In December 2020, the First Peoples’ Cultural Council published the “Recommendations for Decolonizing British Columbia’s Heritage-Related Processes and Legislation” at the request of the First Peoples’ Heritage, Language and Culture Council to conduct directed research and analysis of the BC Heritage Branch’s policies, programs, guidelines and laws. The report emphasizes Indigenous rights in relation to Indigenous cultural heritage. It recommends the establishment of jurisdictional and statutory decision-making authority over Indigenous cultural heritage by Indigenous Peoples.
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Public education and reconciliation
Recommendation 1:
Start by acknowledging that the cultural heritage of Indigenous peoples belongs to Indigenous peoples. Without exaggeration, 99.9% of archaeological sites in B.C., extending back in time more than 10,000 years, are those of Indigenous peoples. Yet Indigenous peoples have had little say in or control over decisions made concerning their study, preservation or destruction.
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Recommendation 2:
Apply Call to Action 43 from the TRC as it pertains to each of the policies reviewed: 43. We call upon federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments to fully adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
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Recommendation 4:
Identify and eliminate any influence of colonial doctrines, including the Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius, on ICH and more generally.
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Recommendation 6:
Apply holistic, integrated, fulsome and inclusive recognition of ICH, serving to broaden institutional attachments from the narrow focus on “archaeological” material culture currently common in the interpretation of the heritage legislation such as the Heritage Conservation Act.
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Recommendation 7:
In addressing Recommendation 6, recognize five key points from “Why Intangible Heritage Matters” (Nicholas 2014):
- Heritage protection and management remain focused on the tangible;
- However, no object or place has meaning without the intangible values ascribed;
- For Indigenous peoples, the tangible and intangible are often indivisible, which has substantial implications for heritage protection;
- A double standard exists regarding how Indigenous intangible heritage, including Traditional Knowledge, and Western Science are valued or treated.
- Efforts to decolonize heritage research and to implement such developments as the UNDRIP will continue to fail if intangible heritage is ignored.
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Recommendation 10:
Ensure that Indigenous peoples have the resources needed to develop and administer their own cultural heritage laws, policies and practices. Establish agreements that clarify relations with and between federal and provincial governments.
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