The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Indigenous people who are not Canadian citizens and who do not live in Canada can have constitutionally protected rights in the country if they belong to groups that are modern-day successors of ones that once occupied territory there.The decision could have far-reaching ramifications for Indigenous people on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border.The ruling in the case of Richard Desautel, a U.S. citizen and member of the Lakes tribe of the Colville Confederated Tribes in Washington state, ended a legal battle that began in 2010 when he shot a cow elk in the Arrow Lakes region of British Columbia.He alerted a conservation officer and was charged with hunting without a license and hunting big game while not a resident of British Columbia.
“Supreme Court ruling grants constitutional rights for Indigenous peoples outside Canada with ties to the land”: Sean Fine of The Toronto Globe and Mail has this report.
Amanda Coletta of The Washington Post reports that “Canada’s Supreme Court says some Native Americans can hunt in British Columbia.”
You can access the ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada at this link.