Gwelx ye’enst

Planning

The Gitanyow peoples have exercised their authority and legal obligation to sustain and protect the land and resources of their territories for millennia. In 1959, the Gitanyow, in conjunction with the Provincial Museum of British Columbia, published Histories, Territories and Laws of the Kitwancool. The histories, territorial boundaries and legal principles recorded therein go back thousands of years and will continue to exist forever. Over the centuries the Gitanyow have remained steadfast in the defence of their inherent title and jurisdiction over their territories in the face of ever greater encroachment from forestry, mining, settlement, and other threats. They have done so through military, diplomatic and legal means.

The Gitanyow have developed Histories, Territories and Laws Part II: Gitanyow Lax’yip Land Use Plan to provide direction about land and resource use in their territories as an exercise of their inherent title, jurisdiction and law.