New Legal Guide Provides Roadmap for Challenging Indigenous Rights Violations in Provincial Custody

St. John’s, NL – A new legal guide released today by First Light argues that Indigenous people in provincial custody are likely being denied legal rights to access culturally appropriate programming and services. It also outlines several legal avenues through which Indigenous individuals, Nations, and organizations may challenge those violations.

The publication, Claiming Our Rights, is intended for Indigenous governments and organizations seeking to advance Indigenous rights within the provincial corrections system. Its companion booklet, Know Your Rights, is written for current and former Indigenous inmates to help them understand their legal rights and provide more fully informed instructions to their legal representatives.

The guides serve as companion documents to First Light’s March 2026 report, Overrepresented and Undercounted: A Snapshot of Indigenous Adult Incarceration in Newfoundland and Labrador. That report found that more than 4 out of every 10 inmates in the province are Indigenous and that Indigenous people are incarcerated at a rate 8 times higher than non-Indigenous people. It also documented limited access to Indigenous cultural programming, low awareness and use of Gladue Reports, and a high rate of housing insecurity among inmates approaching release.

“Providing access to culturally appropriate supports for Indigenous people in provincial custody is not a nice-to-have. We believe the Province has legal obligations under the Correctional Services Act, human rights legislation, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to ensure these services are available. This is about dignity, rehabilitation, and the basic rights of Indigenous people in custody.”

Stacey Howse, President and CEO of First Light.

First Light is currently engaged in discussions with the Department of Justice and Public Safety to determine a collaborative path forward to restore access to cultural programming at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary in St. John’s and the correctional centre in Clarenville. While those efforts are ongoing, Indigenous people at these two facilities still do not have access to Indigenous cultural programming – four months after the release of Overrepresented and Undercounted. The Province has not allocated sufficient resources to deliver those services, despite a commitment, made in circle with Elders, to develop a workplan within six weeks following that report’s release.

Both guides are available online at firstlightnl.ca. First Light encourages those in the legal community to circulate them widely.

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