Clayton Thomas in court arguing it's his right to shoot wolves

A member of a B.C.-based First Nation is arguing in court this week why he has aboriginal hunting rights in the Whitehorse area.

Clayton Thomas is facing almost a dozen wildlife charges for shooting two wolves in the Mount Sima neighbourhood of Whitehorse about a year and a half ago.

The territorial government says it was illegal for him to shoot those wolves and that he was preparing to illegally sell the skins.

Thomas was born into northern B.C.'s Tahltan First Nation, grew up in Teslin, but has lived in Whitehorse in recent years.

Thomas's spokesperson in court, known only as Kusta, is a Tahltan oral historian.

He says it has always been customary for young Tahltan men to travel throughout northern B.C. and into Yukon without losing their right to hunt.

Kusta says it was normal to live off the land and occasionally sell furs for food or other items.

He says sometimes those men would marry into Yukon First Nations and continue to live a subsistence lifestyle.

The trial continues this morning.