Squamish Nation is out with a warning about a fake letter that is circulating on Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) letterhead.

The letter is directed to residents in Britannia Beach, saying their property is subject to “Formal notice of asserted Aboriginal Title, Reclamation of Jurisdiction, and Directive to Vacate.”

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER LIVE!

“To be clear, Squamish Nation did not issue this letter and the claims contained in it are 100 per cent false,” Squamish Nation Chairperson Wilson Williams said.

“That someone would go to the lengths to produce something so blatantly damaging is shocking and reprehensible.”

In August, a landmark BC Supreme Court decision granted Aboriginal title over several waterfront lots in Richmond.

The ruling says Crown and city titles within that area are defective and invalid, and that the Crown’s granting of private titles on the land “unjustifiably” infringed on the Cowichan title.

It has raised concerns about property rights, with Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre saying he is planning to table a motion in Parliament on May 25 calling for the government to reverse last year’s decision.

But First Nations have been adamant that they do not intend to claim private property.

“We need to be clear that First Nations are not interested in private property, but rather to come to some sort of agreement with all levels of government in terms of unextinguished rights,” Terry Teegee, the Regional Chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nations, told CityNews.

Squamish Nation says this fake letter is damaging to all Indigenous people.

“…it is also damaging to the homeowners to whom it was directed and negatively impacts the work communities have been doing to build relationships towards reconciliation.”

“This type of deliberate provocation is designed to divide, and it truly hurts us all.”

The Nation will share more information as it becomes available, it says.

— With files from The Canadian Press