Beyond Rights: The Nisga’a Final Agreement and the Challenges of Modern Treaty Relationships

An analysis of the potential of treaty-making as a way to address historical injustice.

After more than one hundred years of protest, petitions, litigation, and negotiation, the Canadian and British Columbian governments signed a treaty with the Nisga’a Nation in 2000, formally recognizing the unextinguished land rights of the Nisga’a people. The unprecedented agreement, providing both self-rule and a perpetual land title, marked a turning point in the relationship between First Nations and settler states across the globe. Using the Nisga’a Final Agreement as a case study, Beyond Rights explores the possibilities and limitations of treaty-making in the ongoing fight for Indigenous sovereignty and legal recognition throughout the world.
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