Posted in:
Indigenous Grants Stream Supports 20 Land-Based Projects
ICLC visit to Tsleil-Waututh Nation (səlilwətaɬ). Photo: Grady Mitchell
Indigenous Grants Stream Supports 20 Land-Based Projects
The Indigenous Grants Stream (IGS) supports Indigenous-led, land-based projects across what’s known as BC.
The program is built on respect, reciprocity, and recognition of Indigenous sovereignty. Guided by the Indigenous Community Leaders Circle (ICLC), funding from the IGS goes to projects that:
- Support Indigenous people in getting out on the land and water.
- Build Indigenous community leadership (especially among youth).
- Center Indigenous culture and knowledge.
- Advance Indigenous governance.
- Contribute to the assertion of Indigenous rights and title.
Currently, IGS applications are by invitation only. This process allows the ICLC and REFBC staff to build relationships and ensure funding reaches communities ready to engage. Recognizing that meaningful change takes time, multi-year funding is offered when appropriate.
In 2025–26, the ICLC approved $3,532,600 in grants to support 20 Indigenous-led, land-based projects through the IGS.
The members of the ICLC are Norm Allard Jr., Marilyn Baptiste, Ryan Day, Johnny Mack, and Taylor Wale (Luu’Maja). Many thanks to Dana Moraes and Jalissa Moody of Sa̱nala Planning for facilitation.
REFBC created the ICLC in 2022, and funding from the IGS first flowed to projects in 2023.
Grants — 2025–26
| Organization | Project | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| ʔaq̓am | apak̓inⱡu·k̓uʔnaⱡ ʔiti¢k̓u | $232,500 |
| Coastal Foodways Society | Catalytic Support for Central Coast Food Champions | $146,600 |
| Dena Kayeh Institute | National Kaska Elders Council | $146,600 |
| Gwagwa̱ltama Revitalization Society | Knowledge Rooted in the Land: Land-Based Kwakwaka’wakw Knowledge Revitalization | $60,000 |
| Indigenous Physical Activity and Cultural Circle Association | Indigenous Land-Based Physical Activity Training for Canoe Warriors | $146,600 |
| Kanaka Bar Indian Band (T’eqt’aqtn’mux) | Kanaka Bar Food Self-Sufficiency Initiatives | $146,600 |
| Lax’yip Firekeepers Association | Lax’yip Stewardship Initiative | $232,500 |
| ⱡkamnin̓tik Childrens Truth and Reconciliation Society | Speaking From the Heart: A Healing Resource for Indigenous Language Revitalization | $232,500 |
| Moccasin Footprint Society | Te Tímeltk (To Go to Higher Areas) | $146,600 |
| Nawalakw Community Foundation | Summer Internship Program | $146,600 |
| Saulteau First Nations | Trails and Caribou Habitat: Saulteau Indigenous Knowledge | $146,600 |
| Seeds to Bloom Society (Vines Art Festival Society) | Mellélc (Take Time for Yourself to Rest) | $232,500 |
| Shuswap Band (Kenpesq’t) | Steel Bridge Revitalization/Columbia River Park | $232,500 |
| Swiilawiid Sustainability Society | Future Peoples: Youth Action Fellowship | $146,600 |
| Tla-o-qui-aht Language Keepers (Clayoquot Biosphere Trust Society) | Healing Through Canoe, Language, and Inter-Nation Relationship | $232,500 |
| Tŝilhqot’in Nen Gwa Nits’inʔin – Chiefs for the People (Right Relations Collaborative Society) | Tŝilhqot’in Nen Gwa Nits’inʔin (Chiefs for the People) | $146,600 |
| Ts’msyen Culture Society | Ha’lilaxsi’wah | $146,600 |
| Tū’dese’chō Wholistic Indigenous Leadership Development Society | Tene Mehodihi Youth Leadership | $146,600 |
| Upper Nicola Band | Syilx Ways of Being: Mentorship Project | $232,500 |
| West Coast Institute of Culture, Art and Language Society | Cultural Re-marks: Re-marking Territory Through Art, Culture, and Language | $232,500 |
Quotes — Indigenous Community Leaders Circle
“As a member of the Indigenous Community Leaders Circle since 2022, I have been very lucky to connect with so many grounded, innovative, and generous community leaders through this work. I would like to applaud each of the Indigenous Grants Stream recipients for the incredible work they do for their lands, communities, and cultures. T’oyaxsi’nism for all of the knowledge shared and energy put towards caring for future generations.”
Taylor Wale (Luu’Maja)
“Over the past year, it has been a pleasure to work with the REFBC team, Sa̱nala Planning, and the Indigenous Community Leaders Circle. These projects reflect substantive regenerative work happening in Indigenous communities across BC — work grounded in land, culture, governance, language, and intergenerational responsibility. I appreciate the care being taken to support Indigenous-led initiatives in ways that advance community priorities and build relationships over time.”
Johnny Mack
“Being part of the Indigenous Community Leaders Circle means having the ability to direct resources toward the priorities that communities themselves have identified. There is no shortage of knowledge in these communities; there has only been a system that didn’t have any mechanisms to accommodate their needs. I am grateful to be part of a group that can bring a change to that system through the Indigenous Grants Stream.”
Norm Allard Jr.
“I am so grateful for the gift of being able to work with my fellow ICLC members and being attached to such a vast array of projects that reach far into the future through real intergenerational relationships amongst peoples and their homelands. The recipients are Transformers — taking what funding we can send them, transforming it with their hands and voices into natural world investments that will pay dividends to our peoples and their homelands and all that depend on them far into the future.”
Ryan Day
REFBC is committed to supporting the advancement of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Ensuring Indigenous people are active in the decision-making processes for grants supporting land-based work is connected to upholding UNDRIP Articles 18, 26, and 28.
Published on: May 2, 2026
SHARE