First Peoples Law LLP
First Peoples Law is a law firm dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. Sign up for our weekly Law Report: firstpeopleslaw.com/public-education
- “It’s important to make these decisions really thoughtfully, because with some of these projects there is a downside...And I think that’s why many First Nations are concerned." Regional Chief Terry Teegee, B.C. Assembly of First Nations @ buff.ly/7a7V5Ju
- #ICYMI Check out our First Peoples Law Report! This week’s edition includes Aboriginal title, environmental protection, self-governance, treaty rights and more @ buff.ly/aJFttKv
- "This partnership strengthens how we support First Nations as they navigate increasingly complex resource development environments." Sheldon Wuttunnee, CEO, Saskatchewan First Nations Natural Resources Centre of Excellence @ buff.ly/fGKPir5
- "This situation is not the result of legal uncertainty. It is the result of administrative choice." Chief Lisa Robinson, Wolf Lake First Nation @ buff.ly/G7UVLMn
- "[I]t’s disappointing to see that this is just poking around the edges of the system when the system is untenable and needs to be addressed to get to food security." Board member Curtis Mesher, Qajuqturvik Food Centre @ buff.ly/PRNMVC1
- "We don’t feel the RCMP has done a great job in our communities and we think now is the time to transition away from that." Chief Ross Perley, Neqotkuk First Nation @ buff.ly/Akr18cs
- This week’s edition includes Aboriginal title, environmental protection, self-governance, treaty rights and more @ buff.ly/aJFttKv
- "Right now, the system that’s being proposed is not fair. It’s not transparent. It’s still controlled by Canada." Chief Pauline Frost, Chair of the National Chiefs’ Children’s Committee @ buff.ly/fMw295E
- "The disconnect between words and action in the Canadian Arctic is a pattern that goes back decades. With new threats to Greenland and our own Archipelago, the time for action is now." President Harry Flaherty, Qikiqtaaluk Corporation @ buff.ly/m95VTGu
- "What we’re seeing here in Alberta is disregard to our treaties. There’s not an understanding here of how Alberta became a province, and how a treaty had to happen before Alberta could become a province." Grand Chief Trevor Mercredi, Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta @ buff.ly/qEIOoQc
- "We are dedicated to educating and celebrating the Dane-zaa history of the site, the culture that has been preserved there and continues to thrive." Executive Director Alyssa Currie, Tse'k'wa Heritage Society @ buff.ly/qkiHNTC
- Check out our First Peoples Law Report! This week’s edition includes international law, intergovernmental relations, emergency management, commercial fishing and more @ buff.ly/r1DlYqR
- "We’re just trying to stand up for our rights and talk about policy directives that might be compromising our way of life." Chief Pauline Frost, Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation @ buff.ly/alJdjHD
- "Any sentiment about hate speech, about denialism, should be called out." Regional Chief Terry Teegee, BC Assembly of First Nations @ buff.ly/YRXNTQi
- "Our lands and waters aren't interchangeable." Chief Nikki van Oirschot, Caldwell First Nation @ buff.ly/VY8ZqyZ
- This week’s edition includes international law, intergovernmental relations, emergency management, commercial fishing and more @ buff.ly/r1DlYqR
- "For months, we have called on the province and (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) to work with us to plan for this risk, and to protect salmon, people, and our cultural heritage. That has not happened." Chief Willie Sellars, Williams Lake First Nation @ buff.ly/vIVlxwG
- "The tailings ponds are biggest they've ever been. They're twice the size of the city of Vancouver … We don't have the water for these pipe dreams that the Alberta government has." Executive Director Jesse Cardinal, Keepers of the Water @ buff.ly/G7To3Xp
- "I do feel it's important because we all need to come out again, start connecting, reconnecting again." Director of Community Programs Mavis Pascal, Líl̓wat Nation @ buff.ly/HDL7HcR
- "There's nobody around to speak for the Beothuk people at this time. And somebody has to start a process of bringing those remains back to this land where they belong." Traditional Chief Mi'sel Joe, Miawpukek First Nation @ buff.ly/frJF8kr
- #ICYMI Check out our First Peoples Law Report! This week’s edition includes environmental protection, economic development, energy sovereignty, infrastructure development and more @ buff.ly/NH0Yfg3
- “[T]o include Ksi Lisims [LNG] on the major projects list is part of a growing and alarming trend seen in Bill C-5 and B.C.’s Bill 15 to forfeit Indigenous consent and environmental accountability under the guise of reshaping Canada’s economy." Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs @ buff.ly/nADsQLV
- "This is a huge win for all four First Nations who want to pursue energy sovereignty and self-sufficiency efforts, because it’s a significant amount of revenue that will help to provide much-needed funding." Guy Lonechild, CEO, First Nations Power Authority @ buff.ly/vP518FC
- "We are concerned for our young yet to be born. We have to say something." Michel J. Koostachin, Member, Attawapiskat First Nation and Founder, Friends of the Attawapiskat River @ buff.ly/VWZIaeW
- This week’s edition includes environmental protection, economic development, energy sovereignty, infrastructure development and more @ buff.ly/NH0Yfg3
- “Mining will no longer be decided for us...Mining will be decided by us and by our citizens. This is the start of a new era of respect of our governance and stewardship." Chief Dawna Hope, First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun @ buff.ly/T47lC7B
