B.C. Conservatives leader directs MLAs to use 'Indian' instead of 'First Nations'

Kerry-Lynne Findlay, who was elected B.C. Conservatives leader in May, has directed MLAs to stop using the term "First Nations" and instead use Indigenous, Aboriginal, or Indian.

According to a report from Business in Vancouver, Findlay's team pointed to the federal Indian Act as justification for the shift. The directive is apparently in response to the term First Nations being viewed as a woke description and language from the left.

The term Indian is widely considered outdated and often offensive. While it is a legal term for someone registered under the Indian Act and used in that context, the University of British Columbia's Indigenous Foundations notes it has a "complex, often idiosyncratic colonial use in governing identity through this legislation." Aboriginal refers to the first inhabitants of Canada and includes First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. First Nations is used to describe Indigenous people in Canada who are not Métis nor Inuit. Inuit are groups of people who live in the far north and, under Canadian law, are not considered "Indians."

Findlay faced scrutiny from critics over past positions on Indigenous issues while running for party leadership, including when she questioned another candidate's objectivity on Indigenous issues because his wife is Indigenous.

HighOnCity reached out to the B.C. Conservatives for comment on the directive.