Promised Land

“And whereas great Frauds and Abuses have been committed in purchasing Lands of the Indians, to the great Prejudice of our Interests, and to the great Dissatisfaction of the said Indians … no private Person do presume to make any purchase from the said Indians of any Lands reserved to the said Indians … but that if at any Time any of the Said Indians should be inclined to dispose of the said Lands, the same shall be Purchased only for Us, in our Name, at some public Meeting or Assembly of the said Indians, to be held for that Purpose.” ((Royal Proclamation of 1763, R.S.C. 1985.))

The Royal Proclamation of 1763, which recognizes the pre-existing aboriginal title of “Indian Nations,” is still the law in Canada. Aboriginal title is a unique form of land title in Canada that, in the words of a recent Supreme Court of Canada decision involving the Tsilhqot’in Nation, “gives the Aboriginal group the right to use and control the land and enjoy its benefits.�...