With material provided by the Gitxsan Hereditary Chiefs’ office, court transcripts from Delgam’Uukw v. British Columbia, and her own research, Dawn Mills paints a compelling picture of the Gitxsan and their right to land and self-government. While the book focuses on the judgments rendered in the Gitxsan’s struggle in the Supreme Court and an analysis of the judgments and strategies utilized, Mills also details the Gitxsan relationship to the land and their community. Contrary to the position taken by many legal scholars, Mills argues that the trial judgment in the Delgam’Uukw decision opened up new opportunities for First Nations people to present evidence based on oral traditions that had not been previously accepted by the courts.

Dr. Mills received her PhD in Native Law, History and Anthropology from the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Law. Her research includes the intersection of First Nations and Canadian state property rights, especially in the area of mineral, oil and gas development. She has worked for a number of First Nations communities advising on the impact of potential resource development, including the Gitxsan. She holds an Adjunct position at the Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada and runs her own consulting company specializing in development issues impacting on First Nations.

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