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Twenty years ago, Geoff Plant, the then attorney general of British Columbia, made an offer to the Haida Nation. Many West Coast First Nations, including the Haida, had never signed treaties with the Canadian government ceding their traditional lands or resources, and Plant was trying to revive the faltering process of treaty making. He wanted to smooth over relations with Indigenous peoples, but he also wanted to help the province extract more resources from Indigenous lands. To entice the Haida鈥攁 nation known throughout Canada for its political savviness and resolve鈥攈e had what he thought was a bold bargaining chip.

Like many other officials, Plant viewed the British Columbia government as the clear landlord of provincial lands, including those of the Haida Gwaii archipelago鈥�10,000 square kilometers of forested islands located roughly 650 kilometers northwest of Vancouver, British Columbia, and.

So here was Plant鈥檚 pitch: The British Columbia government would give the Haida control of 20 percent of their lands, but that would require the nation dropping  it had recently filed with the British Columbia Supreme Court. 鈥淭itle鈥� refers to the inherent right to own and manage Indigenous territories based on traditional use and occupation. The Haida maintained that their territory included all of the land area in the archipelago, as well as the surrounding airspace, seabed, and marine waters.

The Haida saw Plant鈥檚 offer to the door.

鈥淲hy would we give up 80 percent of our land to get 20?鈥� said Gidansda (Guujaaw), the then president of the Council of the Haida Nation, to media at the time. 鈥淭his case is about respect for the Earth and each other. It is about culture, and it is about life.鈥�

The Haida鈥檚 steadfastness paid off. Although Haida leaders have kept a potential court case in their back pocket all these years for leverage, they ultimately haven鈥檛 needed it. In April 2024, the Haida Nation and the province of British Columbia announced the . In it, the British Columbia government formally recognizes Haida ownership of all the lands of Haida Gwaii. This is the first time in Canadian history that the colonial government has recognized Indigenous title across an entire terrestrial territory, and it鈥檚 the first time this kind of recognition has occurred outside of the courts. Experts say it marks a new path toward Indigenous reconciliation.

鈥淚t鈥檚 groundbreaking, really,鈥� says John Borrows, a member of the Chippewas of Nawash First Nation and an expert in Indigenous law at the University of Toronto in Ontario. Although Indigenous title is widely considered an inherent right that doesn鈥檛 need to be granted by an external government or court, Borrows says, First Nations struggle to enforce it without legal backing. And so far, only two courts in Canada have recognized Indigenous title.

In 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld title for the  in the interior of British Columbia, and just last week, in mid-April 2024, the British Columbia Supreme Court affirmed it for the coastal . However, neither ruling recognizes title across an entire traditional territory, and since the 1970s, Canadian courts have urged federal and provincial governments to resolve such differences through negotiation. Now, with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and growing public support on their side, the Haida and the province have finally done just that.

Gaagwiis (Jason Alsop), president of the Council of the Haida Nation, says the agreement ends a dark chapter in his nation鈥檚 history with the provincial government and provides a fair starting point for real reconciliation.

鈥淲hat it signifies,鈥� says Gaagwiis, 鈥渋s a new foundation based on 驰补丑鈥檊耻耻诲补苍驳, or respect, of recognizing this inherent title that preexisted [European contact] and will continue to exist as the basis going forward. And, essentially, the province kind of ceding their claim to this land.鈥�

The new agreement will soon be enshrined into British Columbia law, naming the Haida as the rightful owners of all 200-plus islands of Haida Gwaii, which they have been stewarding for millennia. After a two-year transition period, the Haida Nation will manage the 98 percent of its archipelago that was formerly considered Crown land, including protected areas and other forested lands. Having more of a say over the logging industry鈥攚hich has clear-cut over two-thirds of the islands鈥� old-growth forest since 1950鈥�. The agreement won鈥檛 affect private property or municipal and provincial services, from highways to hospitals, which will continue to be regulated by the province.

