ABSTRACT
The previous chapter tells the story of the resilience of the Nisga’a Nation. While their language, culture, and identity have survived, their social-ecological system is not the same one that existed in the Nass Valley before Canada asserted sovereignty in 1846. The structure of their government has changed, from the previous leadership by the heads of houses to the current democratically elected government with its executive, legislature, and traditional council. The territory controlled by the Nisga’a Lisims Government is much smaller than the territory controlled by the houses. In addition, planning documents such as the 2002 Land Use Plan (Nisga’a Lisims Government 2002) make little reference to the system of ango’osk/ankw’ihlwil – the house territories. If the process of making the plan involved all of the simo’ogit and sidimiak, who each spoke for his or her territories, the plan does not say so. The plan, however, was adopted by the Executive of the Nisga’a Lisims Government, not by the council of the chiefs and matriarchs.
