ABSTRACT
Musqueam Park is an affl uent residential subdivision nestled on forty acres of the Musqueam Indian Reserve 2 (IR2) in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia (BC). Comprised of comfortable single-family homes on leafy, oversized lots, Musqueam Park was for decades prized by residents for its central location and proximity to some of the city’s most beautiful green spaces. Yet in 1995, an intense struggle over land rents emerged between the Musqueam Indian Band and its non-indigenous tenants. Over the next fi ve years, the resulting battle-in the courts, in the media, and in the public sphere-signifi cantly reshaped the value, legal standing, and cultural meaning of Musqueam Park. In late 2000, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) handed down a split decision in Musqueam Indian Band v. Glass ([2000] 2 S.C.R.; hereafter Glass). In Glass, the court maintained that because of its sui generis character, “Indian land” was signifi cantly less
valuable than other privately-held forms of property and discounted leasehold rents owed to the Band by 50 percent.