鈥淭he idea that each legal system is recognizing the other one is a turning point,鈥� Borrows says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also radically democratic and participatory.鈥� This marks a new kind of relationship, which can draw on the best of Haida and Western influences, he adds. And unlike a treaty or court decision, which are more set in stone, this approach requires ongoing negotiation that can adapt and evolve with the times.

鈥淚t can keep people at the table, learning and working together with one another and trying to find that path to mutuality,鈥� Borrows says.

The federal government of Canada is notably absent from the agreement for now. Both the province and the Haida Nation say their federal partners were delayed by procedural constraints but plan to sign on eventually. (The Feds were part of two other agreements鈥攁  and a 鈥攖hat led up to this title recognition.)

Gaagwiis says the Haida are also still negotiating with Canada over their rights to control the waters surrounding Haida Gwaii, which fall under federal government jurisdiction. These waters鈥攖eeming with shellfish, herring, sea cucumbers, five types of salmon, and more than 20 species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises鈥攁re not included in the land agreement but are paramount to the coastal First Nation and are a key part of its overall title declaration.

If marine areas or any other outstanding issues, such as financial compensation for past damages, can鈥檛 be sorted out through negotiation, the courts are still a fallback. The Haida Nation鈥檚 20-year-old title claim, which hasn鈥檛 been judged in court, could still be heard as early as 2026.

While Indigenous people in Canada and abroad are hailing this land title agreement as inspiring and precedent setting, Murray Rankin, British Columbia鈥檚 minister of Indigenous relations, says the Haida鈥檚 unique circumstances made the process more successful.

鈥淗aida Gwaii is not downtown Vancouver,鈥� Rankin says. It鈥檚 a remote territory where the provincial government controlled the vast majority of the land, which is mainly protected and unprotected forest, as opposed to an urban environment comprised mostly of private properties. The population of Haida Gwaii is 45 percent Haida. The Council of the Haida Nation, which represents the Haida people, has a 20-year-old , agreements with every local municipality, and widespread support from non-Indigenous residents. And they鈥檝e been on better terms with the provincial government since 2009, when they hashed out the  (which translates to 鈥渢he beginning鈥�).

Of course, they also have a strong historical claim to the archipelago, complete with extensive archaeological evidence. And, unlike some other Indigenous communities whose territories overlap, the Haida Nation doesn鈥檛 have to contend with competing land claims.  on a forestry lawsuit called these facts 鈥渋nescapable.鈥�

All of this has created ideal conditions for negotiation that may elude other Indigenous communities, such as Cowichan Nation on the south coast of British Columbia, which is currently fighting the province in court over its own title claim. The province says it prefers negotiation, however. That鈥檚 in part because court rulings are not only costly but often opaque, Rankin says. 鈥淚 hope [the Haida agreement] is a step toward other kinds of positive resolutions,鈥� he adds.

Perhaps unexpectedly, the provincial government鈥檚 marked shift is a welcome one to Geoff Plant, the former attorney general who once offered the Haida 20 percent of their land. Plant now works for a Vancouver-based law firm and spends a lot of time in meeting rooms trying to convince business people of the benefits of acknowledging Indigenous title; he says doing so breeds better engagement, harmony, and certainty. And he now recognizes how flawed the government鈥檚 former approach was, which he compares to building and defending a wall between the province鈥攚hich he once referred to as the landlord鈥攁nd First Nations. 鈥淚t鈥檚 clearer in hindsight what鈥檚 wrong with that,鈥� Plant says.

Indigenous leaders in Canada and around the world have helped society reckon with the injustices Indigenous communities have faced, and power, public opinion, and legal precedent have all shifted in response. 鈥淲e should see that, collectively, as an opportunity to build a better society,鈥� Plant says. 鈥淟et鈥檚 figure out how to work constructively within that world rather than pretend that it doesn鈥檛 exist.鈥�

The provincial wall may not have fully crumbled, but the tide is rising against it. And at least on Haida Gwaii, a colonial government is no longer lord of the land.

This article first appeared in Hakai Magazine and is republished here with permission. Read more stories like this at .