"THE Amerindian peoples of Canada, where they are known as First Nations, like those in Bolivia, have traditionally held land in common. So the decision by the Nisga’a First Nation of north-western British Columbia to grant private property rights to its members, insignificant though it might seem to most Canadians, has potentially revolutionary implications.

Who owns the land is unfinished business in British Columbia where, unlike in the rest of Canada, only a few treaties covering small areas were signed in colonial times. The First Nations lay claim to most of the province. In 1998 the Nisga’a, after more than a century of negotiation and litigation, were the first to sign a modern treaty. The 6,400 Nisga’a gained ownership of almost 2,000 square km (770 square miles) in the Nass valley, plus powers of self-government comparable to a municipality, some control over language and cultural issues, ownership of forestry and mineral resources, a share of the fisheries and a C$190m (then worth $280m) development fund. This deal has served as a benchmark for leisurely talks involving 60 other native groups. Earlier this year the Tsawwassen, one of the smaller ones, became the second to conclude a new treaty.

Now the Nisga’a are pioneering the idea of private property among First Nations. Their new law grew out of three years of discussion about how to get richer, in which they identified restrictions on property ownership as a big obstacle, according to Kevin McKay, the acting head of the Nisga’a government. Under Canada’s Indian Act, natives on reserves are given certificates of possession for their homes which they rent, but do not own. They cannot use them as collateral for a loan. Their new law allows Nisga’a to obtain freehold title to their homes, and to mortgage, transfer, lease or sell these to anyone, including outsiders. In the future, Mr McKay says, the law might be extended to commercial or industrial property."

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Home-owning nation (The Economist 12/10)