B.C. First Nations Heritage is living heritage.
From our stories and songs to gathering places and basket designs, to legal traditions and knowledge systems – our heritage program helps us to understand who we are and how to live. We know that there is an urgent need to protect Indigenous heritage, now and into the future.
FPCC is working to empower communities to steward their heritage through our grants, programs and by providing opportunities to bring people together to share knowledge.
Current Heritage Funding Opportunities
See below for the list of Heritage grants and programs currently accepting applications. Click on each program title to learn more.
We post information videos for each program. When the information session is available it will be posted on each program page. If you have any questions about the content or program please contact the staff member listed at the bottom of the program page.
NEW FPCC Funding Guidelines
The First Peoples’ Cultural Council Funding Guidelines for all programs is now available. This guide provides general information applicable to all FPCC programs and grants applications. We encourage all applicants to review, but this will be especially helpful for first-time applicants.
Cultural Practices Grant – closed
The Cultural Practices Grant (CPG) supports B.C. First Nations in planning, carrying out and documenting community-based cultural practices and events that affirm identities, foster a sense of belonging, and celebrate the roles, relationships and responsibilities within a community.
Heritage Stewardship Program – closed
This program provides funding for training and support for Indigenous people to act as stewards and experts of their cultures and heritage through four funding streams: Climate Change, Digitization and Archiving, Oral Histories and Protocols and Sense of Place.
It supports projects with a strong focus on mentorship, education, training and/or intergenerational learning and knowledge transfer.
Heritage Infrastructure Program – closed
This program offers funding to B.C. First Nations communities and organizations, and First Nations-led museums and cultural spaces in B.C. The goal of this program is to support projects that conserve, repair or develop Indigenous heritage infrastructure.
Braided Knowledge Grant – closed
The Braided Knowledge grant funds projects that demonstrate and reflect the holistic and interconnected nature of Indigenous arts, language and cultural heritage, leading to outcomes that are essential to the revitalization of First Nations cultures.
Braided Infrastructure Pilot Project – closed
The Braided Infrastructure Pilot Project (BIP) is a one-time funding opportunity that is being led by the FPCC Heritage and Arts Programs. Up to $250,000 in funding is available to support B.C. First Nations’ infrastructure project that braids together arts, culture, heritage and languages.
Expression of Interest: Repatriation of ancestors and cultural treasures – closed
The Expression of Interest (EOI) supports B.C. First Nations efforts to repatriate their ancestors in alignment with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. EOI recipients may utilize this funding to implement a broad range of repatriation projects specific to bringing home their ancestors and cultural treasures.
Please see the guidelines for submission requirements.
Tools and Resources to Help You Get Started
To view the Heritage Stewardship Toolkit visit the FPCC Toolkit page
Important Documents:
View the Fact Sheet on Recognizing and Including Indigenous Cultural Heritage in B.C.
View the Policy Paper, Recognizing and Including Indigenous Cultural Heritage in B.C.
View the Legislation Review, A Selected Review of Federal and Provincial Legislation Implicating Indigenous Heritage in British Columbia
View the Report, Recommendations for Decolonizing B.C.’s Heritage-Related Processes and Legislation
2003 UNESCO Intangible Heritage Convention
News on changes to the B.C. Heritage Conservation Act
The Conversation article on science and traditional knowledge
