The Gustafsen Lake standoff was a land dispute between the Secwepemc First Nation near Kamloops and the provincial government of British Colombia. It involved sacred land the native people claim was never ceded to Canada under treaty.

Occupation of Sun Dance lands: In June 1995, a group of First Nations people occupied an area they considered to be sacred. The land was owned by a rancher and had been used for the Sun Dance ceremony under a private agreement since 1989. However, the rancher no longer wanted the native people on his ranch. The native people insisted on occupying the land despite the rancher's threat to evict them. The British Columbia Attorney General, Uijal Dosanjih, claimed the occupation was a criminal matter rather than admit the existence of land claims issues in the province. He called in the RCMP for one of their largest operations in history, using 400 assault team members, five helicopters, two planes, and 9 armoured personnel carriers. Land mines were also used.

Fourteen Indigenous and four non-native people were charged following the siege, fifteen of whom were found guilty and sentenced to jail ranging from six months to eight years.

Political asylum: One of those convicted was James Pitawanakwat who was sentenced to three years in jail for endangering life. He fled to the United States when he was released and fought extradition to Canada. He became the only Canadian ever granted political asylum in the United States.