On June 26, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its ruling on Tsilhqot’in Nation v British Columbia, delivering a surprise ending to a twenty year standoff between the federal government, the British Columbia government, and the Tsilhqot’in First Nation over land rights in the interior of B.C. The case began in the late 1980s, after the B.C. government issued a commercial logging licence over land the Tsilhqot’in Nation considers their ancestral territory. Success eluded the Tsilhqot’in Nation at the trial and Court of Appeal levels, as both courts were unwilling to award the Band rights over the land. The land, it appeared, was destined for governmental control unless the Supreme Court reversed trend and ruled in the Tsilhqot’in Nation’s favour.

In a stunning move the Supreme Court did just that, granting the Tsilhqot’in Nation a declaration of Aboriginal title to approximately 2,000 km2 of the land claimed. Moreover, the Supreme Court issued this land alongside a harsh rebuke to the provincial and federal governments, finding they failed to properly consult and accommodate the Tsilhqot’in Nation on decisions affecting the land’s development. The Tsilhqot’in Nation, the Supreme Court concluded, was owed more government respect and recognition as the potentially valid owners of the land than was ever shown.

While the Supreme Court’s decision directly benefited the Tsilhqot’in Nation, its message has an unquestionably profound impa ...