Alfred Joseph Memorial Award
The Hagwilget Village is the Indigenous community in which Alfred Joseph was the elected chief councillor for several decades. In that role, he successfully sued Canada for the intentional destruction of the Hagwilget Canyon Fishery in 1959 although it took 24 years to complete this case, known as Joseph v. The Queen. As a result, Hagwilget Village now has a perpetual trust to ensure that they can acquire fish, and re-establish their cultural and traditional practices. Mr. Peter Grant has been the legal counsel for the Hagwilget Village on the Hagwilget Rock case from its inception in 1985 until the settlement two days before the trial was to commence in 2009. Mr. Grant also worked closely with Alfred Joseph who, as Gisday Wah, was the leading Wet'suwet'en chief in Delgamuukw v. The Queen.