A Message from Chief and Council:

Au Siem Leey’qsun Mustimuhw,

The Supreme Court of British Columbia has finally heard what our ancestors have been saying all along: Tl’uqtinus is ours. The river is ours. The right to fish, to gather, to live in harmony with the land and water—it is ours. It always was.

This is not just a legal victory. This is a spiritual homecoming.

For over 150 years, we were pushed away from Tl’uqtinus. Our village lands were taken. Our fishing rights were denied. Our voices were silenced. But we remembered. We remembered the stories told by our Elders around the fire. We remembered the songs sung as our people paddled our canoes. We remembered the feel of the paddle in our hands, the taste of salmon, the rhythm of the tides.

This ruling is a recognition of our truth. It is a validation of our pain. It is a tribute to our resilience. And it is a promise to our children that they will grow up knowing who they are, where they come from, and what they are entitled to.

To our Elders who carried the stories through the darkness of residential schools and colonial laws—this is your victory.

To our youth who are rising with pride and purpose—this is your inheritance.

To our ancestors who walked these lands and paddled these waters—this is your legacy.

Lyackson stood strong with our relatives from Cowichan Tribes, Stz’uminus, Penelakut, and Halalt.

We stood as one Nation, the historic Quw’utsun Nation. And together, we rose.

But this is not the end. It is the beginning of healing. It is the beginning of reclaiming. It is the beginning of walking forward with dignity, with strength, and with love.

Let us return to Tl’uqtinus—not just in ceremony, but in spirit. Let us fish the river not just for food, but for connection. Let us teach our children not just history, but hope.

Let us rise, together.

Au Siem,

Huy’wu’qw Laxele’wuts’aat, Council members Brena Robinson, Rachel Flowers and Shayli Robinson

Lyackson First Nation