Sinixt Tribe

For nearly a decade, Desautel, who is a U.S. citizen living in Washington, has been making his way through British Columbia’s court system. He’s trying to reinstate his indigenous rights north of the border. His is a case about tribal sovereignty, recognition and reconciliation in Canada.

More than 40 people – many from Washington state – piled into a courtroom in Vancouver, British Columbia Wednesday, Sept. 12, to hear arguments in a long-running case regarding indigenous rights in Canada.

Over the past decade, surviving Sinixt tribal members who live in Washington have waged a legal battle to get their rights and access to traditional territory back. They recently celebrated their victories at an honor ceremony in British Columbia.

Museum curators in the Northwest are now working to update exhibits that focus on the region’s indigenous people. They are trying to do that in a way that both modernizes stories of indigenous people and tells them more truthfully.

British Columbia is taking the next step in a decade-long battle over native tribal rights. The province has filed paperwork to appeal a decision that granted Washington state tribal members rights to their ancestral lands in Canada.

Tribal members are waiting for the next move from British Columbia’s provincial government in a long-running battle over sovereign rights. Rick Desautel is one of roughly 4,000 Sinixt tribal members who live on the Colville Reservation in northeastern Washington state.