(Photo Credit: Doig River First Nations)

By Nathaniel Leigh

Nov. 19-21, 2025

First Nation Court Conference taking place in Dawson Creek

Nov 19, 2025 | 10:06 AM

Doig River First Nation is hosting a national gathering centered around Indigenous law Wednesday, Nov. 19-21, in Dawson Creek, B.C..

Walking the Path of Justice: First Nations Court Conference 2025, is a gathering focused on Indigenous law, restorative justice and community-driven solutions to how justice is delivered in Canada.

The event brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous leaders, legal professionals, Elders, policy makers and scholars to explore the recognition and implementation of Indigenous legal traditions within Canadian Law.

The conference is inspired in part by ongoing efforts to establish an Indigenous court in Fort St. John, B.C., and aims to challenge punitive systems that Doig River First Nation believes have failed Indigenous communities.

The Doig River First Nation Council says Indigenous adults in B.C. are incarcerated at eight times the rate of non-Indigenous people and that high incarceration rates have not improved public safety.

The council says the conference is a call for a paradigm shift in how justice is understood and delivered in Canada.

The conference is on Nov. 19-21, at the Ovintiv Events Centre.