Sinixt First Nation not extinct after all, court rules

[Cliffy]

Judge rules the Sinixt have not lost their connection to a huge swath of southern B.C.

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A First Nation declared extinct by the federal government 60 years ago has won a court battle to have its existence recognized.
A provincial court judge in Nelson, B.C., acquitted a Sinixt man from Washington state on Monday of hunting without a licence and hunting without being a resident. Richard Desautel had been charged after killing an elk near Castlegar in 2010.
Judge Lisa Mrozinsky also ruled that the Sinixt First Nation has not lost its connection to a huge swath of southern B.C., from Revelstoke to the U.S. border, and still has Aboriginal rights to the territory.

• Sinixt First Nation's fight for existence expected to be a long battle
• U.S. hunter fights for recognition of extinct Sinixt First Nation
• 'Extinct' First Nation files B.C. land claim

"For me, to come back into this part of the country and exercise my traditional rights to hunt as my ancestors did, should not be denied by someone who came in and said, 'You no longer exist here,'" said Desautel after the decision was handed down.


Sinixt First Nation not extinct after all, court rules - British Columbia - CBC News

All you doubters can eat my shorts.