Latest News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Indigenous leaders, community groups, students rally against Trans Mountain pipeline ahead of cabinet decision

9 June 2019, Unceded Coast Salish Territory, (VANCOUVER, BC) — With little over a week left until the federal government makes its decision on the Trans Mountain pipeline and tanker project, Indigenous leaders and [add estimate number] supporters gathered in Vancouver to send a message to the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. Despite opposition from First Nations along the pipeline and tanker route, as well as the absurdity of building new fossil fuel infrastructure in a climate crisis, the federal government is expected to once again approve the pipeline.

June 6, 2019

Hon. John Horgan, MLA
Premier and President of the Executive Council
West Annex, Parliament Buildings
Victoria, BC  V8V 1X4

Dear Premier Horgan:

Re: Embedding transparency and accountability in B.C. climate action

With the CleanBC plan, the B.C. government has committed to the development of a climate accountability framework. We are pleased this framework is a part of CleanBC, as accountability will help ensure the long-term success of the strategy; get B.C. on track to achieve its climate targets; fulfill Canada’s commitment to new relationship with Indigenous peoples based on the “recognition of rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership”; and reinstate the province as a global climate leader.

News Release
June 3, 2019

National Inquiry into MMIWG Report Release: We Demand Immediate Action from Canada

(Algonquin Territory/Gatineau, QC – June 3, 2019) - Violence against Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people continues to devastate families and communities across Turtle Island. Today, as the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls releases its final report, the Coalition on MMIWG2S in BC calls on the federal and provincial governments to take immediate action in implementing the recommendations of this report.

News Release
May 22nd, 2019

UBCIC Denounces The RCMP’s Treatment of Sexual Assault Victim and Demands Immediate Justice

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – May 22nd, 2019) Last week, APTN released disturbing video footage from 2012 of an RCMP officer abusively interrogating an Indigenous youth who had reported a sexual assault.

May 10, 2019

Ms. Michelle Bachelet Jeria
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais Wilson
52 rue des Pâquis
CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland
Via Email: [email protected]

Open Letter: UBCIC Condemns the Reprehensible Persecution of Margot Pérez and All Forms of Violence and Intimidation Against Indigenous Peoples in El Salvador

Dear Ms. Michelle Bachelet Jeria:

The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) stands in solidarity with the Indigenous Peoples of El Salvador who share with the First Nations of Canada a history of invasion, colonization, and cultural genocide. It is in this solidarity and the commitment to justice that UBCIC writes to you regarding the shameful persecution of Margot Pérez – a persecution that has resulted in the brutal murder of her brother-in-law and the continued reign of coercion and threats against Indigenous Peoples in El Salvador.

Open Letter to Minister Carolyn Bennett
Canada’s Inaction on Late Specific Claims Assessments

May 2, 2019

Dear Minister Bennett,

We write today to present a follow-up report prepared by the BC Specific Claims Working Group (BCSCWG) on your government’s inaction on late specific claims assessments. In November 2018, the BCSCWG brought to your attention your department’s failure to meet its legislated timelines to assess specific claims and communicate effectively with Indigenous Nations. We urged you to take immediate, transparent action on the report’s recommendations and you have not done so. We reiterate our call to address the backlog of claims by implementing the recommendations put forward by the BCSCWG in both reports.

News Release
May 1, 2019

UBCIC & Wet’suwet’en to the UN:
Our Rights Cannot Be Compromised

(Lenape Territory/NYC, NY – May 1, 2019) Indigenous peoples gathered from around the globe at the United Nations headquarters in New York City for the 18th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) to discuss issues pertaining to the recognition of their internationally recognized human rights, particularly their rights to languages, traditional knowledge and self-determination.

UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Eighteenth Session
Friday, April 26, 2019
Agenda Item 10: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Speaker: Haana Edenshaw

Joint Statement of Coalition for the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Endorsed by Amnesty International; Assembly of First Nations; Assemblée des Premières Nations du Québec et Labrador; BC Assembly of First Nations; Council of the Haida Nation; Canadian Friends Service Committee (Quakers); First Nations Summit; Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) / Cree Nation Government; Indigenous World Association; KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives; Dr. Sheryl Lightfoot, Canada Research Chair of Global Indigenous Rights and Politics; Dr. Wilton Littlechild; Allied Tribes of Lax Kw'alaams; Friends of Wild Salmon; Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition; Tŝilhqot'in National Government; Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs.

Kul jaad aangaa, kilslaay aanga, Xaada laa isis,

Haana hinnu dii kyaang. Tsiits gitanee sduu dii isgagaan. Xaayda gwaay sduu dii isgagan. Dalang 'waadluwaan ahl kil 'laagang.

Respected women, respected men, good people, My name is Haana Edenshaw, from the Tsiits gitanee clan from Haida Gwaii. I thank all of you for listening.