A new exhibit at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre is raising awareness of Indigenous legal histories – in BC and beyond.
unceded., sponsored by UBC’s Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology, is a collaboration between several First Nations groups and faculty and staff at UBC. Eight display cases feature information on legal issues from the Dene Nation (Northwest Territories), Inuvialuit (Alaska/Yukon), Musqueam First Nation (Vancouver), Tsilhqot’in First Nation (Northern BC), and West Moberly First Nations (Northern BC).
Each display features information on historic legal issues, centered on Aboriginal rights and title. Students, faculty, staff, and the UBC community are invited to learn more about changes in the relationships between the Crown and Aboriginal peoples.
UBC Longhouse Elder-in-Residence, Larry Grant, who has given countless welcomes to Musqueam territory at UBC gatherings, introduces the word “unceded” and asks visitors to think about how Indigenous peoples view the land beneath our feet. Indeed, those in the UBC community may be familiar with the common greeting at events: “We acknowledge that UBC is located on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the Musqueam people.”
This exhibit explores the word “unceded” and what it means to the nations represented. As members of this community at UBC, and as (many of us) guests on Musqueam territory, it is our responsibility to inform ourselves about the history of the land in solidarity of the Elders who gave much to the teaching and learning that takes place here. You are invited to consider the legal challenges raised by the communities and represented by unceded’s curators.
To access self-guided tour materials for yourself, classroom, or community, please visit the UBC wiki.
A list of further resources to consider are located on the exhibit website.
Thank you to all the curators who put this exhibit together: Sarah Dupont, Larry Grant, Sarah Ling, Amy Perreault, Bruce Muir, Sue Rowley, Andrea Roca, Katie Selbee, Leona Sparrow, Drew Ann Wake, Jordan Wilson, Jessica Woolman, and Jason Woolman.