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As the present Covid – 19 pandemic moves through Indigenous communities in Canada, it has been argued that continued mineral extraction or pipeline construction will potentially exacerbate the virus' spread among Indigenous people residing near work camps or construction areas. Listing these operations as essential puts an onus on local Indigenous people to take part in consultation with extractive industries. British Columbia is one province that listed extractive operations as essential during the pandemic. It also recently enacted consultation protocols meant to guide concerned Indigenous communities and extractive industries on proper consultation procedure to limit Covid - 19's spread while ensuring these projects continue. Nonetheless, the paper argues that British Columbia's consultative guidelines adhere to a necropolitical dynamic through which Indigenous people are required to take part in government policy meant to limit their own independence. The Crown holds license to decide when Indigenous communities are given a reprieve from taking part in consultation and when they are obligated to participate once again. This is done without "consulting" with Indigenous peoples themselves and how they view a process that limits their logistical and regulatory strength. This paper argues that Self Determined independence is being diminished through multilayered repression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies genre theory to nineteenth-century deeds used to appropriate land from indigenous people in British Columbia, Canada, and in Aotearoa New Zealand. These deeds have been the subject of intense scrutiny in legal and other settings via twentieth century interpretive strategies complicated and modified by postcolonial politics and cross-cultural pragmatics. Although focusing mainly on deeds used in British Columbia in the 1850s, the paper also has in its purview other deeds and treaties in NZ and Canada. The analysis of these documents' actions in colonial and postcolonial contexts concludes with a framing of genre that is not based on the mutual recognition of form and situation by genre participants, and indeed may even preclude it. This necessitates a further discussion of Miller's (1984 [1994]) conditions for making a genre claim, and ends with the positing of a special category of genres called contact genres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Time immemorial' has operated as a legal fiction in the discourse of colonization, performing a genealogical function in the construction of 'antiquity' and 'legal memory' in English law, and repurposed in Indigenous rights cases in Canada. Beginning with a genealogical outline, this paper analyzes 'time immemorial' in relation to Settler and Indigenous discourses of time, memory and the land in Calder, Van der Peet, and Tsilhqot'in. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Since the 1960s, the federal government has been providing or funding a selection of community-based primary healthcare (PHC) programs on First Nations reserves. A key question is whether local access to PHC can help address health inequities in First Nations on-reserve communities in British Columbia (BC).Objectives: This paper examines whether hospitalization for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions (1) can be used as a proxy measure for the organization of PHC in First Nations reserve areas; and (2) is associated with premature mortality rates.Methods: In this descriptive correlational study, we used administrative data available through Population Data BC, including demographic and ecological information (i.e. geo-codes indicating location of residence). We used two different measures of hospitalization: rates of episodic hospital care and rates of length of stay. We correlated hospitalization rates with premature mortality rates and the level of care available in First Nations communities, which depends on a federal funding formula based upon community size and, more specifically, the level of isolation from a provincial point of care.Results: First Nations communities in BC that have local 24/7 access to PHC services have similar rates of hospitalization for ACSC to those living in urban centres. This is demonstrated by the similarities in the strengths of the correlation between premature mortality rates and rates of avoidable hospitalization for conditions treatable in a PHC setting. This is not the case for communities served by a Health Centre (weaker correlation) and for communities serviced by a Health Station or with no on-reserve point of care (no correlation).Conclusions: Improving access to PHC services in First Nations communities can be associated with a significant reduction in avoidable hospitalization and premature mortality rates. The method we tested is an important tool that could serve health care planning decisions in small communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses cultural permanence for Indigenous children and youth from the perspective of the executive director of Northwest Inter-Nation Family and Community Services (NIFCS), a delegated Aboriginal child welfare agency that serves nine Indigenous communities from three First Nations on British Columbia's northwest coast. Through increasing cultural knowledge, NIFCS aims to enhance its practice to meet the holistic needs of children and youth in care, in particular, to ensure that children and youth maintain connections with their families, extended families, and communities. NIFCS provides experiential opportunities for children and youth to know about, and learn their languages, spiritual teachings, and cultural traditions from their Elders, families, and communities. Ultimately, NIFCS's goal is for the children and youth in its care to be strongly connected to their roots and experience a sense of belonging. This paper looks at connectedness and cultural diversity in the context of cultural planning for permanence, relates these concepts to NIFCS, and outlines promising practices within NIFCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper calls for creative pathways of engagement that delineate places of belonging for and with Indigenous youth in care. It draws on two community-based research studies conducted in British Columbia, with urban and off-reserve Indigenous youth to contextualize and extend understanding of permanency for Indigenous youth in care. Our discussion explores permanency in relation to both Western understandings of government care, guardianship, and adoptions, and Indigenous customary caregiving and cultural planning for cultural permanency, such as naming and coming home ceremonies, custom adoptions, and kinship care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the demonstrated lack of access to primary health services in remote Indigenous communities in British Columbia as a form of structural exclusion shaped by the history of settler colonialism. Drawing on collaborative research conducted with an Indigenous nursing organization, I link ethnographic case studies with historical research demonstrating how racially segregated health care developed within an assimilatory political mandate. I argue that access to and quality of care must be understood as two inter-related dimensions of health equity, which must be regarded by decision-makers as a key site for addressing the health disparities faced by Indigenous populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents results from research into the perspectives on environmental assessments of Canadian indigenous peoples, in particular British Columbia's West Moberly First Nations, the Halfway River First Nation and the Treaty 8 Tribal Association. This collaborative project included interviews with First Nation government officials and staff as well as community members to determine their analyses of what worked and, more significantly, what did not work in engaging and consulting indigenous people. Based upon this research, six key recommendations, derived from First Nations' experiences, are made; these recommendations would facilitate First Nations' future participation in environmental assessment processes in British Columbia and Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we share findings from a community-based Participatory Action Research project, titled S a nala, which means to be whole in Kwak'wala—the language of the Kwakw a k a 'wakw (Kwak̓wala-speaking people; a First Nation from what is now called Canada). In response to community priorities, the S a nala team initiated regalia as a weekly programme where people from the 'N a mgis tribe and other surrounding Kwakw a k a 'wakw Nations on the northwest coast of British Columbia, Canada, come together to create regalia. Participants learn about family crests, design and sew button blankets and dance aprons, and learn oral histories belonging to individuals and families, all within the context of Kwak'wala language revitalization and regalia making. We outline the impacts of this programme on identity, belonging, wholistic health and collective wellbeing, as well as implications for Participatory Action Research and community-led research aimed at strengthening individual and collective health and wellness through Indigenous languages and cultural continuity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Connection to land has been identified as a central determinant of the health and well-being of First Nations in Canada. The wholistic, interconnected, spiritual, and sacred relationship that many Indigenous Peoples have with the land is an integral part of strengthening physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional health and well-being. However, there has been little empirical evidence on how to assess, measure, and report on connection to land for First Nations Peoples. Using a Two-Eyed Seeing approach, this study explores what connection to land, water, and territory means for health and wellness for First Nations in the Fraser Salish region in the province of British Columbia (BC), Canada. Data were collected through a sharing circle with five First Nations Knowledge Keepers and five youth from Stó:lō communities as part of a land-based gathering in Stó:lō territory. Three themes were identified: (a) "the spirits of the land, water, and territory are within us": the intersection of cultural identity, spirituality, ancestral knowledge, and health and well-being; (b) letsemot, "togetherness": relationality; and (c) disruptions and new ways of living. For Stó:lō Peoples, connection to the land is an integral component of health and well-being. Connection to land was found to strongly influence physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional aspects of health while also intersecting with Stó:lō cultural identity, spirituality, ancestral knowledge, and ways of living. The findings can be used to inform the development of an indicator for connection to land, water, and territory as a measurement of ecological wellness for the First Nations Population Health and Wellness Agenda in BC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many Indigenous people who live on their traditional territory die in hospital when their preference is to enter the spirit world from their home. Indigenous people in Canada describe experiencing many barriers that prevent them from making this final choice in life. The First Nations Health Authority in British Columbia (BC), Canada, in collaboration with Douglas College, offered end-oflife doula training classes to Indigenous people in BC in 2019. The goal was to build on the strengths of community members already supporting people and their families during their final journey into the spirit world. There were 86 participants (72% identified as Indigenous) from the five health regions in BC, representing 47 Indigenous communities. Participants were overwhelmingly satisfied with the five-day course and planned to take their new learnings back to their community. It was noted, however, that this course would benefit from adaptations, including a greater emphasis on traditional Indigenous practices, facilitation