Two deals provide real hope for Indigenous land governance

In today’s Big Story podcast, last week, the Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi ‘in Southeast B.C. signed an agreement with the coal company, NWP Coal Canada, that will give them veto power over a proposed mine on their territory. That same week saw an agreement struck between the B.C. government and the Blueberry River First Nation to curb old-growth logging, protect wildlife and compensate the community for years of rampant industrial development on their land.

Leyland Cecco is a reporter who covered these landmark agreements for The Guardian. He joins use to break down the details, and discuss their implications for the future of Indigenous territorial sovereignty.

“This string of court cases that are all going the way of Indigenous nations that are fighting these resource projects… the writing’s on the wall for a lot of these companies,” he said, “if stability is what they want, this might be the easiest and best way forward.”

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