EatWild Podcast 16 - Hunting on Unceded First Nations Traditional Territories

In this podcast, we are talking about how hunters can help work towards reconciliation with Indigenous communities.  This is a very difficult conversation, but it one that we need to have as Canadians, British Colombians and Hunters. Here in British Columbia, Indigenous communities have lived, hunted, and manage resources on these lands for time immemorial (a really long time!).  For many of us whose families have settled on these lands, we are now unravelling an uncomfortable history of colonization.  We are just starting to understand the implications of this history and the responsibility that we share to work towards reconciliation with the peoples who lived here before settlers showed up a couple of hundred years ago (not very long ago).  In BC, 95% of lands are described as crown lands. The courts in Canada have acknowledged that these lands were managed by indigenous communities for thousands of years before settlers showed up, and the courts have ruled that the Indigenous communities have never legally given those land rights away to the crown.  As a hunting community, we need to start a respectful conversation with Indigenous communities about how this will impact our ability to hunt and gather food on unceded First Nations traditional territories.