- "They seem to be pushing [lease sales] very quickly...Without regard for environmental laws or environmental protections. There's no sustainability about any of their development." Chief Pauline Frost, Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation @ buff.ly/OTg6mUQ
- "We're going to be ramping up our monitoring and expanding our guardians to make sure that we carefully monitor the discharge of effluence because we're protecting a pristine watershed." Chief Colleen Erickson, Nak'azdli Whut'en First Nation @ buff.ly/i07XgBF
- “Development of these lands without Mi’kmaw control or input could have significantly compromised the integrity of the petroglyph sites and the ability for future generations of Mi’maq to access such a significant area." Chief Sidney Peters, Glooscap First Nation @ buff.ly/iNxIZoc
- #ICYMI Check out our First Peoples Law Report! This week’s edition includes the revitalization of place names, Jordan’s Principle, clean drinking water, fisheries and more @ buff.ly/3ewSx50
- “[It was] a way to help clarify and clean [the ocean]...That, to me, is that increment of hope.” Mavis Underwood, Councillor, Tsawout First Nation @ buff.ly/lNEIByi
- "The response from both levels of government has been woefully inadequate and does not meet the level of urgency required." Chief Hosea Wesley, Kashechewan First Nation @ buff.ly/NpbCCbT
- “It’s loud and clear. That’s a no, and our interest isn’t about money in this situation. It’s about the responsibility of looking after our territories and nurturing the sustainable economies that we currently have here." Chief Councillor Marilyn Slett, Heiltsuk Tribal Council @ buff.ly/ktMYLi7
- "It's important for our people to have access to our sacred objects in these colonial settings to help them feel more at ease and so they can feel more safe and secure." Traditional Grand Chief Spasaqit Possesom (Ron Tremblay), Wolastoq Grand Council @ buff.ly/l4FVSev
- “This is reckless governance and contrary to the collective interests of all peoples in Alberta and Canada...[T]hese are unconscionable political acts…that laid bare the Alberta Government’s true view of its obligations to First Nations and our peoples.” The Blood Tribe @ buff.ly/OYNOCtq
- “I sat in the court, I listened to the government argue essentially against the effectiveness or the efficacy of their own legislation." Tara Marsden, Sustainability Director, Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs @ buff.ly/JD9UdW8
- This week’s edition includes the revitalization of place names, Jordan’s Principle, clean drinking water, fisheries and more @ buff.ly/3ewSx50
- “I understand the challenges around changing names...But somewhere along the line, history has to be truthful. Are we living lies or are we honouring the truth?” Robert Bernard, Executive Director, Nova Scotia Indigenous Tourism Enterprise Network @ buff.ly/Om7ML2D
- “It always seems like we take a step ahead and we get knocked two steps back." Chief Margaret Sault, Mississaugas of the Credit @ buff.ly/AjahWTr
- "We are in a dire situation and the response that we're getting is not good enough. And I don't think they're understanding that these are children, these are people." Chief Hosea Wesley, Kashechewan First Nation @ buff.ly/SyqrhlE
- "So, that's why we keep speaking up — because we've had to live with it. We have firsthand experience of how it affects your health and how it affects your way of living." Rudy Turtle, Chair, Land Defence Alliance @ buff.ly/axZZGpX
- "I'm advocating for us smaller nations that don't have a voice." Hereditary Chief T̕łaḵwagila David Mungo Knox, Fort Rupert First Nation @ buff.ly/U4udKzQ
- "[Y]ou can't give up the protection of water for money because you can't drink money, and money alone will not nourish you long enough to stay alive." Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige, Anishinabek Nation @ buff.ly/GvKi6VQ
- #ICYMI In 2025, Indigenous Peoples continued their fight in and out of the courts to defend their rights and lands, hold the Crown to its constitutional obligations, and advocate against discrimination. Check out our annual Indigenous Rights Year in Review countdown @ buff.ly/K1de2xc
- "Compensation is important, but it is not reform. It is recognition. Reform must go further—it must address the structures that keep families apart." Chief Patsy Corbiere, Aundeck Omni Kaning First Nation @ buff.ly/0C0TRU2
- #ICYMI Check out our First Peoples Law Report! This week’s edition includes child welfare reform, National Ribbon Skirt Day, land stewardship, caribou protection and more @ buff.ly/HEzlJiD
- "Really, we have to ... caution the people of British Columbia that the environmental assessment process needs to be strengthened." Chief Colleen Erickson, Nak'azdli Whut'en First Nation @ buff.ly/VuZmxJc
- "Bill 14 really crossed the line. To us, it seems like [the province is] making accommodations for a small group of people." Chief Sheldon Sunshine, Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation @ buff.ly/gClj8GI
- “This visit is important as it will allow leadership to see conditions on the ground firsthand, discuss ongoing challenges, and work toward solutions alongside our Nation’s leadership." Chief David Monias, Pimicikamak Cree Nation @ buff.ly/EV1NZ9u
- “Many tourism businesses faced a dual challenge – rising costs from the pandemic alongside these new barriers. Too often, Indigenous businesses aren’t even considered in tariff discussions." Keith Henry, President, Indigenous Tourism Canada @ buff.ly/l45j8QU
