First Nations

Federal Election

New Advances in the Art of Issue Avoidance

Political candidates are skilled at fielding tough questions. Really tough questions require answers that offend some potential voters no matter how they are answered. Ambiguity, platitudes and answering some question other than the one that was asked are ways of coping with such questions. Some candidates in the 2015 campaign, […]

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Yinka Dene Alliance kick off Day 2 of the Enbridge hearing

Spirits remained high in the 8th floor courtroom even as a dense fog settled on downtown Vancouver. The courtroom was jam-packed all day long while lawyers representing the Nak’azdli, Nadleh Whut’en, Gitga’at and Gitxaała Nations made their cases. Watching the proceedings on a video-screen in an overflow room felt a […]

Enbridge hearings

Day One of Enbridge Hearings

Representatives from the Haisla, Haida, Kitasoo Xai’xais, Heiltsuk, Nadleh Whut’en, Nak’azdli, Gitga’at and Gitxaala Nations travelled hundreds of kilometers to attend proceedings in front of the Federal Court of Appeal from October 1st – October 8th. These eight First Nations are challenging the federal government’s approval of the Enbridge pipeline and […]

Truth and Reconciliation Commission - Day 1 - Walk for Reconciliation “A\J Alter

Why Does Canada Hate Indigenous Rights? One Word: Oil.

Why does Canada hate Indigenous rights? Or, more properly, why has the government campaigned so hard to subdue the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), even when it’s now enshrined in a UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)? The specific right to FPIC, as it […]

An array of traditional ceremony items.

Indigenous Health Institute Aims to Address “Corrosive Effects of Poverty” and Colonization

The Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health is the world’s first privately endowed research institute dedicated to the health of Indigenous Peoples. Created last June with a $10-million gift from Michael and Amira Dan, the institute was unveiled on March 23 of this year at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana […]

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BC Floats New Water Law

After an extensive development period, the British Columbia provincial government introduced Bill 18—Water Sustainability Act (WSA) into legislature this spring and it received Royal Assent in May. While it is now officially law, the WSA will not come into force until next year, after certain details have been finalized and […]