Profile of Roger William, chief, Xeni Gwet’in FIrst Nation – BiV
Wearing his trademark cowboy hat and carrying a native drum, Chief Roger William looked a bit out of place as he stood outside a BC Supreme Court courtroom, where the Wilderness Committee was defending itself in a defamation suit brought by Taseko Mines Ltd. (TSX:TKO) over criticisms of its New Prosperity mine.
William is no stranger to courtrooms, however. Over the past two decades, he has spent literally months in court, and his name is attached to one of the most important aboriginal rights cases in Canadian history, and on May 29, he will be awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Northern British Columbia.
On June 26, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that William’s people, the Xeni Gwet’in (pronounced “hunee gwateen”), had proven outright title over 1,750 square kilometres of Crown land southwest of Williams Lake in the Nemiah Valley, and aboriginal rights to hunt, gather, trap and catch wild horses over an area twice that size.
Read More: https://www.biv.com/article/2015/5/tsilhqot-chief-led-his-people-landmark-aboriginal-/