tips, and strategies to support people through loss and bereavement. Furthermore, the term "end-of-life doula" is sometimes associated with a for-profit business, which is counterintuitive to traditional Indigenous practices, highlighting the necessity for a name change. Further evaluation over the next year is necessary to confirm that the course makes a positive difference in the final journey for Indigenous people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relying on analysis of Ktunaxa v. British Columbia (2017) and the law and jurisprudence that shaped it, this article assesses the implementation of UNDRIP rights concerning Indigenous sacred sites in Canada. It describes sacred sites and relevant aspects of the UNDRIP and assesses Canadian law and jurisprudence against these. It reaches three main conclusions. First, as interpreted by the courts, the Canadian constitution does not fulfil Canada's UNDRIP obligations concerning sacred sites: whether a group enjoys these rights depends largely upon the legal status of the land on which the site is situated; whether a group can secure these rights depends largely upon how the law treats the group's relationship to its site; and whether the state may limit these rights is determined by reasons that do not satisfy UNDRIP standards. Second, the Canadian Supreme Court's decision to stick with its jurisprudence rather than use Ktunaxa to more closely align Canadian law with the UNDRIP suggests that governments must not rely upon the courts to implement their UNDRIP obligations for them. Thus, third, political actors who seek UNDRIP compliance must take the initiative themselves to address legal imperfections like those identified in this article through regulatory, legislative, and constitutional action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many Indigenous communities in Canada experience disproportionate rates of food insecurity and diet-related diseases impacted by historic and ongoing colonialism. Barriers to health and wellbeing associated with ongoing colonial processes also have resulted in inequities for Indigenous peoples within the criminal justice system. A prison garden program in British Columbia, Canada, attempts to address inmate rehabilitation and Indigenous community food insecurity by supporting incarcerated men to grow and subsequently donate organic produce to rural and remote Indigenous communities. Qualitative research undertaken to study program impacts shows that the focus on food security for Indigenous communities, while important, does not take into account wider contexts of colonialism and the importance of access to land, resources and rights inherent in food sovereignty. The study findings signal the limitations of programs and research that focus solely on food security for Indigenous peoples, and outlines how accounting for the colonial context can emphasize the critical role of Indigenous values, community strengths, and priorities for fostering food sovereignty and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aboriginal peoples in Canada are gaining influence in post-secondary education through Aboriginal-directed programs and policies in non-Aboriginal institutions. However, these gains have occurred alongside, and in some cases through, neoliberal reforms to higher education. This article explores the political consequences of the neoliberal institutionalization of First Nations empowerment for public sector unions and workers. We examine a case where the indigenization of a community college in British Columbia was embedded in neoliberal reforms that ran counter to the interests of academic instructors. Although many union members supported indigenization, many also possessed a deep ambivalence about the change. Neoliberal indigenization increased work intensity, decreased worker autonomy and promoted an educational philosophy that prioritized labour market needs over liberal arts. This example demonstrates how the integration of Aboriginal aspirations into neoliberal processes of reform works to rationalize public sector restructuring, constricting labour agency and the possibilities for alliances between labour and Aboriginal peoples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous communities commonly face a major impediment in their ongoing efforts to participate effectively in the stewardship and sustainable management of their traditional lands, waters and resources. Externally driven projects and policies can overwhelm communities' abilities to respond, severely impact in their resource base, and significantly eclipse traditional knowledge, practices and values. Such projects and policies can be devastating to small, Indigenous communities struggling to maintain their culture and economic independence in a changing world. While many examples of external impacts on small-scale resource use could be drawn upon for these communities, we illustrate this situation by examining the impact of fisheries management regimes on Indigenous coastal communities in British Columbia, Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand. We characterize the problem and identify key stressors involved. Within the context of Indigenous rights and Indigenous peoples' knowledge, perspectives and experience, we highlight the need to recognize this type of constraint on Indigenous Peoples' resource use and effective participation in resource management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT In British Columbia, Canada's westernmost province, unresolved Aboriginal claims to land remain highly contentious. Since the early 1990s, a unique treaty negotiation process has sought to resolve questions about land ownership and establish a new relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the Crown. After almost two decades, the limitations of this treaty process are increasingly evident and answers to the land question remain elusive. This article examines this treaty-making process through a property lens, focusing on how particular models of property are privileged by and produced through this approach