Geoscience BC’s Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Advisory Council is made up of Indigenous volunteers and is a committee of the Geoscience BC Board of Directors.
The Council’s purpose, functions and responsibilities are to provide advice and recommendations to the Board on matters related, but not limited, to:
- Guiding GBC’s role in reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples;
- Developing key performance indicators to measure GBC’s progress towards reconciliation;
- Integrating Indigenous needs, principles and Traditional Knowledge into GBC research and planning;
- Being a safe place to share and test ideas that progress Indigenous reconciliation;
- Enhancing Indigenous voices in GBC research and governance;
- Developing Indigenous engagement principles to guide GBC’s engagement approach and advise GBC’s contracted researchers ‘on the ground’;
- Understanding data sovereignty for Indigenous communities and responsible use of GBC data by end users;
- Identifying ways GBC can help build lasting geoscience-related capacity in Indigenous communities; and
- Considering GBC’s geographically limited scope and potential to expand beyond BC’s provincial borders with Indigenous leadership guidance and support.