1579 Sir Francis Drake claims Canada's West Coast for England

1742 Russians start trading in Pacific Northwest

1793 British sea captain George Vancouver sails into Observatory Inlet for first recorded contact between Nisga'a and Europeans

1834 Hudson's Bay Company established at Fort (Port) Simpson on Nass River

1858 Colony of British Columbia established

1864 Mission established at Gingolx; at Gitlaxt'aamiks in 1878

1870 Province of British Columbia unilaterally denies existence of aboriginal title

1877 First cannery on Nass River built; Canada restricts traditional aboriginal fishing rights

1884 Federal Indian Act amended to outlaw cultural and religious ceremonies including Potlatch

1885 Three Nisga'a Chiefs travel to Ottawa to meet with Prime Minister John A. Macdonald to discuss Nisga'a Land Question

1887 Nisga'a Chiefs travel by water to Victoria to discuss Nisga'a Land Question; they are turned away on the steps of the Legislature by Premier William Smithe

1889 Aboriginal fishers are excluded from commercial fishing until 1923

1890 Establishment of first Nisga'a Land Committee

1909 Nisga'a Land Committee joins with other northcoast tribes to form the Native Tribes of BC

1910 In Prince Rupert, Prime Minister Laurier promises to settle the Land Question

1913 Nisga'a Land Committee submits Petition to British Privy Council in London

1920 Compulsory attendance of aboriginal children in schools

1924 Nisga'a allotted 76 square kilometres of reserve land

1927 Ottawa prohibits aboriginal people from organizing to discuss Land Question

1931 Native Brotherhood of BC is formed to keep the Land Question alive

1949 Nisga'a Chief Frank Calder is elected to the BC Legislature

1951 Parliament repeals provisions of the Indian Act that outlawed the Potlatch and prohibited land claims activity

1955 Nisga'a Land Committee is re-established as the Nisga'a Tribal Council; Frank Calder is elected first president

1960 Aboriginal people granted the right to vote in federal elections; Ottawa begins to phase out residential schools

1968 Nisga'a take the Land Question to BC Supreme Court

1973 The Calder Decision: Supreme Court of Canada rules that the Nisga'a had held aboriginal title before settlers came but the judges split evenly on land title; Jean Chretien, Minister of Indian Affairs, announces federal intention to settle claims

1976 Nisga'a begin negotiating with Ottawa; BC government attends as observer; the federal government adopts a "comprehensive land claims policy"; the Nisga'a claim is the only one in BC started under this new policy

1982 Constitution of Canada recognizes and affirms aboriginal title

1990 Province of British Columbia, under Premier William Vander Zalm, formally enters Nisga'a negotiations

1991 Delgamuukw Decision: The BC Court of Appeal rules that the Gitxsan and Wet'suwet'en people have "unextinguished, non-exclusive aboriginal rights, other than right of ownership" to much of their traditional territory

1991 BC Government recognizes both aboriginal title and the Nisga'a right to self-government; a tri-partite framework agreement is signed

1996 On March 22, Nisga'a Tribal Council President Joseph Gosnell, Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Ronald Irwin and BC Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Cashore sign the Nisga'a Agreement in Principle at an historic ceremony held in Gitlaxt'aamiks, paving the way for a final agreement

1998 On August 4 in Gitlaxt'aamiks, Nisga'a Treaty is initialed, making news around the world

1998 On December 2, Nisga'a Chief Joseph Gosnell is welcomed inside the BC Legislature by Premier Glen Clark; formal debate begins in the Legislature

1999 On April 22, at 5:50 pm, the British Columbia Legislature ratifies the Nisga'a Treaty (Bill 51) by a vote of 39 to 32. The scene now shifts to Ottawa

1999 On May 5, Chief Gosnell and Indian Affairs Minister Jane Stewart sign the Final Agreement; legislation to be introduced in the fall session of the House

1999 Aug. 21, 1999, Prime Minister and Madame Chretien and family visit New Aiyansh where the Prime Minister promised the Nisga'a Treaty would be passed by the House of Commons in the fall. It was Mr. Chretien's first visit to the Nass River valley since a trip as Indian Affairs minister 30 years ago.

1999 Dec. 13. After a fierce debate, Nisga'a Treaty legislation passes second reading in the House of Commons by a vote of 217-48. It was then referred to the Senate.
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