Raven's Eye

A group of influential Indigenous leaders joined Chief Maureen Thomas and the Council of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation in the signing of an International Treaty to protect land, water and Indigenous ways of life against tar sands projects. With ratification from nations opposed to Keystone XL, Enbridge Northern Gateway, Enbridge Line 9 and now Kinder Morgan, the International Treaty to Protect the…

The Tseshaht Forst Nation has demanded that the Province of B.C. conduct more testing for high levels of arsenic, cobalt and selenium in the Barkley Sound area. The Toquaht Bay Marina, boat launch and campground were closed March 21 by the province due to high levels of these contaminants. Provincial health officials also advised people not to consume shellfish from the campground’s foreshore…

A billion-dollar mine in the province's northwest has been given the go-ahead despite the objections of the Nisga’a Nation where the mine site is located. Avanti Mining Inc. will revive a molybdenum mine located 140 km north of Prince Rupert. The Kitsault Mine was given the green-light after a review concluded the mine would not result in any significant adverse effects. While the review was…

A solar panel feasibility study will be conducted by the West Moberly First Nation. The study will be focused on the installation of solar panels in the community. Through the provincial government’s First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund, the First Nation will be getting $25,780 towards its Solar 1 PV Solar installation project’s feasibility study. The community has set a goal of supplying…

Pre-treaty agreements are bringing benefits to T’Sou-ke Nation, the Malahat Nation and the Songhees Nation, all on lower Vancouver Island in British Columbia. T’Sou-ke Nation will receive two 60-hectare land parcels at Broom Hill. These lands will be transferred in fee simple in two stages, one at the signing of the Interim Treaty Agreement (ITA) and the second parcel at the signing of the…

Aboriginal students at Capilano University have a beautiful new space in which to learn and embrace their heritage with the official opening of the university’s Aboriginal Student Centre. Kéxwusm-·yákn (A Place to Meet), the Squamish Nation name given to the Aboriginal Student Centre, provides a welcoming multi-purpose space for students to meet, study, share meals, collaborate and learn from…

Youth members of the Tla'amin Nation
placed personal mementos into a time capsule on Feb. 14 to celebrate the introduction of provincial legislation to ratify the Tla’amin treaty. The Tla’amin Nation is the eighth First Nation to witness the introduction of their treaty legislation in the B.C. legislature under the B.C. treaty process. The other seven are Tsawwassen First Nation, the five…

The First Peoples' Cultural Council (FPCC)
announced $600,000 in new funding for B.C. based Aboriginal artists and arts organizations. The announcement took place at the Talking Stick Festival, an annual celebration of Aboriginal arts and culture, in Vancouver on Feb. 22. “Each year, we receive more requests for arts funding than we can grant,” said Tracey Herbert, executive director of…

Environmental, labour and democracy activists have thrown their weight behind a lawsuit by Hupacasath First Nation, which hopes to halt a major Canada-China trade pact through the courts.

According to band councillor Brenda Sayers, the B.C. lawsuit “reached a milestone” on Feb. 13 with affidavits of support submitted by the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, the Chiefs of Ontario, and several…

Talking Stick, a Vancouver festival showcasing Aboriginal art, writing and performance, will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year. It runs in various venues around the city, and will run from Feb. 19 to March 3.

The festival was started through Full Circle performance group in 1992, a group that aims to provide opportunities for Aboriginal artists working in different mediums.

Court cases continue for 10 protesters after controversy over logging on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast escalated to an injunction and arrests on Dec. 7.

The protesters–including 79-year-old shÌsh·lh nation elder Xwu’p’a’lich (Barb Higgins), who was one of those arrested–argue that logging by the Sunshine Coast Community Forest (SCCF) threatens a thriving ecosystem, and they want an…

A First Nations group will sell carbon offsets from the Great Bear Rainforest to fuel local economic development.  Under the plan, reports the Globe and Mail, revenue from the carbon offsets from trees that absorb carbon would be split between Coastal First Nations and the province, said coastal nations spokesperson Art Sterritt . “It is part of a plan that we have been putting together over…

A revenue-sharing agreement has been reached by the government of BC and four Ktunaxa Nation communities. The agreement is the fourth Economic and Community Development Agreement (ECDA) in the province and fulfils the B.C. government’s commitment to reach 10 new non-treaty agreements under the BC Jobs Plan by 2015. The ECDA will enable the Ktunaxa Nation, comprised of the four communities of…

The Semiahmoo First Nation has given notice that it plans to take court action against the City of Surrey or B.C. Lottery Corp. if a gaming licence is approved for a proposed $100-million casino resort in south Surrey. Semiahmoo band Councillor Joanne Charles said the nation was not properly consulted on the project and faces an economic loss, because it too has thoughts of building a hotel,…

More than 1,000 people protested against the controversial Enbridge Northern Gateway project as its public hearings moved to Vancouver on Jan. 14, the largest anti-pipeline demonstration since the 4,000-strong “Defend Our Coast” protests in Victoria last October.

The next day, five demonstrators were arrested inside the hearings, where they blew whistles and spread “Climate Crime Scene…