Please attend this event to learn more about the Sinixt fight for recognition of their territory and their existence in Canada, a struggle that will also take place in the Supreme Court of Canada in October.

Sinixt tribal member Rick Desautel was charged in 2010 with hunting as a non resident and without a proper permit in Canada. Rick harvested an elk on the ancestral land of the Sinixt people in Vallican British Columbia Canada. To the Sinixt, hunting on ancestral land is an aboriginal right gifted to them by Creator. A right that has legally been denied to the Sinixt people since 1956 when the Canadian government unjustly declared them extinct in Canada, despite the nearly 3,000 members existing on the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington State. Now with the Desautel Hunting Case, the Sinixt people have a chance to not only bring light to their unjust extinction by the Canadian government, but also abolish the declaration completely.

This event will screen a 30 minute film of the case made by Native American filmmaker Derrick LaMere and then there will be an hour question and answer period with the following expert speakers:

Rick Desautel is a Sinixt Tribal Member and Ceremonial Hunter. Rick is the subject of the hunting case that brought the Sinixt people’s extinction to the Canadian Supreme Court.

Shelly Boyd is a member of the Sn̓ ʕay̓ ckstx (Sinixt/Arrow Lakes) band of the Colville tribe. Until recently, she was the Arrow Lakes Cultural Facilitator for the Colville Tribes and her work revolves around the recently reversed declaration of extinction of Sn̓ʕay̓ckstx people in Canada.

Derrick LaMere is a Native American Filmmaker (Rocky Boy, Little Shell, Sinixt, Entiat, Wenatchi) from Spokane Washington. He is an award winning documentary filmmaker whose recent films have been an official selection to more than 35 film festivals internationally.

Mark Underhill is a lawyer practicing with Arvay Finlay LLP in Vancouver, B.C., who specializes in public law, including Aboriginal, administrative, constitutional, and environmental law. He has represented Rick Desautel throughout his journey to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Please note that registration is required for this event. Information about the link to participate in this event will be sent to registrants by Monday October 5.