In the case of Ahousaht Indian band the words of Capt. James Cook, for instance, who has been dead for 230 years, will be entered in the record. The words of the deceased captain have become so vital for the case that the recollections of Capt. George Vancouver will be taken into serious consideration. Besides, there are a host of Spanish explorers will testify from beyond the grave, as will fur traders from the same era.
It is said that the testimony of the deceased persons will come in the form of journal and diary entries that were disputed as evidence until a judge’s ruling was released this week. Obviously the decision on “the admissibility of ancient explorer records” is an eye-opener for anyone who thinks history is dead and buried and doesn’t have much relevance.
It is told that the observations of the various Europeans who snooped up and down the coast more than 200 years ago could play a significant role in shaping a modern-day treaty. The main aim of such witnesses is whether the Ahousaht and 10 other bands who live along the Island’s west coast have an inherent aboriginal right to a commercial fishery. Therefore, it is important to know how native society functioned prior to and during the time of European contact in the 1770s.
According to the lawsuit each Nuu-chah-nulth band owned and occupied offshore and in-shore waterways along the coast. The judge pointed out that one of the central factual issues is the question of the existence or non-existence of trade between the ancestors of the plaintiffs and possibly other aboriginal groups in fish or seafood.
