This Land (1968)

Plot Summary

This Land offers a fascinating look at the beginnings of a landmark Supreme Court of Canada case that set in motion the legal recognition of First Nations land title. Led by the incomparable Chief Frank Calder, the Nisga’a Tribal Council prepare for their claim, contending that they had never legally relinquished their title lands in the Nass Valley, in northern British Columbia. Director Arthur Hammond delves into the deeper reasons for the claim, showing life in communities without water systems, fire services, doctors, or hospitals, and how the Nisga’a are prevented from accessing any of the economic wealth being generated from their natural resources. Although the Nisga’a Nation did not win back their land title in what became known as the Calder Case, the claim paved the way for a federal land-claims process that continues today, and for the Nisga’a Treaty, the first modern treaty in British Columbia.

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