Standing With Indigenous Communities

For over fifteen years, we've walked alongside Indigenous nations defending treaty rights, protecting sacred lands, and making sure communities have real power in decisions that affect their futures. This isn't just legal work to us—it's about respect, partnership, and long-overdue justice.

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How We Work

Partnership, Not Paternalism

Look, we're honest about this—non-Indigenous lawyers can't truly understand what it's like to carry generations of broken promises. What we can do is listen, learn, and put our legal expertise where it matters most.

Every case starts with community. We spend time on the land, in band offices, around kitchen tables. We don't parachute in with a briefcase full of fancy solutions. You tell us what success looks like, and we figure out the legal pathway to get there.

We've worked with Coastal Salish nations, Interior Plateau communities, and northern First Nations. Each relationship is different because each community's needs are different. That's the whole point.

"These aren't client relationships. They're partnerships built on trust, transparency, and the understanding that communities know what they need better than any lawyer ever will."

Treaty Rights

Defending What Was Promised

Treaties aren't old documents gathering dust. They're living agreements that governments still gotta honour, even when it's inconvenient for industry or development.

Treaty Interpretation

Unpacking what those historic agreements actually mean in today's context—fishing rights, hunting territories, resource extraction.

Land Claims

Pursuing recognition and compensation for traditional territories that were never properly ceded or purchased.

Modern Treaties

Negotiating new agreements that reflect contemporary realities while respecting ancestral connections to the land.

Rights Enforcement

Taking governments and corporations to court when they violate treaty obligations or ignore consultation duties.

Consultation Rights

Making Sure You're Actually Heard

The government's duty to consult isn't just a checkbox exercise, though man, they often treat it that way. When a pipeline company or mining operation wants to roll through traditional territory, Indigenous communities have the legal right to meaningful consultation.

We help communities navigate these processes, call out inadequate consultation when we see it, and push for accommodations that actually address concerns. Sometimes that means better environmental protections, sometimes it means revenue-sharing, sometimes it means the project doesn't go ahead at all.

Process Evaluation

Assessing whether consultation meets legal standards

Strategic Response

Crafting effective community positions and demands

Negotiation Support

Sitting at the table with government and industry

Litigation Readiness

Preparing for court if consultation fails

Consultation Meeting Traditional Territory
Community Focus

Long-Term Partnerships That Matter

We're not interested in one-off cases. The communities we work with become long-term partners, and we invest in relationships that last years, sometimes decades.

Capacity Building

We run workshops helping band councils and community members understand their legal rights. Knowledge is power, and communities shouldn't need to call a lawyer every time something comes up.

Cultural Competency

We're constantly learning about protocols, traditions, and community-specific contexts. It's not enough to know the law—you gotta understand the people you're serving.

Economic Development

Helping communities negotiate benefit agreements, establish businesses, and secure their economic futures without compromising their values or the environment.

Community Partnership

What Partnership Looks Like

  • Regular community visits, not just when there's a crisis
  • Transparent billing and flexible payment arrangements
  • Training for youth interested in law and advocacy
  • Collaboration with Indigenous legal scholars and practitioners
  • Support during celebrations and ceremonies, not just legal battles
Community Voices

Hear From Our Partners

Don't just take our word for it. Listen to what community leaders have to say about working together.

Community Leader Testimonial
Chief Margaret Williams
Squamish Nation

"They didn't just show up with legal jargon and strategies. They sat with our elders, learned our stories, and understood why protecting the river wasn't just environmental—it was spiritual. That changed everything."

Band Council Testimonial
Councillor James Baptiste
Tsilhqot'in National Government

"We'd been fighting that pipeline for years. What made the difference was having lawyers who understood this was about our kids' futures, not just a court case. They fought like it was their own land being threatened."

More Community Testimonials Available

We have a full library of video testimonials from community leaders, elders, and youth we've worked with. These stories capture the real impact of this work better than any brochure ever could.

Request Access to Full Library
Free Resources

Legal Guides & Community Resources

Knowledge shouldn't be locked behind consultation fees. Here are some practical guides we've put together for Indigenous communities navigating legal challenges.

Understanding Treaty Rights

A plain-language guide to what treaties actually say, how courts interpret them, and what communities can do when rights are violated.

42 pages Download PDF

Consultation Rights Handbook

Everything you need to know about the duty to consult—what it means, when it applies, and how to hold governments accountable when they phone it in.

38 pages Download PDF

UNDRIP Implementation Guide

Breaking down the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and what BC's legislation actually means for communities on the ground.

55 pages Download PDF

Environmental Assessment Process

How to effectively participate in environmental assessments when major projects threaten traditional territories. Includes templates and sample submissions.

67 pages Download PDF

Sacred Site Protection

Legal strategies for protecting burial grounds, ceremonial sites, and other culturally significant locations from development and desecration.

31 pages Download PDF

Resource Revenue Sharing

Negotiating benefit agreements and ensuring communities receive fair compensation when resources are extracted from traditional lands.

49 pages Download PDF

Need Something More Specific?

If you're dealing with a unique situation that isn't covered in these guides, reach out. We might be able to provide customized resources or point you toward other helpful materials.

Get In Touch
Partnership

Ready to Start a Conversation?

Whether you're dealing with an urgent consultation deadline or thinking about long-term strategic planning, let's talk. Initial conversations are always free and confidential.

Call Us:
(604) 555-8742
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