Appellants factum - Woodward & Company

15resources and otherwise reside in the areas their ancestors have used for generations,whether these areas are on reserve or not. 117K. Extensive Transportation Network in the Claim Area55. From a time prior to contact and at the time of sovereignty assertion there was anextensive transportation network (including rivers, trails, routes, creeks and portages)forged and used by Tsilhqot’in people within and adjacent to the Claim Area. 118 Thistrail network assisted with hunting, fishing, trapping and resource gathering throughoutthe Claim Area. 119L. Exclusive Tsilhqot’in Control of the Claim Area56. Upon the assertion of Crown sovereignty, and long after, the Tsilhqot’in peopleexercised exclusive control over their traditional lands, including the Claim Area. 12057. The historical evidence and oral evidence in this case revealed a litany ofconflicts between the Tsilhqot’in and other Aboriginal peoples in areas outside the ClaimArea. 121 Aboriginal groups constantly pushed the limits of their territories and this oftenresulted in fighting. These conflicts helped define areas that everyone accepted as“belonging” to a particular Aboriginal group. It was understood that one did not ventureinto that area without permission. The absence of permission placed lives at risk. 12258. Tsilhqot’in witnesses testified to their ancestors’ use of scouts and runners tocheck for intruders and warn their communities. This was supported by the historicalrecord. 123 Tsilhqot’in military practices were particularly fierce and “worked to instill fearof Tsilhqot’in people in all who might venture into Tsilhqot’in territory”. 124 The historical117 Trial Decision, paras. 612-13, 949, 1268.118 Trial Decision, para. 679.119 Trial Decision, para. 680. See also: paras. 380, 679-80, 733, 798, 848, 874, 897, 959-60.120 Trial Decision, paras. 931, 935, 937.121 Trial Decision, para. 931.122 Trial Decision, para. 937.123 Trial Decision, para. 916.124 Trial Decision, para. 920.