VICTORIA – A 10-year-old aboriginal treaty that took more than a century to negotiate has transformed B.C.’s Nisga’a Nation from beggars in their own lands to individual entrepreneurs who hold the keys to economic revival in northwest B.C., says the Nisga’a president.

Hundreds of people were in the village of New Aiyansh, located about 1,500 kilometres northwest of Vancouver, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the land-claims treaty agreement, the first modern-day treaty in B.C.

Nisga’a president Mitchell Stevens said his people have taken huge political and economic strides in the 10 years.

They’ve set up their own parliament, completed a highway system, connected its villages to the Internet, gained control of timber rights from the province and started work on a museum to house art they took back from world museums. But Stevens said one of the most important steps they’ve taken is a law that allows private property rights and gives members the ability to buy and sell their land even to non-band members.

The Nisga’a Landholding Transition Act, passed last October in the Nisga’a Lisims Government parliament, gives Nisga’a citizens the opportunity to own their residential property in fee simple.

”A Nisga’a citizen who obtains fee- simple title to their residential property under the act will subsequently be able to mortgage their property as security for a loan, or to transfer, bequeath, lease or sell their property to any person,” said a Nisga’a Lisims Government statement.

The treaty gave the Nisga’a 2,000 square kilometres of land, about $190 million and self-government provisions. The Nisga’a agreed to not pursue further claims and start paying income tax.

Stevens said the landholding law goes beyond what the original Nisga’a treaty-makers envisioned because while they were seeking to achieve ownership of their lands, this new law allows individual Nisga’a to use their land to explore business options.

”This provides more opportunities for members of our nations, more than ever,” he said. ”It’s available to our citizens if they choose.”

But Stevens said no matter who owns the land, the law stipulates it will always remain Nisga’a land and be subject to Nisga’a laws under the treaty.

At a press conference following the anniversary celebrations, Stevens said the Landholding Transition Act resulted from a series of Nisga’a public meetings where tribal members told their leaders to ”quit babying us.”

Stevens said the Nisga’a, who are about 6,400 people, said they no longer wanted the treaty land managed as it was prior to the agreement where obtaining rights to their territory was the primary goal.

The post-treaty Nisga’a wanted greater personal ownership of the land to pursue their own economic interests, he said. ”This is a real significant step in self government because it’s a process for us to increase our economic prosperity,” Stevens said.

A B.C. aboriginal studies academic said the landholding transition law is a shining example of Nisga’a pride and forward thinking, but there is little data on its use.

”It can be used as collateral for people if they want to borrow money from a bank, which was not an option previously,’’said Prof. Antonia Mills, from the University of Northern B.C. in Prince George.

”My thinking is First Nations should have greater rights to their land and much more compensation for resources that are extracted from it than is currently the policy in Canada,” she said.

B.C. Aboriginal Relations Minister George Abbott, who attended the anniversary celebrations in New Aiyansh, said he is looking forward to seeing first- hand what the Nisga’a have achieved. ”I know that the Nisga’a have worked very hard to build their economic base, to build their political and social base,” he said.

”I think they’ve achieved much in the 10 years. They are moving to a different property ownership model, which I think will be very constructive for their economic future.”

Abbott noted the irony of his appearance at the celebrations because his party fought against the Nisga’a treaty 10 years ago while they were in opposition.

Since forming government, the Liberals have come to support aboriginal issues, saying British Columbia needs to reconcile its past history of confrontation and work towards building relationships with First Nations that allow them to feel at home in the province.

Federal Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl did not attend the anniversary celebrations, but sent a message of congratulations from Ottawa.

The statement said since the treaty was signed unemployment rates have dropped and high school graduation numbers have increased.

Eighty-nine children nicknamed Treaty Babies sang ”O Canada” to mark the anniversary.

The school-age children, who sang the national anthem in their Nisga’a language, were born after the effective date of the treaty a decade ago.

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