B.C. court rules American Indigenous man has right to hunt in Canada
NELSON, B.C. — An American Indigenous man’s right to hunt in Canada has been upheld by a B.C. Supreme Court judge because his ancestors traditionally hunted in this country.
Richard Desautel was charged under the Wildlife Act with hunting without a licence and hunting big game while not a resident of B.C. after he shot and killed an elk near Castlegar in 2010.
Desautel, a member of the Lakes Tribe in Washington state, argued in provincial court that he was exercising his constitutional right to hunt for ceremonial purposes.
The Lakes Tribe was described in court as a “successor group” to the Sinixt people, who lived, hunted and gathered in B.C.’s Kootenay region prior to first contact with European settlers.