UBC lawsuit over land acknowledgements sparks Indigenous, legal backlash

Alawsuitfiled by fourUBCprofessors and a former graduate student in BC’s Supreme Court argues that the university’s widely practiced land acknowledgements are political, and therefore against provincial law. But legal scholars and Indigenous leaders warn it will undermine progress on Indigenous land rights and reconciliation.The professors cite the provincial University Act, which says universities must be non-political and non-sectarian, and argue that by using words like “unceded” — meaning the land was never surrendered through treaty agreements — the land acknowledgments say Canada’s land is “stolen” and question the legitimacy of the state itself.This, they say, forces faculty and students to conform to the institution’s political views.The petitioners fromUBCOkanagan include philosophy professor Andrew Irvine, political science associate professor Brad Epperly, and English and cultural studies associate professor Michael Treschow. The petitioners fromUBCVancouver are political sc...