Tsilhqot’in call grizzly hunt ‘illegal’ – Idle No More

By Mychayio Prystupa – Vancouver Observer

One of the more legally trailblazing tribes in Canada — the Tsilhqot’in — has just declared the BC Liberal government grizzly hunt as unlawful on traditional Aboriginal lands, the Vancouver Observer has learned.

“The hunt is illegal,” said Chief Joe Alphonse, tribal chair of the Tsilhqot’in National Government on Wednesday from Williams Lake in B.C’s interior.

“If [grizzly] hunters come on to Tsilhqot’in title lands, they better check with us,” he added.

The six Tsilhqot’in bands, fresh off an historic Supreme Court land rights victory, sit atop one of B.C.’s fledging recovery of grizzlies. The landmark ruling last summer requires outsiders to gain the consent of First Nations before impacting traditional territories, including its wildlife.

Read the full story here.