New Declaration Focuses on Protecting Indigenous Burial Grounds

Grace Islet (source: Grace Islet Facebook page)
Published: 
Jan 13, 2015

During the IPinCH Fall Gathering in November, a special session was held to discuss the controversial situation unfolding at Grace Islet here in British Columbia, where a private house is being built directly on a First Nations burial site, against the wishes of local First Nations and non-Aboriginal communities, and against the advice of professional archaeologists. 

Grace Islet is but one of a number of examples in British Columbia that falls through the cracks of legal protection and points to inconsistencies in existing heritage laws, effectively excluding meaningful involvement of First Nations in management of their ancestral burial sites on private lands.

Session participants agreed to harness the expertise of the IPinCH project and develop a tool that could be drawn on for situations like Grace Islet. The result was a new Declaration on the Safeguarding of Indigenous Ancestral Burial Grounds as Sacred Sites and Cultural Landscapes. The Declaration is a reminder of Canada's legal and ethical obligations with respect to First Nations sacred sites on which human remains of cultural and spiritual significance are interred.

Last week, in collaboration with SFU Communications, we launched a media campaign about the Declaration. We issued a press release and a number of media outlets, including CBC Radio, The Georgia Strait, the Vancouver Sun, and others have now reported favorably about the Declaration (see the list of media coverage to date here)

Thank you to all those who contributed to the development of the Declaration, both at the Fall Gathering and via email afterwards, particularly given that we were working within a very tight timeline.

We are now seeking endorsements of the Declaration from both individuals and organizations, and we welcome endorsements from any IPinCH team members, associates, and partners.

Endorsements can be emailed to: endorse.declaration2014@gmail.com. Please note that endorsements by individuals must contain the full name and city of residence of the individual and a valid email address where the individual can be reached. 

Endorsements by organizations much contain the full name and city of the organization, the full name and position of the individual authorized to represent the organization, and a valid email address where the individual can be reached.

Please share the Declaration widely with your networks. A PDF of the Declaration can be downloaded at the bottom of the Declaration page.

Many thanks for your support in getting the word out. We believe that our collective efforts through the Declaration will help to positively influence heritage policy in British Columbia and elsewhere.