Expanded Notions of Restitution

Different ideas of resolution or settlement are reflected in Canadian versus Indigenous legal worldviews:

“I don’t believe money is enough”

Aaron Sumexheltza of Lower Nicola Indian Band, Nlaka’pamux Nation, talks about Indigenous senses of justice and how to achieve reconciliation, including the inadequacy of a mere monetary consideration when determining how to compensate for the losses Indigenous Peoples suffered. He describes how his Nation needs to be actively involved in continuing to take care of plants, animals, land. “Writing a cheque is not enough,” he says.

“The problem with money”

Bill Cohen, Syilx (Okanagan Nation), talks about what compensation should look like from an Indigenous perspective. He emphasizes the importance of restorative justice that takes a long-term view to ensure strong relationships between people, the land, and all creation, now and into the future.

“It's always going to be about the land”

Kukpi7 Judy Wilson discusses how restitution must be about protecting the land, watersheds, and animals to ensure that future generations can sustain themselves.

“You look at the relationships that have been disrupted”

Nlaka’pamux lawyer Ardith Walkem discusses the broad cultural losses resulting from historical dispossession of lands and resources and the need for alternative forms of restitution.