The memorandum marks an apparent shift in provincial policy. It is the first instance in which the province has signalled its willingness to proactively recognize Aboriginal title and negotiate shared jurisdiction over the land. It reflects the government’s commitment to engage Indigenous governance traditions not simply as a historic residue to be removed but as part of the future of resource management in the province.
Now, a year after the protests began, it’s not yet clear how shared jurisdiction between the provincial government and hereditary chiefs would work. How can legal paradigms that treat natural resources as commodities be married to Wet’suwet’en responsibilities to the spirit of the land? If history is any indication, the province still has much to learn.