Centre for Indigenous Fisheries (CIF)
The Centre is committed to research, teaching, and service that places community needs and interests at the heart of all they do. Their work ultimately aims to support the management and protection of culturally significant fish and fisheries in ways that uphold and respect Indigenous rights, values, practices and knowledge systems.
Indigenous Relations and UBC
Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre
The City of Vancouver is within the overlapping traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and selílwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, while UBC is situated on the land of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm. Land acknowledgments are the most common way members of the University can begin to participate in reconciliation with the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm people. At UBC, a land acknowledgment is usually given before public events, presentations, and ceremonies, and sounds like this:
We would like to acknowledge that we are gathered today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam people.
Land or territorial acknowledgments are important because they publicly give recognition that the University is on land that was taken from the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm people without a legal treaty (“unceded”), and this land still retains traditional and ancestral value to the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm. Recognizing and acknowledging the injustice inherent in UBC’s occupation of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm land is a necessary first step towards reconciliation. For students who may not be familiar with Indigenous peoples in BC and Canada, land acknowledgements can be a first introduction to this history. Still, they can be seen as an empty gesture if not followed by meaningful action. Therefore, it is vital to critically engage with actions and events on campus, and what can be done to actively support the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm and other Indigenous communities beyond land acknowledgments at UBC.
More information about reconciliation efforts
At UBC
- xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) and UBC webpage
- UBC’s Indigenous Portal offers a broad introduction to Indigenous relations on the Vancouver campus, current events and news
- First Nations House of Learning. Visit and learn at the First Nations Longhouse
- Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre (IRSHDC) at UBC
- Principles for collaboration between the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm community and UBC
- Information about land acknowledgments at UBC
- UBC Indigenous Peoples: Language Guidelines. Learn why the terminology we use when referring to Indigenous peoples is important, and which terms are the most respectful. This booklet also contains a guide for giving land acknowledgments
- Find and learn about Indigenous public art on campus
- First Peoples Writing is a blog that showcases written and creative works by students in UBC’s First Nations Study Program
In Canada
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action
- The Indigenous Foundations website is a great information resource on key topics relating to the histories, politics, and cultures of the Indigenous peoples of Canada
The World
- Wherever you’re from within Canada, the U.S. or other parts of the world, Indigenous peoples have lived there for thousands of years. Find out who those peoples are and take the time to learn more about the communities who call this land home