to treaty. I argue that the treaty process, as currently structured, works to entrench dominant Western forms of property across Aboriginal territories in a highly separate and unequal manner, and as such, serves to reinscribe asymmetrical relations of power between Aboriginal peoples and the Crown. To a considerable extent, this asymmetrical approach to property making explains the lack of progress towards treaties. The final part of the article explores alternative approaches to treaty proposed by Aboriginal groups. I argue that these proposals, which reflect Aboriginal understandings of property, offer a new and more promising direction for treaty making. In particular, the emphasis on sharing lands and resources, as well as the wealth generated from these, provides a path to reconcile competing property interests and to build a new and more respectful relationship between the Crown and Aboriginal peoples. I suggest that the difficulties of treaty making in British Columbia reflect broader challenges associated with land restitution and reconciliation in settler colonies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Colonial legal histories of indigeneity and British- Indian migration have not often been placed in conversation with one another. This article pursues such a project by tracing indigeneity as a spectral presence that emerged with uneven regularity in juridico-political conflicts over British- Indian migration. Specifically, I focus on the 1914 journey of the Komagata Maru, a Japanese steamship carrying 376 Punjabi migrants that sailed from Hong Kong to Shanghai, Moji to Yokohama, and across the Pacific, eventually arriving in Vancouver, Canada. Crisscrossing continents and approaching law in its broadest sense, I explore three struggles over the ship and its passengers: a satirical cartoon published in the Hindi Punch ( Bombay), a legal test case heard by the British Columbia Court of Appeal ( Vancouver), and a public debate on the racial meanings of Imperial subjecthood that ensued among Indian middle-class supporters of the ship and unfolded in English newspapers in various Indian cities. In each moment of struggle, I examine the changing conceptions of indigeneity that were strategically appropriated, never by indigenous peoples themselves or on their own terms, but by the Dominion of Canada and by British Indians, each deploying indigeneity to its own advantage and to achieve particular effects. Ultimately, this article considers the political and legal work that the spectral figure of indigeneity performed, the conceptions of time that underwrote its recurrence, and the temporalities that it sustained and called into question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Described, is a strategy session to identify how to integrate the Framework for Cultural Competence and Cultural Safety in Nursing Education (Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada, Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing, Canadian Nurses Association) into a baccalaureate nursing program. Emphasis is placed on engaging a wider community building on faculty and institutional strengths and resources to gather a network of Elders, nurses, students, and faculty. Outlined, is the process to identify potential learning experiences, key resources for implementing the Framework, and developing an advocacy statement to influence School of Nursing (SON) and university level policy regarding commitment to the Framework, its values and principles. Written as a narrative, the information can be shared with other SONs as they move forward with their own work in cultural safety and Aboriginal nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gitksan and Wet’suwet’en of Northwestern British Columbia formerly used landscape burning to manage patches of black huckleberry ( Vaccinium membranaceum), the most important plant resource of their seasonal round. In view of its significance one might postulate that managed sites would conform to a biophysical or ecological type to maximize return for effort. However, a survey of a number of traditionally managed sites indicated that managed sites are characterized by wide variation in biophysical attributes including elevation, aspect and moisture regime, while proximity to fishing sites, village sites, or sites for harvest of alpine resources proved to be a common factor in known historic berry patch sites. We conclude that characterization of the ideal site type for aboriginal V. membranaceum management must include the economy and social institutions of the local First Nations and requires an enhanced appreciation for the sophistication of the strategies and techniques employed in their management and utilization of the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the status of resource consultations with indigenous First Peoples of British Columbia, Canada. According to the authors, there are seven principles which must be implemented to achieve meaningful consultations which include establishment of guidelines and objectives, recognition of alternatives, knowledge diversity and quality, explicit uncertainty and risk determinations and a balance of multiple interests. They provide examples of Water Use Plans, Aquaculture impacts on wild salmon and flows from the Bridge River Dam.

This article explores some implications of certain developments for the study of pre-contact and historic Aboriginal land use. Particular focus is given to the situation in British Columbia, Canada, where the practice of archaeology has been influenced by issues of First Nations rights and the ways government and industry have chosen to address them, which in turn has affected academic and consulting archaeology. The author examines the nature of archaeological landscapes and their importance in organizing and interpreting evidence of past human behavior and the historical context of archaeology in British Columbia over the past century and discuss how it has contributed to the colonization of First Nations which traditional perspectives of the cultural landscape have been incorporated.

