NELSON, B.C., September 3, 2025 — Today, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation filed two constitutional challenges to defend the rights of their Sinixt membership. The lawsuits come in response to British Columbia’s formal decisions to treat the Sinixt differently than other BC First Nations, despite the Supreme Court of Canada ruling that the Sinixt are an Aboriginal people of Canada in R. v. Desautel (2021).
“As an Aboriginal people of Canada, we must be consulted on matters relating to our traditional territory, just as all other BC First Nations are. After years of working with us collaboratively, the Province is now treating the Sinixt as less important than other First Nations. They are refusing to meet with us or engage in dialogue when making decisions about our traditional territory. We want to work with the Province and other First Nations to steward our traditional lands, but if BC is determined to exclude us, we are forced to return to the courts”, said Jarred-Michael Erickson, Chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and the Sinixt Confederacy.
These lawsuits come after the Province told the Sinixt it would by default not engage in discussions with them on provincial decisions affecting their rights in BC, and instead merely notify them of the intended decision. The Province regularly engages in consultation, dialogue and relationship-building with all BC First Nations, as it is legally required to do. Now, the Sinixt alone are shut out from these discussions.
The Province has similarly excluded the Sinixt from newly created Indigenous Education Councils that form part of the BC school curriculum and are intended to ensure Indigenous history and culture are taught accurately. This discriminatory conduct means Sinixt perspectives will not be reflected in the curriculum—even in schools operating within Sinixt traditional territory.
The Province has adopted this discriminatory approach in the face of the Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark ruling in R. v. Desautel, 2021 SCC 17, which confirmed that the Sinixt are, and always have been, an Aboriginal people of Canada with the same constitutionally protected rights as any other BC First Nation. As the Supreme Court explained in Desautel, the Sinixt were driven off their traditional territory in British Columbia by colonization, and forced to live south of the Canada-US border. But this does not change the fact that the land now called British Columbia is the Sinixt’s ancestral home.
“We never left our land; we were pushed out by colonial governments. We have fought for decades to stay connected to the territory we have stewarded since time immemorial. The Province of British Columbia is doing it again,” added Erickson. “These policies are not just exclusionary, they are unconstitutional. We are taking this action to protect our rights, our story, our land and our future. These lawsuits are about more than consultation or curriculum. They are about our right to exist in our own homeland—and to be heard, not hidden.”
Legal Action on the Consultation Policy
In March 2025, the Province implemented a new policy stating it will by default only “notify” the Sinixt of decisions affecting their territory, unlike other recognized Indigenous nations who receive deeper consultation.
This shift came after consultation with other BC First Nations, but without notice to or consultation with the Sinixt themselves. The Province justified the policy by pointing to the Sinixt’s colonial displacement to Washington State, displacement caused by the very governments now denying them their constitutional rights.
The lawsuit argues that this policy violates both section 35(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982, which protects the rights of Indigenous people, and section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees equality under the law. The Sinixt are seeking declarations from the court that such treatment is unlawful, discriminatory, and contrary to the honour of the Crown.
Legal Action on the School Act
The second legal action challenges amendments to the School Act and a related Ministerial Order that define “First Nation” in a way that excludes the Sinixt, as they are not a “band” under the Indian Act. As a result, the Sinixt are barred from sitting on Indigenous Education Councils and cannot ensure that their perspectives and history are reflected in the curriculum—even in schools operating squarely within their traditional territory. The lawsuit argues that this exclusion violates the equality guarantee in section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“This isn’t a technical oversight—it’s a continuation of erasure,” said Chairman Erickson. “British Columbia says it is teaching Indigenous reconciliation in classrooms while actively excluding Indigenous Peoples like the Sinixt from participating in that process.”
Media Contact:
Neeka Somday
Legislative Assistant
neeka.somday[at]colvilletribes.com
(509) 634-2213
About the Sinixt:
Sinixt traditional territory stretches from as far north as the Big Bend of the Columbia River, north of Revelstoke in what is now British Columbia, south to an island just above Kettle Falls, in what is now Washington State. Through colonization, many Sinixt people, also known as the people of the
Arrow Lakes or the Lakes people, were gradually displaced from their traditional territory in British Columbia and prevented from exercising their rights in Canada. As a result, they became the Lakes Tribe or Sinixt members of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.
In 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada recognized that the Lakes Tribe is a modern successor group of the historic Sinixt and continues to be an Aboriginal people of Canada despite their displacement. The Sinixt continue to protect and maintain their relationship to their traditional land, which they have held since time immemorial. The Sinixt are represented by both the CTCR and the Sinixt Confederacy, an organization formed to represent the interests of Sinixt people on both sides of the border.