When the Land Speaks: DRIPA, the 1846 Oregon Treaty, and the Future of Right Relations
In 2019, British Columbia became the first jurisdiction in Canada to bring its laws into line with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, passing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act — DRIPA. Widely celebrated as precedent-setting, it marked an important step toward reconciliation: acknowledging the dispossession on which the province was built and finding a just way for settlers and First Nations to share these lands. In the wake of recent court rulings, a political push to suspend parts of DRIPA has made this a live and urgent question for everyone who lives here.
Much of that debate rests on a treaty most settlers have never heard of. Signed on June 15, 1846, between British and American representatives, the Oregon Treaty is usually remembered simply as the line that set the border west of the Rockies — but it became the colonial justification for the Crown's claim of title to the lands we now call British Columbia. Yet the treaty says not a word about the 100,000 or more Indigenous people already living on these lands. Understanding that history is essential to understanding what is really at stake in the fight over DRIPA today.
Join us for an evening of learning, reflection, and honest conversation about our shared responsibilities on this land.
The evening program
6:00 — Doors open
6:30 — Welcome and Land Acknowledgement
Reflection and presentation from Jodi Spargur
Talk and discussion with Dr. John Price and Dr. Lorna Wanosts'a7 Williams
Q&A with all speakers
8:30 — Close
Registration
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Our speakers
Dr. John Price and Dr. Lorna Wanosts'a7 Williams (Líl'wat) are the authors of the recent working paper DRIPA, the 1846 Oregon Treaty and the Future of Indigenous-Settler Relations (BC Policy Solutions, 2026). Dr. Williams is Professor Emerita of Indigenous Education at the University of Victoria, the province's first Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Knowledge and Learning, and a recipient of the Order of Canada. Dr. Price is Professor Emeritus of History at UVic and a public historian whose work centres Indigenous-settler relations in the Pacific Northwest. Together they will trace the colonial roots of the current crisis and point toward what a just path forward could look like.
Jodi Spargur is the author of Mend: An Invitation from Jesus to Return to Land-Based Repair and accompanies Christian communities in Vancouver and beyond on their journeys into reconciliation. Her reflection will explore what other faith communities are doing to support DRIPA, offer a contemplative journey through images of the Cowichan lands, and open scripture's witness to how the land itself speaks — inviting us to listen as we consider our own commitments to right relations. Read more about Jodi’s work at Red Clover