Context: There is considerable concern about the spread of HIV disease among Aboriginal peoples in British Columbia. Objective: To estimate the number of Aboriginal British Columbians infected with HIV. Design and setting: A population-based analysis of Aboriginal men and women in British Columbia, Canada from 1980 to 2001. Participants: Epidemic curves were fit for gay and bisexual men, injection drug users, men and women aged 15 to 49 years and persons over 50 years of age. Main outcome measures: HIV prevalence for the total Aboriginal population was modeled using the UNAIDS/WHO Estimation and Projection Package (EPP). Monte Carlo simulation was used to estimate potential number infected for select transmission group in 2001. Results: A total of 170,025 Aboriginals resided in British Columbia in 2001, of whom 69% were 15 years and older. Of these 1,691 (range 1,479 - 1,955) men and women aged 15 years and over were living with HIV with overall prevalence ranging from 1.26% to 1.66%. The majority of the persons infected were men. Injection drug users (range 1,202 - 1,744) and gay and bisexual men (range 145, 232) contributed the greatest number of infections. Few persons infected were from low risk populations. Conclusion: More than 1 in every 100 Aboriginals aged 15 years and over was living with HIV in 2001. Culturally appropriate approaches are needed to tailor effective HIV interventions to this community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both community activism and anthropological research affect local communities materially, whether this research is conducted by 'activists' or 'objectivists'. It is ethically and methodologically important that these activisms be recognized and built into the subject of the research. Aboriginal rights litigation entails both explicit and implicit activism by all concerned, although few admit as much. In this light, some of the effects of such activism on a local community engaged in aboriginal rights litigation in Canada are discussed in the form of a dialogue between an anthropologist and a community activist who is now working in aboriginal law. Key words: Methodological activism; aboriginal litigation; objectivity; dispute settlement; situated knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the cultural and nutritional importance of the red alga Porphyra abbottae Krishnamurthy and related species in the traditional food systems of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Coast of Canada. Botany and ecology of P. abbottae; Summary of the traditional indigenous knowledge of the harvesting, processing and use of Porphyra; Applications and issues.

Background: Because of established links between entrenched poverty and risk of HIV infection, there have long been warnings that HIV/AIDS will disproportionately affect Aboriginal people in Canada. We compared HIV incidence rates among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal injection drug users (IDUs) in Vancouver and studied factors associated with HIV seroconversion among Aboriginal participants.Methods: This analysis was based on 941 participants (230 Aboriginal people) recruited between May 1996 and December 2000 who were seronegative at enrollment and had completed at least one follow-up visit. Incidence rates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to identify independent predictors of time to HIV seroconversion among female and male Aboriginal IDUs.Results: As of May 31, 2001, seroconversion had occurred in 112 (11.9%) of the participants, yielding a cumulative incidence of HIV infection at 42 months of 12.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 10.3%-15.1%). The cumulative incidence at 42 months was significantly higher among the Aboriginal participants than among the non-Aboriginal participants (21.1% v. 10.7%, p < 0.001). This elevation in risk was present in both female and male Aboriginal IDUs. Among the female Aboriginal IDUs, frequent speedball (combined cocaine and heroin) injection (adjusted relative risk [RR] 3.1; 95% CI 1.4-7.1) and going on binges of injection drug use (adjusted RR 2.3; 95% CI 1.0-5.2) were found to be independent predictors of HIV seroconversion. Among the male Aboriginal IDUs, the independent predictors of seroconversion were frequent speedball injection (adjusted RR 2.9; 95% CI 1.0-8.5) and frequent cocaine injection (adjusted RR 2.5; 95% CI 1.0-6.5).Interpretation: In Vancouver, Aboriginal IDUs are becoming HIV positive at twice the rate of non-Aboriginal IDUs. Our findings emphasize the urgent need for an appropriate and effective public health strategy--planned and implemented in partnership with Aboriginal AIDS service organizations and the Aboriginal community--to reduce the harms of injection drug use in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information about the production space in Northern British Columbia. Nature of the Native space, used by Native societies; Negotiations in the allocation and management of lands and resources; Social processes in the production of space.

Vicki Smye and Annette Browne explore the exportability of the concept of 'cultural safety' from the healthcare literature in New Zealand to inform an analysis of mental health policy discourse affecting aboriginal communities in British Columbia, Canada. The moral issues raised are, they suggest, ones that nurses in research, policy and practice must attend to when providing health care to marginalised, disenfranchised populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the potential use of non-timber forest products by aboriginal peoples in British Columbia and neighboring areas. Economic importance of plant products; Issues in the harvesting and marketing of NTFP from both aboriginal and non-aboriginal participants; Protection of intellectual property rights and cultural integrity.