B.C. to contest lawsuit by U.S.-based tribes over consultation rights in Canada

British Columbia’s premier says his government will be fighting a lawsuit by an Aboriginal group based in the United States, saying B.C.’s obligations are to Indigenous people in Canada.

David Eby was responding to litigation brought by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington state, which says it is being unfairly excluded from B.C.’s consultation with First Nations.

In a statement posted online, the Colville Tribes say the group filed suit against B.C. after the province adopted a policy of notifying the group about decisions instead of consulting them.

The Colville Tribes say they are part of the Sinixt people and should be treated as an “Aboriginal people of Canada” who were “driven out” of their ancestral lands in B.C. due to Canadian colonialization.

The Syilx Okanagan Nation, which represents the Sinixt in Canada, says in a response that they agree with B.C.’s approach of prioritizing consultation with First Nations in Canada while consulting with groups in the United States “at a notification level.”

The Syilx Okanagan Nation disputes the Colville Tribes’ position that it is the successor group of the Sinixt, saying many members of the Syilx are of Sinixt descent while “U.S. tribes and U.S. citizens” do not have the same rights as First Nations communities in Canada.

“We are disappointed by these legal challenges and accusations of discrimination, which are inconsistent with the way the B.C. government has worked diligently with our Nation and others,” said Syilx Okanagan Nation tribal chair Chief Clarence Louie.

He added that the nation will also review the Colville Tribes’ lawsuit and will respond “when and if necessary.”

In its statement, the Colville Tribes say they view B.C.’s decision to only notify the group as discriminatory, citing a 2021 Supreme Court of Canada decision that confirmed the Sinixt are an Aboriginal people of Canada.

It says the Sinixt are one of 12 tribes comprising the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in the United States.

“We never voluntarily left our land in what is today called Canada; we were driven south by the forces of colonization,” Colville Tribes chairman Jarred-Michael Erickson says in the statement.

He adds that the Colville Tribes want to work with B.C. and First Nations groups in Canada “to steward our traditional lands,” but will fight “for decades more” if it continues to be excluded from consultations.

The Syilx Okanagan Nation says while one tribe now represented by the Colville Tribes is one successor group to the Sinixt, it doesn’t mean it is the only successor and isn’t entitled to the same rights as First Nations in Canada.

Eby said at an unrelated news conference in Surrey, B.C., on Thursday that the province’s obligations are not to Indigenous people in the United States.

He said the province had spoken with Louie and the Syilx Okanagan Nation about the Colville Tribes’ lawsuit.

“We’re going to work with the Okanagan Nation and with First Nations in British Columbia to ensure that Indigenous people in British Columbia and in Canada are the sole concern of the provincial government and the federal government,” Eby says.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 4, 2025.

Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press