October 5, 2000 For Immediate Release

The UNBC Northern Land Use Institute (NLUI) is hosting public talks in Prince George and Fort St John focusing on the important issue of indigenous rights and land development. The talks will be given by Thomas Berger, a former BC Supreme Court Justice perhaps most responsible for bringing national awareness to the issue.

In the 1970s, Mr Justice Berger chaired the landmark Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry, which raised awareness about the link between land rights and aboriginal self-determination. He has also represented the Nisga'a in their land claim court case and has written a book on 500 years of indigenous land rights in the Americas.

The public talks will be part of the Northern Land Use Institute's Distinguished Lecture Series:

Indigenous Rights and Land Development: What Does It Mean?

Thomas Berger
Wednesday, Oct 11th at UNBC Room 7-212 and
Thursday, Oct 12th in Fort St John at the Northern Grand Hotel
7pm

"The issue of land rights is extremely important in BC; the place of First Nations is fundamental to northern development," says Alex Hawley, NLUI Executive Director. "Few people have as much experience in this field as Thomas Berger and his knowledge will help us understand this issue better and develop appropriate directions for development."

The Northern Land Use Institute provides opportunities for northern communities to link with UNBC to improve land use, resource, and environmental decision-making in the North. To date, the NLUI has supported over a dozen research projects in addition to investigating tourism and resource development in the Robson Valley and developing a research strategy for the Northern Rockies.