Land Back & Reconciliation
Create lasting Indigenous sovereignty
Policy Goal
Colonial interests must stop behaving as conquering invaders toward the original peoples of Turtle Island. Every level of colonial government must make immediate, meaningful progress toward restitution for past wrongs, and end the ongoing genocide of Indigenous people, families, communities, cultures, and traditional governments. This can only begin with the recognition of ongoing Indigenous rights and title on unceded territories like the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and Squamish land on which the colony of Vancouver has been established. We call for the City of Vancouver to recognize the title and jurisdiction of the three (3) Indigenous Nations that have been the custodians of the land we call Vancouver since time immemorial, and respect the UNDRIP’s principle of free, prior, and informed consent.
Pathways to Change
Support the Indigenous campaign for Land Back as a concrete expression of our recognition of the right to self-governance and self-determination for Indigenous communities living in Vancouver;
Implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) rights in Vancouver, with full inclusion of Indigenous governments, advocates, and representatives in all decisions about Vancouver land use, in a manner determined by the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and Squamish Nations;
Support Indigenous-led efforts to build public housing on city-owned land, including converting city-owned golf courses to a mix of public housing, parks, and other social uses;
Implement a voluntary restitution tax for property owners, for example - property owners would have the option to contribute an amount equal to 5% or 10% of their property taxes or another amount of their choosing. This voluntary contribution would be made in addition to, and separately from their annual property tax payment; and would be transferred to the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh & Squamish Nations to aid in the full implementation of their UNDRIP rights;
Recognize that as the Nations that collectively hold title to the unceded land on which Vancouver now sits, the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, and Musqueam Nations are entitled to the right of first refusal on any public or commercial property sold within city limits;
Demand the immediate cessation of contested development projects on unceded Indigenous land, including federal rights-of-way for pipelines and tanker traffic;
Collaborate with Indigenous leadership and knowledge-keepers to preserve and restore areas of cultural importance, as well as food & medicine forests and traditional harvesting zones;
Support Indigenous outreach groups to develop and implement trauma-informed, community and peer based solutions for poverty and homelessness;
Support the Union of BC Indian Chiefs call for the City of Vancouver, Park Board, and Port Authority to collaborate with host Nations and Indigenous organizations to establish an Indigenous healing lodge at CRAB park, and full Indigenous stewardship of the land;
Contribute to the revitalization of the Hul'qumi'num language by hiring a team of fluent speakers to update city communications, street signs, policies, and place names, prioritizing the renaming of any city street or place names that presently commemorate historical settlers and officials who are implicated in genocide and colonial violence.
Oppose the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism as it equates criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism, and thus “undermines both the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality and the global struggle against anti-Semitism”.
Pledge to consult with Palestinian, Arab, Muslim and human rights organizations such as BCCLA when discussing city policies relating to race relations and racism, and to combat all forms of racism.
Support work towards declaring the city of Vancouver and its institutions as apartheid-free zones, in recognition of international human rights organizations Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW), and the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, which have established that Israel is an apartheid state.
Refuse to support or promote organizations such as the Jewish National Fund (JNF) that are openly racist and discriminate against an indigenous population - in this case the Palestinians.
Resources
Note: The resources on each of our policy pages are a starting point for learning about various issues and organizations doing work in these areas. This is not a comprehensive list and VOTE Socialist is not affiliated with the organizations listed here. We hope that these resources will help you reflect on and consider community engagement with the pathways to change suggested. We organize and lead with courage not fear, with transformative vision not limits. Vote on October 15!
The City gets a failing grade on reconciliation:
Vancouver Is Failing on 'City of Reconciliation' Claim, Says Its Indigenous Committee | The Tyee
Vancouver, We Deserve Better | The Tyee
The City thinks it is creating reconciliation when it isn’t:
City of Reconciliation update 2021
Reconciliation update memo | Jul 2, 2020
Vancouver's journey towards Reconciliation
Important to act on these calls to action:
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action - Province of British Columbia
Canadian Palestine Association
cpavancouver.org/
The BCCLA opposes the international campaign to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Association (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
International human rights organizations Amnesty International(AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW), and the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, have established that Israel is an apartheid state that practices institutional racism in all of the territories under its control “from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea”.