[ Photo: Haven for Ecology staff, volunteers, board members and contractors with Sinixt matriarch Marilyn James (standing, wearing brown hat) and Sinixt elder Al Richardson (at left) at the Snk'mip Marsh Sanctuary. ]
OPINION: Indigenous rights are important for social justice and protection of the environment
The fallout from Trump's tariffs have Big Industry and the right-wing running scared, fearing profits could be reduced. And BC's Premier David Eby and his NDP government are terrified of reduced profits for extractive industries like Big Mining and Big Forestry.
Instead of making these industries pay their fair share in terms of stumpage fees and taxes, instead the government of David Eby gives them tax breaks and freebies in order to 'stimulate the economy,' thus perpetuating a system that rips off all BC citizens. These private, for-profit companies exploit public resources and walk away Scot-free, leaving citizens with the denuded forests that, left unmolested, would have mitigated the climate crisis and sustained our life-support systems... leaving us with mines that leach toxic waste into the water we drink.
And then -- employing the absolute height of scapegoating -- in response to pressure from industry groups kicking back against Indigenous People having some say about what happens in their territories -- Eby recently proposed 'pausing' (getting rid of for a period of several years) the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), a piece of BC legislation that brings this province into line with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
When Big Industry cried 'boo-hoo, their profits might be reduced a bit', Eby responded by saying he will toss fundamental Indigenous rights out the window.
The New Democratic Party presents itself as a left-leaning party that stands for labour rights, protection of the environment and putting the good of all people before the profits of private industry. But in practical fact Eby's government has shown itself to be firmly in the camp of putting the profits of private industry first. And our government is clearly willing to throw First Nations in BC under the bus to do it, even though Eby himself was Attorney General when DRIPA was unanimously passed in the BC Legislature to great applause.
There's just one little problem for Eby and his ilk if they try to toss DRIPA: Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution Act. It affirms and recognizes the prior occupation of Canada by organized, autonomous societies. It recognizes that lands over which the British Crown claimed colonial sovereignty were occupied then, and remain occupied now, by Indigenous societies with their own laws, cultures, and traditions. And it affirms fundamental Indigenous rights with these words: "The existing Aboriginal and treaty rights of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada are hereby recognized and affirmed."
After centuries of attempted genocide, stolen land and broken promises, tossing out DRIPA now would be a terrible way to treat Indigenous People who have already been treated so disgracefully by colonial society.
As Chief Roger William of the Xeni Gwet'in First Nations Government said in an opinion piece in the Vancouver Sun: "Time and again, First Nations have shown care and respect for the private property of our neighbours, even when those lands were wrongly taken from us in the past. We have seen the same care and respect from the Haida Nation, and the Quw’utsun Nation, among others. It is frustrating to see these genuine efforts by First Nations toward reconciliation met by misinformation and fearmongering. Since first contact, Indigenous peoples have been vilified and portrayed as the enemy, while in reality we have faced the relentless taking of our lands, culture, language, and way of life."
Chief Roger, we stand with you!
Here is what our organization stands for:
As a registered charity in Canada operating within the rules of a colonial government system, Haven for Ecology seeks to use our settler privilege to be good allies with Indigenous Peoples and to support work toward decolonization. We advocate for justice and recognition for Indigenous Peoples, and we honour the guidance and direction of the First Nations and Indigenous Peoples in the areas where we steward properties.
We recognize and respect that the lands of what some call ‘British Columbia’ are in fact the unceded territories of a diverse multitude of First Peoples. We work respectfully with Indigenous Peoples, recognizing their prior occupation of, and caretaker relationship to, their lands and territories. We support Indigenous allies and work toward justice, decolonization and reconciliation.
Lorna Visser
Executive Director, Haven for Ecology
Note: Following the publishing of this post, BC Premier David Eby announced that DRIPA will not be paused, suspended or eliminated. The massive public outcry on this issue expressing support for Indigenous rights was heard, we are grateful for this outcome.