First Nations

Maxwell Johnson and his granddaughter Tori-Anne Tweedie look on during the uplifting ceremony for Johnson and his family at the Big House in Bella Bella, B.C., on October 24, 2022. The day was meant to be an apology ceremony for the two, but that was cancelled after two Vancouver Police Department officers never showed up. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Heiltsuk man, granddaughter still await full apology from Vancouver officers

Pair ‘recklessly’ arrested in 2019 at Vancouver bank, officers didn’t attend apology ceremony

Maxwell Johnson and his granddaughter Tori-Anne Tweedie look on during the uplifting ceremony for Johnson and his family at the Big House in Bella Bella, B.C., on October 24, 2022. The day was meant to be an apology ceremony for the two, but that was cancelled after two Vancouver Police Department officers never showed up. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu is expected to table much-anticipated legislation to improve water quality in First Nations communities as early as Monday. Hajdu is shown at her office in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

Indigenous services minister to table First Nations water bill

Bill to attempt to tackle clean drinking water problem, after numerous government failings

Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu is expected to table much-anticipated legislation to improve water quality in First Nations communities as early as Monday. Hajdu is shown at her office in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby
Mikala Wheeler (left) diligently prepares data sheets as Simon George converses with fellow team members just moments before the two suit up in their dry suits for a day of snorkelling to monitor the salmon population present in the Theodosia River. (Olivier Laurin / Comox Valley Record)

B.C. conservation team patrols remote salmon streams by foot and by snorkel

Comox Valley environmental consultant provides DFO with invaluable data

Mikala Wheeler (left) diligently prepares data sheets as Simon George converses with fellow team members just moments before the two suit up in their dry suits for a day of snorkelling to monitor the salmon population present in the Theodosia River. (Olivier Laurin / Comox Valley Record)
The Pacheedaht First Nation and Parks Canada signed a ground-breaking agreement on Wednesday that returns the use of Middle Beach to the First Nation in advance of treaty settlement. (Facebook)

B.C. First Nation reclaims stewardship of prominent West Coast Trail beach

Middle Beach in Pacific Rim National Park is important area in Pacheedaht traditional territory

The Pacheedaht First Nation and Parks Canada signed a ground-breaking agreement on Wednesday that returns the use of Middle Beach to the First Nation in advance of treaty settlement. (Facebook)
Spawning sockeye salmon are seen making their way up the Adams River in Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park near Chase, B.C. Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014. First Nations groups in the Canadian side of the Columbia River Basin are adamant that salmon runs that have long been blocked by U.S. dams must be restored, potentially in a renewed river treaty between Canada and the United States. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

First Nations seek salmon return to Columbia Basin in new treaty with U.S.

Experts say possible solutions are costly and limited, though

Spawning sockeye salmon are seen making their way up the Adams River in Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park near Chase, B.C. Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014. First Nations groups in the Canadian side of the Columbia River Basin are adamant that salmon runs that have long been blocked by U.S. dams must be restored, potentially in a renewed river treaty between Canada and the United States. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Terry Teegee, regional Chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nations speaks at a meeting between Canada’s premiers and Indigenous leaders at the Songhees Wellness Centre on July 1, 2022. The BC Assembly of First Nations is calling for a desperate and urgent transformation of the federal correctional system. (Jake Romphf/News Staff)

B.C. First Nations call for desperate, urgent changes to Canada’s corrections system

Indigenous women account for half the total female federal inmate population

Terry Teegee, regional Chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nations speaks at a meeting between Canada’s premiers and Indigenous leaders at the Songhees Wellness Centre on July 1, 2022. The BC Assembly of First Nations is calling for a desperate and urgent transformation of the federal correctional system. (Jake Romphf/News Staff)
B.C. Premier David Eby speaks during a news conference in Richmond, B.C., on Thursday, June 22, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Feds promise $500M to ‘fast track’ old-growth, habitat protection work in B.C.

The announcement was made at a gathering of First Nations leaders in Vancouver

B.C. Premier David Eby speaks during a news conference in Richmond, B.C., on Thursday, June 22, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
First Nations Summit Political Executive Robert Phillips says it is time for the provincial government to share the law-making pen with First Nations during the opening of the eighth meeting of the provincial cabinet and First Nations Leaders Council as part of a two-day event bringing together 1,000 delegates representing 193 First Nations and organizations. (Screencap)

First Nations leaders call on B.C. to truly share the law-making pen

Robert Phillips of First Nations Summit Political Executive says bureaucracy stands in way

First Nations Summit Political Executive Robert Phillips says it is time for the provincial government to share the law-making pen with First Nations during the opening of the eighth meeting of the provincial cabinet and First Nations Leaders Council as part of a two-day event bringing together 1,000 delegates representing 193 First Nations and organizations. (Screencap)
Forests Minister Bruce Ralston says new legislation tabled Monday (Oct. 30) promises to improve forest management, but others are still reviewing the legislation, while UBC forestry professor (Wolf Depner/News Staff)

Forest permits, penalties, prescribed burns targeted in new B.C. legislation

Proposed changes get tentative approval from industry voice

Forests Minister Bruce Ralston says new legislation tabled Monday (Oct. 30) promises to improve forest management, but others are still reviewing the legislation, while UBC forestry professor (Wolf Depner/News Staff)
McLeod Lake Indian Band Chief Harley Chingee, Premier David Eby and Energy Minister Josie Osborne were among the participants in a ceremony Wednesday as the province and the First Nation signed a memorandum of understanding for a $7 billion proposed Tse’khene energy transition hub. (Government of B.C./Flickr)

$7B B.C. energy hub would tap into controversial natural gas pipeline

Proposed Tse’khene energy transition hub in Northwest B.C. includes hydrogen, natural gas components

