British Columbia·NewThe Colville Tribes say they are part of the Sinixt people and should be treated as an “Aboriginal people of Canada” who were “driven out” of their ancestral lands in B.C. due to Canadian colonization.Colville Tribes say the province is excluding them from consultation on land useChuck Chiang · The Canadian Press · Posted: Sep 05, 2025 10:09 AM EDT | Last Updated: 21 minutes agoB.C. Premier David Eby said he will fight a lawsuit by the U.S.-based Aboriginal group the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation that says it is being excluded from consultation. (Hunter Soo/CBC)B.C. Premier David Eby says his government will be fighting a lawsuit by an Aboriginal group based in the United States, saying B.C.’s obligations are to Indigenous people in Canada.Eby was responding to litigation brought by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington state, which says they are being unfairly excluded from B.C.’s consultation with First Nations.In a statement posted on Facebook, the Colville Tribes said the group filed suit against B.C. after the province adopted a policy of notifying the group about decisions instead of consulting them.Jarred-Michael Erickson, chairman of the Colville Tribes, told CBC’s Daybreak South host Chris Walker that proper consultation would take the group’s input into decision-making processes.LISTEN | Colville Tribes chair talks lawsuit: Daybreak SouthThe Sinixt Nation is suing the BC GovernmentThe Sinixt First Nation has launched two lawsuits against the BC governmentJarred Michael Erickson is the chairman of the Colville Confederated Tribes in Washington State.”We’re not actually being consulted like any other First Nations. We’re being treated as second-class citizens or second-class Natives.”The Colville Tribes say they are part of the Sinixt people and should be treated as an “Aboriginal people of Canada” who were “driven out” of their ancestral lands in B.C. due to Canadian colonization.But the Syilx Okanagan Nation, which represents the Sinixt in Canada, said in a response that they agree with B.C.’s approach of prioritizing consultation with First Nations in Canada while consulting with groups in the United States “at a notification level.”The Syilx Okanagan Nation disputes the Colville Tribes’ position that it is the successor group of the Sinixt, saying many members of the Syilx are of Sinixt descent while “U.S. tribes and U.S. citizens” do not have the same rights as First Nations communities in Canada.”We are disappointed by these legal challenges and accusations of discrimination, which are inconsistent with the way the B.C. government has worked diligently with our Nation and others,” said Syilx Okanagan Nation tribal chair Chief Clarence Louie in a statement.He added that the nation will also review the Colville Tribes’ lawsuit and will respond “when and if necessary.”In their statement, the Colville Tribes said they view B.C.’s decision to only notify the group as discriminatory, citing a 2021 Supreme Court of Canada decision that confirmed the Sinixt are an Aboriginal people of Canada.They said the Sinixt are one of 12 tribes comprising the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in the United States.”We never voluntarily left our land in what is today called Canada; we were driven south by the forces of colonization,” Erickson said in the statement.He added that the Colville Tribes want to work with B.C. and First Nations groups in Canada “to steward our traditional lands,” but will fight “for decades more” if it continues to be excluded from consultations.The Syilx Okanagan Nation said while one tribe now represented by the Colville Tribes is one successor group to the Sinixt, it doesn’t mean it is the only successor and isn’t entitled to the same rights as First Nations in Canada.Eby said at an unrelated news conference in Surrey, B.C., on Thursday that the province’s obligations are not to Indigenous people in the United States.He said the province had spoken with Louie and the Syilx Okanagan Nation about the Colville Tribes’ lawsuit.”We’re going to work with the Okanagan Nation and with First Nations in British Columbia to ensure that Indigenous people in British Columbia and in Canada are the sole concern of the provincial government and the federal government,” Eby said.With files from Daybreak South with Chris Walker
B.C. to contest lawsuit by U.S.-based tribes over Indigenous consultation rights in Canada
