Rights and Responsibilities on the Land
Creating Rights and Responsibilities on the Land
How our Laws Come from the Territory Itself
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Our land is the first law teacher (placeholder)
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Youth learning responsibilities on the land (placeholder)
The Land Creates Rights
In Tsm’syen ayaawx, **we do not create rights — the land gives them to us.** Every wilp, every lineage, every person receives their authority from the places their ancestors have cared for since time immemorial.
The land establishes:
- Fishing rights
- Hunting rights
- Berry and medicine harvesting rights
- Travel and canoe route rights
- Stewardship over specific sites, stories, and ancestral names
These rights are not written on paper. They are written on *the land itself* through use, care, and ancestral presence.
The Land Creates Responsibilities
With every right comes a responsibility. A wilp that enjoys access to a river must protect that river. A person who harvests from a mountain must ensure the mountain is not harmed.
Responsibilities include:
- Maintaining abundance (never taking more than needed)
- Ensuring safe passage for others
- Protecting fish, animals, and plant cycles
- Keeping harvesting and fishing areas clean
- Reporting dangers, damage, or wrongdoing
- Teaching youth how to behave respectfully
In ayaawx, a person who takes without responsibility **breaks the balance between human life and the land.**
Rights Without Responsibilities Are Not Ayaawx
A central principle of our law:
“If you take without giving back, you have no right to be there.”
In our system:
- A fishing hole is not yours unless you maintain it.
- A berry patch is not yours unless you care for it.
- A river is not yours unless you defend it.
- A trail is not yours unless you keep it safe for others.
A wilp that abandons its responsibilities risks losing its legitimacy in the eyes of the people and the ancestors.
Land as Teacher and Lawgiver
The land shapes our social law:
- **Flood cycles** teach humility and patience.
- **Salmon migrations** teach timing, discipline, and gratitude.
- **Weather and tides** teach preparation and wisdom.
- **Animal patterns** teach respect and coexistence.
- **Sacred sites** teach remembrance and identity.
Ayaawx says the land is not a resource — **it is a relative**. To harm the land is to harm your own future generations.
Teaching Youth Their Rights AND Their Duties
Rights on the land must be taught early, but always together with responsibilities.
Youth learn:
- How to harvest respectfully
- How to return the first fish, berry, or prey
- How to open a site properly before using it
- How to watch for danger
- How to clean, repair, and maintain camp areas
- How to speak with humility when on another wilp’s territory
A young person who knows only rights becomes reckless. A young person who knows responsibilities becomes strong.
Creating Rights and Responsibilities Today
Even in modern times, we can maintain and restore ayaawx by:
- Re-establishing traditional stewardship areas
- Bringing youth and families back to harvesting sites
- Restoring names, stories, and responsibilities attached to each place
- Creating community-run monitoring of rivers, forests, and waterways
- Challenging outside interference that violates our land-based responsibilities
- Ensuring Elders guide decisions about territory and access
Ayaawx does not change simply because governments change. Rights and responsibilities remain as long as we uphold them.
Summary
- The land gives us rights.*
- The land gives us responsibilities.*
- Our duty is to maintain the balance so future generations inherit both intact.*
This is how Tsm’syen law survives — not by documents alone, but by living our responsibilities on the land every season, every generation.