taseko Mines Ltd. to develop a gold-copper mine (the Prosperity project) within the caretaker areas of Xeni Gwet'in and Yunesit'in; and (2) the 25-year court case to be recognized as the true landlords of their traditional territory. The latter resulted in a victory with the precedent-setting case Tsilhqot'in Nation v. British Columbia, also known as the Tsilhqot'in Decision, in 2014. The photobook contains testimonies and quotes mainly from Tsilhqot'in people during the 2010 and 2013 Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency panel hearings regarding the Prosperity project and New Prosperity project, both of which were rejected by the federal government due to the irreversible and immitigable damage the project would have on the culture and lands of Tsilhqot'in.
Tsilhqot'in Voices: Our Place, Our People, Our Story (Tsilhqot'in National Government 2018) 978-0-9916826-0-7
[BCBW 2019]
