Letter from Montreal

For hiking enthusiasts venturing into western Canada, Joffre Lakes Park – known as Pipi7íyekw in Ucwalmícwts, the language of the Líl̓wat and N'Quatqua, two First Nations in British Columbia – is a must-see. Located 180 kilometers northeast of Vancouver, its turquoise lakes, dominated by the glacier tongue of Mount Matier, have become a hit on social media, with or without filters.

But for now, Instagrammers have had to put their plans on hold: the park is closed to the public until October 3, and only members of the relevant First Nations are allowed access.

The closure is meant to give both nations "time and space for members of the Líl̓wat Nation and N'Quatqua to reconnect with the land [and to] carry out cultural and spiritual practices," according to the provincial parks department, which oversees areas home to more than 200 different First Nations. The goal is also to allow the ecosystem, strained by the summer influx of visitors, a chance to recover.

But this decision goes beyond environmental concerns: Joffre Lakes, located on so-called "unceded" land – meaning no treaty ever ceded these territories from the First Nations to Canada – has become a flashpoint in a political debate over the reclamation of lands from which First Nations members were long excluded.

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