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Funds approved for Indigenous heritage training in Burnaby

The City of Burnaby is looking to be a better steward of Indigenous heritage.
burnaby city hall
Burnaby City Hall.

The City of Burnaby is looking to be a better steward of Indigenous heritage.

The community heritage commission requested $1,500 in funding from council to hire a consultant to provide members of the commission with training on “best practices for local governments on recognizing and providing stewardship for Indigenous heritage resources.”

The request emerged out of a November 2019 presentation to the commission on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action for local governments.

“Commissioners responded to the report by expressing interest in learning more about how the work of Truth and Reconciliation could be incorporated as part of the city's heritage program,” reads a staff report to the heritage commission.

As a result, staff was directed to find ways for the commission to support the TRC calls to action, and they returned to the commission in January to recommend professional training.

In particular, the training is intended to address the TRC’s call to action No. 47, which calls on all levels of government to “repudiate concepts used to justify European sovereignty over Indigenous Peoples and lands.”

City council approved the funding request, and a training session has been proposed for April 2020 at a community heritage commission meeting.