British Columbia Law Institute Primers on Indigenous Law

The British Columbia Law Institute (BCLI) has published two primers that provide information on the province's adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.

They are:

• The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and BC’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act: "The 2019 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act requires all laws in British Columbia to be brought into alignment with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The BCLI has launched its Reconciling Crown Legal Frameworks Program to support the research and innovations required to implement this legislation. This is the first of a series of primers designed to provide information about some of the law reform issues related to this legislation."
• Indigenous Laws: "Bringing BC laws into alignment with the UN Declaration requires an  understanding of Indigenous law. Crown governments, courts, lawyers, and members of the public will increasingly be expected to understand the content and meaning of Indigenous law as the Declaration Act is implemented.  ‘Indigenous laws’ are the principles and processes that Indigenous Peoples and communities use and have  always used to govern themselves. While it is often used interchangeably with ‘Aboriginal law’ (which is  Canadian law about Indigenous issues), it is distinct, and should be understood as deriving from  Indigenous Peoples’ societies and histories."