McLeod Lake Indian Band Chief Harley Chingee, Premier David Eby and Energy Minister Josie Osborne were among the participants in a ceremony Wednesday as the province and the First Nation signed a memorandum of understanding for a $7 billion proposed Tse’khene energy transition hub. (Government of B.C./Flickr)
Nanwakolas Council President Dallas Smith says a partnership agreement between four First Nations on Vancouver Island and one of the largest forest companies in British Columbia proves that Reconciliation can benefit everybody. (Wolf Depner/News Staff)

4 B.C. First Nations, forest company strike ‘landmark’ $36M deal

Eby says First Nations across B.C. will watch Vancouver Island deal with Western Forest Products

Nanwakolas Council President Dallas Smith says a partnership agreement between four First Nations on Vancouver Island and one of the largest forest companies in British Columbia proves that Reconciliation can benefit everybody. (Wolf Depner/News Staff)
Statistics Canada building and signs are pictured in Ottawa on Wednesday, July 3, 2019. Status First Nations people in Canada have seen some improvement in several key aspects of daily life, Statistics Canada has found, citing gains in areas ranging from household income levels to internet access. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

High school completion, income increasing for First Nations peoples: StatCan

Agency also noted a jump in the number of Indigenous communities with access to high-speed internet

Statistics Canada building and signs are pictured in Ottawa on Wednesday, July 3, 2019. Status First Nations people in Canada have seen some improvement in several key aspects of daily life, Statistics Canada has found, citing gains in areas ranging from household income levels to internet access. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Construction on the Trans Mountain pipeline near Pípsell, or Jacko Lake, near Kamloops, B.C., resumed after the Canada Energy Regulator allowed for the company to alter the pipeline route. Workers lay pipe during construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion on farmland, in Abbotsford, B.C., on Wednesday, May 3, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Trans Mountain route change will ‘desecrate’ sacred site: Secwépemc knowledge keeper

Corridor near Kamloops holds ‘profound spiritual and cultural significance,’ Nation says

Construction on the Trans Mountain pipeline near Pípsell, or Jacko Lake, near Kamloops, B.C., resumed after the Canada Energy Regulator allowed for the company to alter the pipeline route. Workers lay pipe during construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion on farmland, in Abbotsford, B.C., on Wednesday, May 3, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Jarred-Michael Erickson is the chair of the Colville Confederated Tribes and of the Sinixt (Arrow Lakes) Confederacy. Photo: Submitted

First Nation cries foul over Columbia River Treaty funding given to other Indigenous groups

Chair of Sinixt (Arrow Lakes) Confederacy says court action is an option

Jarred-Michael Erickson is the chair of the Colville Confederated Tribes and of the Sinixt (Arrow Lakes) Confederacy. Photo: Submitted
B.C. has become the second province to mark Orange Shirt Day (Sept.30), also known as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, as a provincial statutory holiday. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu)

B.C. marks 10th anniversary of Orange Shirt Day with new statutory holiday

British Columbians asked to mark holiday by learning about legacy of residential school system

B.C. has become the second province to mark Orange Shirt Day (Sept.30), also known as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, as a provincial statutory holiday. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu)
A now closed fish farm within B.C.’s Discovery Islands region. (Photo courtesy Sheri Beaulieu/Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance)

123 First Nations renew call to close B.C. salmon farms as DFO weakens promise

Recent federal documents appear to walk back 2019 commitment to fully phase out open net fish farms

A now closed fish farm within B.C.’s Discovery Islands region. (Photo courtesy Sheri Beaulieu/Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance)
Jaxon Billyboy, seen here at his Grade 12 graduation June 2023, was one of four firefighters killed in a highway crash near Cache Creek. (Photo submitted)

B.C. wildfire fighter killed in crash remembered as loving and resilient

Jaxon Billyboy-Bowe, from the Tsilhqot’in Nation, was 19 years old

Jaxon Billyboy, seen here at his Grade 12 graduation June 2023, was one of four firefighters killed in a highway crash near Cache Creek. (Photo submitted)
Joffre Lakes Park is set to reopen to the public on Sept. 19, following a closure by two First Nations. (Black Press Media files)

B.C., First Nations agree to reopen Joffre Lakes Park to public

Park to reopen on Sept. 19, but close for the day on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Joffre Lakes Park is set to reopen to the public on Sept. 19, following a closure by two First Nations. (Black Press Media files)
The McDougall Creek wildfire ripped through the Bear Creek area of West Kelowna. There is very little left for residents to salvage. (Brittany Webster/Capital News)

Resources, warnings accompany people home in aftermath of B.C. wildfires

Officials working to prepare and protect those returning after West Kelowna wildfire

The McDougall Creek wildfire ripped through the Bear Creek area of West Kelowna. There is very little left for residents to salvage. (Brittany Webster/Capital News)
Federal Minister of Crown-Indigenous Affairs, Gary Anandasangaree, delivers an apology on behalf of Canada to Williams Lake First Nation Sunday, Sept. 10 while WLFN Coun. Chris Wycotte and Chief Willie Sellars look on. (Monica Lamb-Yorski photo - Williams Lake Tribune)

Williams Lake First Nation receives federal apology for lost lands

Federal Minister of Crown-Indigenous Affairs, Gary Anandasangaree, delivers apology

Federal Minister of Crown-Indigenous Affairs, Gary Anandasangaree, delivers an apology on behalf of Canada to Williams Lake First Nation Sunday, Sept. 10 while WLFN Coun. Chris Wycotte and Chief Willie Sellars look on. (Monica Lamb-Yorski photo - Williams Lake Tribune)