Program Spotlight: Revitalizing Indigenous Law for Land, Air and Water

Since time immemorial, Indigenous peoples have governed their territories according to their own laws – safeguarding land, air, water and communities. Drawing on the lessons learned over two decades of work with Indigenous peoples on Indigenous law-based approaches to land use planning, impact assessment and other aspects of environmental governance, in 2016 West Coast launched the RELAW program (Revitalizing Indigenous Law for Land, Air and Water).

What is RELAW (Revitalizing Indigenous Law for Land, Air and Water)?

RELAW is a program of West Coast Environmental Law, supportive of and supported by the Indigenous Law Research Unit at the University of Victoria (ILRU). RELAW is grounded in the fundamental belief that Indigenous law is law, that Indigenous laws are part of living Indigenous legal orders, and that Indigenous law can and should be used on the ground today.

RELAW has two branches: 

  1. The RELAW Co-learning Program, where we hold three retreats a  year for a cohort of Indigenous representatives.
  2. RELAW projects, where legally trained staff from West Coast work collaboratively with Indigenous nations to revitalize, apply and enforce their laws.

We spoke with Katłıà Lafferty, RELAW’s Co-learning Manager and Rayanna Seymour-Hourie, Staff Lawyer and RELAW Program Lead, about what RELAW is up to as it approaches its ten-year anniversary.

Katłıà, could you tell us a bit about RELAW’s Co-learning Program, and why the retreats are integral? 

RELAW’s annual Co-learning Program consists of three retreats (two in person and one online). Approximately 25 co-learners attend the retreats as a “cohort” representing the Indigenous nation or community they live in and/or work for. This is an opportunity to build a supportive network with one another and share knowledge of best practices.   

Co-learners have the opportunity to:

  • learn how to identify legal principles from Indigenous stories with knowledge holders;
  • reflect and discuss how these stories can shape community decision-making processes; and
  • learn about approaches to putting Indigenous law into action. 

Co-learners hear from local Elders and knowledge carriers and learn from RELAW partners who are working to uphold Indigenous law in the work they do. Current RELAW partners are working in the fields of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs), fisheries governance, watershed management, environmental assessment and various other spheres of Indigenous law and community engagement work.

Rayanna – You’ve been at West Coast for seven years. Staff lawyers on the RELAW team at West Coast work with Indigenous nations to develop and implement their own laws. 

Can you tell us a little about one of the partnerships RELAW is currently involved in, and the work you are doing together? 

The strategies and approaches with First Nations and RELAW projects vary, and there are generally about half a dozen RELAW projects ongoing at any given time. For example, one RELAW Project I work on as a lawyer is with the sməlqmíx (Lower Similkameen Indian Band), which has many different streams of work. 

The sməlqmíx are the syilx people of the Similkameen Valley, and RELAW works with them on the nʔaysnúlaʔxw (Ashnola) sməlqmíx Protected Area and its implementation strategies. The sməlqmíx are leading significant work in codifying their laws to express sməlqmíx / syilx legal principles related to their water, land, tmixw (‘four sacred ecosystems’) and the people of their territory.

As an ally and legally-trained person, I stand in solidarity with the sməlqmíx in standing up their law. In conjunction with this Indigenous law-based work, there are implementation strategies relating to Canadian common law reform, Crown negotiations, allyship building, communications and more. 

Look to the LSIB Ashnola Protected Area YouTube channel for more on this work.

What is your hope for RELAW in the next 10 years?

In 2026, RELAW will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary!  Over the next 10 years, we will continue to evolve  and enrich our programming, strengthen our internal processes, engage in relationship building, amplify the voices of RELAW Partners, refine our voice and purpose, and create spaces to share what we know. 

Other resources to check out:

1. This short film spotlights participants' experience during RELAW’s Co-Learning Retreat in June 2023, which took place on Tla-o-qui-aht, nuučaan̓uł territory (Tofino, BC)

2. RELAW was privileged to support and witness incredible examples of Indigenous law in action in 2024 – here is a recap. 

West Coast Environmental Law Program Spotlight Series:

Top photo: RELAW team members / Hayf Photography. Top row (L-R): Eugene Kung, Katłıà Lafferty, Navjot Jassar, Georgia Lloyd-Smith and Estella White – ḥin̓ačačišt; bottom row (L-R): Shawn Smith, Joanna El-Mikati, Jessica Clogg and Rayanna Seymour-Hourie. Background image of Graveyard Valley Lake by Lindsay Burrows.

Author
West Coast Environmental Law
Indigenous Law