Dear Elders, Knowledge Keepers, Youth, Chiefs, leaders, and community members,

The BC First Nations Justice Council (BCFNJC) hopes this letter finds you, your communities, and your families well. We are so grateful to have connected with and celebrated alongside many of you in the past year. Whether it has been at an Indigenous Justice Centre (IJC) Open House, an engagement session, a drop-in legal clinic, a forum, a community-based event, or through other means, we have felt the immense importance and impact of growing connections with you face-to-face, heart-to-heart. If you are new to our work or BCFNJC has yet to realize an opportunity to support you, we hope this letter can be a warm introduction to our work and starting point for future collaborations.

As we witnessed the summer solstice and move into the long summer months of light, we hope everyone can find an anchor in the teachings, stories, and traditions that come with this sacred season of reawakening. It is during this season of gathering, ceremony, and celebration that renewal becomes the root of action. At the BCFNJC, we are all about truly taking action to make systemic change.  We hope this letter and enclosed report  demonstrates  BCFNJC’s journey and the impacts and progress we have made in advancing the BC First Nations Justice Strategy (the Justice Strategy) with the support and leadership of BC First Nations.

We also recognize that many challenges still confront our communities and families as we work together to transform the justice system for the better. From residential school denialism and identity fraud to economic and political change, we are in a period where now, more than ever, the self-determination, truths, and rights of Indigenous Peoples need be upheld.  BCFNJC remains committed to providing your communities with timely, robust, and high-quality justice services they deserve.

This year, BCFNJC restructured parts of our organization to focus on critical service delivery for Indigenous people, resulting in several changes to our team. Notably, our front-line services (IJCs and Gladue Services) will be brought together under a new Services Pillar. The new pillar will streamline the stabilization of our existing legal services programming, including reporting. The following principles guided the re-organization:

• Focus on Service Delivery: All efforts will be made to refine and stabilize the services that we have committed to delivering: Criminal and Child Protection legal services and Wrap-Around Services in the IJCs, the Gladue Services Department and the Diversion Centre. While all areas of the Strategy are important, BCFNJC must first tend to the foundational services that people need.
  
• Simplify Leadership: Streamlining the leadership model to focus on high quality, sustainable operations of services and supports with less emphasis on growth and expansion.

Adjusting to Funding: Funding for some of our work has been reduced; grants have concluded. We will honour work that has been done to date and we will continue to strive for adequate and appropriate funding to continue making systemic change.

While changes and challenges can fill us with uncertainty, we know that we are stronger together – that boldly speaking truth, sharing our collective knowledge, and supporting one another will keep us moving forward. This was at the heart of what we heard at the 3^rd Annual First Nations Justice Forum held on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh (Vancouver) from April 8-10^th, 2024. The forum gathered First Nations leaders and community members from across BC, and we were grateful to meet many of you in-person. Your voices echoed powerfully throughout the forum as you shared that trust is key for justice system transformation. We know that trust is earned, not given, and BCFNJC is dedicated to earning your trust as we continue to serve your communities. Alongside this trust, BCFNJC will continue to strengthen our justice services, including the Gladue, legal, and outreach services your members can access though our Indigenous Justice Centres (IJCs).

This year, BCFNJC fulfilled Strategy 4 of the Justice Strategy, establishing a network of 15 IJCs in BC. Spaces of kinship and warmth, IJCs provide Indigenous Peoples in BC with access to free legal and outreach services that support their criminal and child protection issues. Each person that walks through our doors is also offered opportunities to connect with cultural supports and wraparound services that address more than just their legal needs. Importantly, our IJCs reflect the protocols, laws, traditions, and cultures of local First Nations, with each IJC featuring the laws, language and art of the territories on which they are situated. We are grateful for the support of the First Nations on whose territories our IJCs operate in and serve, and we thank you – First Nations leaders, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, Youth and community members – who have helped shape the IJCs with your knowledge and leadership.

As we continue to action the mandate you have entrusted to us through the BC First Nations Justice Strategy, we commit to continue building strong relationships founded upon trust and transparency, not only through the services we provide, but through the information, teachings, and stories we share. Strategy 16  and Strategy 3 ensure BCFNJC fosters accountability and trust though information sharing and updates regarding the progress and impacts of the Justice Strategy. With renewal at the heart of this season, now is the perfect time to fulfill Strategy 16 and connect you with what we have collectively achieved and overcome since we last updated you. Our enclosed progress report includes key updates on areas of work under the Justice Strategy which will support the welfare and justice outcomes of Indigenous people across this province.

We hope our report will leave you inspired– the stories, achievements, and work shared are powerful and speak to the profound impact of our work. They carry the collective wisdom of many and are a testament to centuries of resistance and resilience from First Nations across BC. When we remember a past in which our people were banned from obtaining legal counsel and barred from entering the legal profession, it is remarkable to reflect on everything that has been captured in this report. To our First Nations and Indigenous Kin – we raise our hands to you for the gifts, insights, and medicines you have chosen to share with us in our journey to transform the justice system. You guide the way forward for change, and BCFNJC is committed to serving your communities and caring for your justice needs.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to BCFNJC for support or if you have questions – you can contact us at [email protected] to set up a virtual meeting to discuss how we can help you.

Sincerely,

Hemas Kla-Lee-Lee-Kla, Kory Wilson
Chair, BC First Nations Justice Council