(Image Credit: CKPG Today File)

By Bob Mackin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince George Citizen

Tribal Successorship

Tsay Keh Dene wants provincial policy struck down

Jan 3, 2026 | 12:00 PM

PRINCE GEORGE — A Prince George-headquartered First Nation calls an NDP government policy on tribal successorship unconstitutional and against the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples’ Act.

In a Dec. 12-registered BC Supreme Court lawsuit, Tsay Keh Dene Chief Johnny Pierre, on behalf of all band members, said that the province did not consult with Tsay Keh Dene before accepting Kwadacha Nation as a modern-day successor to the rights and title of the Sekani Nation.

Pierre’s lawsuit, filed in Vancouver, said the policy allows First Nations to “strategically shift their identity” without notice to First Nations whose claimed territories overlap. Specifically, the province allegedly accepted a new claim by the Kwadacha Nation to “90% of what was previously Tsay Keh Dene territory free of territorial claims by Kwadacha.” That has had detrimental impacts, according to Pierre.

Pierre accuses the province of failing to engage with the Tsay Keh Dene until Oct. 15 when it advised Tsay Keh Dene that it “believes Kwadacha includes Kaska and Sekani descendants due to the understanding that some Sekani likely intermarried with Kaska people after 1890.”

When the band sought clarification, the province told Tsay Keh Dene about the policy on Nov. 20 and said it is not aware of any case law that precludes the policy.

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But, Pierre’s lawsuit claims the province has kept details secret.

“Other than identifying intermarriage as a relevant factor in the October 15, 2025 communication, the nature and extent of the connections that will trigger provincial acceptance of new territorial claims under the policy, and what is required in order to establish these connections, have not been communicated by the province,” the lawsuit said

Pierre’s claim said the policy damages reconciliation and encourages conflict between First Nations because it breaches the aboriginal rights section of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the province’s United Nations-inspired reconciliation law. The policy could result in claims from numerous First Nations to the same historic group and territory on the basis of diverse ancestral connections.

According to the claim, the policy allows Kwadacha to hunt and harvest without permission in area claimed by Tsay Keh Dene and the province is negotiating with Kwadacha on an atmospheric benefits agreement about areas to be set aside for the sale of carbon credits to companies.

The conflict is rooted in a merger dating back to 1959. That is when the Fort Grahame and Fort Ware bands amalgamated to become the Finlay River Band.

The 1968-built W.A.C. Bennett Dam led to the Williston Lake Reservoir, forcing most Finlay River Band members to move to Ingenika. In 1971, part of the Finlay River band split to become the Kwadacha band. The remainder of the Finlay River band became Ingenika, which changed its name to Tsay Keh Dene in 1992.

In 2023, Pierre said, Tsay Keh Dene became aware that Kwadacha was asserting rights within its claimed territory.

None of the allegations has been tested in court and the province has yet to file a reply.