1977-1984: Constitutional Debate Spurs Activity

Much of the work of this period was associated with preparing for potential negotiations on the inclusion and expansion of aboriginal rights in the Canadian Constitution.

The first annual Gitxsan Carrier (now Wet’suwet’en) Tribal Council convention takes place in Kispiox in the fall of 1978 following federal Minister of Indian and Northern affairs visit to Kispiox in 1977 to declare Canada ready to negotiate on land claims. A big issue at the convention is the Department of Fisheries and Oceans arrest of Gitxsan during the summer for fishing without a permit. The right to govern fishing practices according to Gitxsan ayookw (laws) remains a flashpoint for activism for the next 10 years.

The Gitxsan participate in the 1982 B.C. Aboriginal Peoples’ Constitutional Conference in anticipation of expanding the nature and scope of aboriginal rights in the 1982 Constitution Act (the so-called repatriation of the Constitution by then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau). The hereditary chiefs anticipate defining those rights will put their governing system on equal footing with Western governance.

Tribal Council workers travel to all parts of the territory with hereditary chiefs to record aspects of traditional knowledge associated with specific geographical features in order to document the depth of Gitxsan governance. The truck and helicopter trips in the summer of 1983 are typical of this undertaking.

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