Remembering Joan Phillip: A lifetime of advocacy, leadership, and service

By the time Joan Phillip, Amshen, was elected to the BC Legislature, she had already spent decades advocating for her community and her people.

Long before she took a seat in Victoria, Phillip had built a life around Indigenous advocacy, community work and supporting some of British Columbia’s most vulnerable people.

Phillip, the NDP MLA for Vancouver-Strathcona and longtime Indigenous leader, died August 28 at the age of 74.

She leaves behind a legacy that reaches far beyond provincial politics.

A member of the Penticton Indian Band and the Syilx Okanagan Nation, Phillip worked as a youth counsellor at Britannia Secondary School, served as education and program director at the Aboriginal Friendship Centre and later worked as lands manager for the Penticton Indian Band.

She also maintained a deep connection to Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, where she grew up and later worked.

FIRST UNITED remembered Phillip as a friend and vocal supporter of its work in the neighbourhood, including its redevelopment project.

Her community involvement extended well beyond Vancouver.

For more than two decades, Phillip and her husband, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, supported the Neil Squire Society’s work with Indigenous and non-Indigenous people with disabilities, including the development of its Footprints Centre in Penticton.

BC’s Representative for Children and Youth Jennifer Charlesworth also remembered Phillip for her deep commitment to young people and families, and her understanding of the importance of culture, connection and community.

Phillip’s own path was not without hardship.

For a woman who had overcome hardship, returned to school, spent decades advocating for her people and eventually entered the legislature herself, the words carried particular weight.

Her story would eventually take her somewhere she had visited many times before: the BC Legislature.

In 2023, Phillip crossed from advocacy outside government to a seat on the floor of the House, winning a byelection in Vancouver-Mount Pleasant. She became the second First Nations woman elected to the BC Legislature, following her predecessor Melanie Mark.

Phillip was re-elected the following year in the newly drawn riding of Vancouver-Strathcona and later appointed parliamentary secretary for community development and non-profits.

But entering government did not appear to diminish the convictions that brought her there.

In April 2026, Phillip told Premier David Eby she could not support his government’s proposed legislation to suspend parts of BC’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. Eby later acknowledged her position and changed his government’s approach.

It was a striking moment for a government MLA, but one that fit the life Phillip had led.

Indigenous rights and sovereignty had been at the centre of her work long before she was elected. National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak recalled speaking with Phillip as she fought a proposal to suspend BC’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.

Following her death, Eby called Phillip an “epic fighter” who dedicated her life to making the world “better and fairer.”

But those who knew Phillip remember more than the fighter.

They remember someone who laughed easily, loved her family and gave generously.

Phillip was an avid hunter and beader. Her obituary notes she frequently gave away earrings she had made.

MLA Dana Lajeunesse remembered learning from Phillip and hearing stories about her grandfather, Chief Dan George. Among his memories was something much simpler: making her laugh.

MLA Jennifer Blatherwick remembered Phillip’s steady courage, but also her kindness.

She told Sitka Media that Phillip rarely let a conversation pass without sharing pictures of her children and grandchildren — and was just as enthusiastic about seeing everyone else’s.

That generosity also crossed political lines.

MLA Á’a:líya Warbus remembered going through a difficult day in Victoria when Phillip gave her a pair of handmade beaded earrings.

Warbus later thanked her in the House, joking that Indigenous fashion was non-partisan.

For Warbus, the small gesture captured something larger about Phillip: her warmth and generosity could reach across political lines.

As a fellow Indigenous woman in the legislature, Warbus said Phillip’s presence also meant a great deal to her.

“She showed young Indigenous women and girls that we belong in every room where decisions are being made and that there are no limits to what we can achieve,” Warbus told Sitka Media.

“Her representation mattered, and the example she set will continue opening doors for generations to come.”

Melanie Mark, the first First Nations woman elected to the BC Legislature, remembered Phillip as a fearless First Nations warrior, matriarch and compassionate advocate — and fondly recalled the moments they spent paddling together.

The BC Federation of Labour remembered the same balance of strength and warmth, describing Phillip as a friend to working people who brought “wisdom and contagious joy” to every room she entered.

That strength remained visible through the final months of her life.

Speaker Raj Chouhan told Sitka Media that members on both sides of the House watched Phillip continue participating in chamber proceedings from her hospital bed.

He remembered someone as committed to her responsibilities as an MLA as she was to her family, friends and the Nations she held dear.

“I don’t know that I’ve met anyone stronger than Joan Phillip,” Chouhan said.

Her family remained at the centre of her life.

Phillip shared 49 years with Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, longtime president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, and took immense pride in her children, grandchildren, and family.

Attorney General Niki Sharma remembered Phillip’s pride in her family and the bond between Joan and Stewart, describing theirs as one of the strongest she had ever witnessed.

The Okanagan Nation Alliance said Phillip’s leadership, advocacy and love for the Syilx Okanagan Nation and Indigenous nations would remain part of her legacy.

And while becoming an MLA was one of the most visible chapters of her life, Phillip often placed that accomplishment within a much longer story.

In one of her speeches to the legislature, she reflected on colonialism, the losses endured by Indigenous peoples and the work still required toward reconciliation.

She then turned to her grandfather, Chief Dan George, who had envisioned Indigenous people using education and new skills to rebuild and strengthen their communities.

Decades later, his granddaughter stood as an elected member of the BC Legislature.

Looking around the chamber, Phillip offered her own conclusion.

“We are his dream come true.”

Joan Phillip, Amshen, spent much of her life fighting to change institutions from the outside.

In the final chapter of her public life, she took her place inside one of them — without leaving that fight behind.