News Release
June 24, 2025

UBCIC Acknowledges Historic shíshálh Sentencing as a Step Toward Justice for Sacred Site Desecration

xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/ Vancouver, B.C. – June 24, 2025) On June 16, 2025, there was a historic court sentencing at the shíshálh longhouse. $230,000 in fines were issued for the 2020 disturbance of a sacred burial site containing 49 ancestors. The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) acknowledges this historic sentencing as an important step toward justice while recognizing that no penalty can undo the profound cultural and spiritual harm inflicted.

This unprecedented proceeding - the first court case held in a shíshálh longhouse, and the first in BC history to have a shíshálh representative staff member embedded on the ground throughout the investigation - demonstrates growing recognition of First Nations jurisdiction and sets a crucial precedent for protecting ancestral sites. The sentencing blended shíshálh legal traditions with provincial court processes in groundbreaking ways as victim impact statements from hiwus (hereditary leaders) were heard alongside testimony from witnesses called according to longhouse protocols.

The UBCIC stands in solidarity with the shíshálh Nation, whose leadership and community members have shown tremendous strength in pursuing justice for this violation. The powerful witness statements from former hiwus and community members poignantly articulated the irreversible damage caused - not just to ancestral remains, but to the living cultural connection between the shíshálh people and their lands. As noted in the proceedings, this case exposes critical weaknesses in current heritage protection laws that fail to prevent such desecrations or adequately respect First Nations jurisdiction over cultural sites. The shíshálh Nation's pursuit of justice in this case serves as both inspiration and reminder of the urgent need for such systemic transformation.

The UBCIC is currently participating in the Heritage Conservation Act Transformation Project (HCATP) which aims to reform the Heritage Conservation Act (HCA) to align with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN Declaration). Action 4.35 of the Declaration Act Action Plan commits the province to “Work with First Nations to reform the Heritage Conservation Act to align with the UN Declaration, including shared decision-making and the protection of First Nations cultural, spiritual, and heritage sites and objects.” UBCIC is committed to ensuring this work leads to substantive changes that empower First Nations to safeguard our ancestral sites, burial grounds and cultural heritage according to our own laws and protocols.

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UBCIC is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

For more information, please visit www.ubcic.bc.ca

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