--- title: Calder Case description: The Calder case, 1973, marked the moment that the federal government of Canada first entertained the concept of Aboriginal self-government. image: https://www.ictinc.ca/hubfs/Blog/justice-law-canada-shutterstock_1032730816-2000w.jpg --- 1 min read # Calder Case [ Bob Joseph ](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/author/bob-joseph) October 11, 2014 [Indigenous Issues](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/topic/indigenous-issues) [Government](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/topic/government) [Law](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/topic/law) ![Calder Case](https://www.ictinc.ca/hubfs/Blog/justice-law-canada-shutterstock_1032730816-2000w.jpg) For many years, the Government of Canada refused even to entertain the concept of Aboriginal title. That policy mountain moved in 1973, shortly after the release of the Supreme Court of Canada's landmark decision in *Calder v. Attorney General of British Columbia*. In the *Calder* case, the Nisga’a Tribal Council asked the courts to support their claim that Aboriginal title had never been extinguished in the Nass Valley, near Prince Rupert. Although the Supreme Court of Canada ultimately ruled against the Nisga’a on a technicality, the case is historic because, for the first time, Canada’s highest court ruled that Aboriginal title was rooted in the “long-time occupation, possession and use” of traditional territories. As such, Aboriginal title existed at the time of original contact with Europeans, and at the time of the formal assertion of British sovereignty in 1846. (By the Treaty of Oregon, the United States gave up control of Vancouver Island to Britain in 1846.) Shortly after the *Calder* decision, the Canadian government agreed to begin negotiating with the Nisga’a on their “Land Question”, and with northern Aboriginal Peoples on treaties to define their rights to land and resources. - [Frank Calder: The Man Who Moved the Mountain](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/frank-calder-the-man-who-moved-the-mountain) This is an excerpt from the 4th edition of our book Working Effectively with Indigenous Peoples®. *Featured photo: Shutterstock* [![Learn more about Indigenous Awareness](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/374848/a863b2fa-4bf8-4a6e-a5e6-a637b0ba47d9.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/374848/a863b2fa-4bf8-4a6e-a5e6-a637b0ba47d9) ###### Share: [** ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ictinc.ca%2Fblog%2Fcalder-case) [** ](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ictinc.ca%2Fblog%2Fcalder-case&title=Calder+Case&summary==The+Calder+case%2C+1973%2C+marked+the+moment+that+the+federal+government+of+Canada+first+entertained+the+concept+of+Aboriginal+self-government.) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. [![Dispelling Common Myths About Indigenous Peoples: 9 Myths & Realities](https://www.ictinc.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/eBooks/Dispelling-Common-Myths-About-Indigenous-Peoples_600w.jpg?width=600&height=900&name=Dispelling-Common-Myths-About-Indigenous-Peoples_600w.jpg)](https://www.ictinc.ca/dispelling-common-myths-about-indigenous-peoples) [![Download the free eBook](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/374848/28861da8-2e39-4685-9166-af3a5cdd6f0f.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/374848/28861da8-2e39-4685-9166-af3a5cdd6f0f) [![Taku case](https://www.ictinc.ca/hubfs/Blog/Skagway_mountains_trees_kimberlykv_Flickr_2000w.jpg) ](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/taku-case) #### [Taku case](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/taku-case) October 14, 2014 Taku River Tlingit First Nation v. British Columbia (Project Assessment Director)[1] – Supreme Court of Canada, 2004 The unanimous decision in the... [Read More](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/taku-case) [![Why This Book and Why Now?](https://www.ictinc.ca/hubfs/21Things_BlogCoverImage.png) ](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/why-this-book-and-why-now) #### [Why This Book and Why Now?](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/why-this-book-and-why-now) August 26, 2025 While writing my new book, 21 Things™ You Need to Know About Indigenous Self-Government, many people asked me, “why this book and why now?” The... [Read More](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/why-this-book-and-why-now) [![Why Are There Stereotypes About Indigenous Peoples?](https://www.ictinc.ca/hubfs/Blog/Land-o-Lakes-butter-stereotype_Mike-Mozart-jeepersmedia-Flickr-2000w.jpg) ](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/why-are-there-stereotypes-about-indigenous-peoples) #### [Why Are There Stereotypes About Indigenous Peoples?](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/why-are-there-stereotypes-about-indigenous-peoples) November 28, 2016 Following every training session we ask learners if they would kindly take the time to fill in a survey about the training. We find these surveys... [Read More](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/why-are-there-stereotypes-about-indigenous-peoples) ![](https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/viewthroughconversion/1003610425/?value=0&guid=ON&script=0) ![](https://px.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=7874204&fmt=gif) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Bob Joseph", "url" : "https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/author/bob-joseph" }, "dateModified" : "2023-12-02T23:49:05.401Z", "datePublished" : "2014-10-11T14:42:00.000Z", "headline" : "Calder Case", "image" : [ "https://www.ictinc.ca/hubfs/Blog/justice-law-canada-shutterstock_1032730816-2000w.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/calder-case", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.ictinc.ca/hubfs/--Official%20Website%20Images/Logos/ICT_Logo_2022.png" }, "name" : "Indigenous Corporate Training Inc." } } ```