In this book, the Gitksan and Gitanyow present their response to the use of the treaty process by the Nisga’a to expand into Gitksan and Gitanyow territory on the upper Nass River and demonstrate the ownership of their territory according to their own legal system. They call upon the ancient oral history (“adaawk”) and their intimate knowledge of the territory and its geographical features to establish, before witnesses, their title to lands in the upper Nass watershed.

Robert Galois' profile page

Neil J. Sterritt's profile page

Neil J. Sterritt is a member of the Gitskan Nation and was president of the Gitksan-Wet’suwet’en Tribal Council from 1981 to 1987. Susan Marsden, Peter R. Grant, Robert Galois, Richard Overstall and Neil Sterritt were all involved with the “Delgamuukw v. the Queen” case – Grant as a lawyer, Overstall in coordinating the research, and the others as expert witnesses.

This book is a factum on Nisga’a tribal history in respect of tribal boundaries in the watershed of the Nass River. It is a powerful statement of Nisga’a history on the one hand and a cogent review of political and legal aspects of the Nisga’a tribal claim on the other ... the side effect of such research is the great legacy of excellent scholarship, of which this book is an exemplary example.

Canadian Historical Review

The book is filled with appealing maps, labeled with both native and English names, and contains supporting statements from inland nations. It is too bad that arduous attention to detail and such a convincing historical overview have failed repeatedly to convince the provincial legal mind.

Pacific Northwest Quarterly, Winter 1999/2000