RAVEN (De)Briefs

S3 E5 Gitxaała Nation takes on the Mineral Tenure Act in B.C.

On this episode of RAVEN (De)Briefs we're looking at the roots of Gitxaała Nation's court case challenging the outdated and unjust Mineral Tenure Act (MTA) in B.C. 

Join host, Andrea Palframan, as she breaks down what the MTA is, and why we need to act in solidarity with Gitxaała Nation to reform mining in their territory, and all across B.C.

You'll hear from Chief Nees Hiwwas, Tara Marsden, and Jamie Kneen on this final instalment on the Gitxaała court case taking place throughout the month of April 2023.  

Donate to support the cost of the legal challenge: raventrust.com/gitxaala

S3 E4 Meet the Gitxaała Challenge Intervenors

It’s not every day that you get a chance to change the nature of big industries, like mining, but that’s what’s happening at the BC Supreme Court this April. On our third and final guest episode from the legal experts at Ng Ariss Fong, Ruben Tillman interviews legal counsels for two of the Nations who are intervening in Gitxaała Nation’s groundbreaking case, which takes aim at B.C.’s outdated and unjust Mineral Tenure Act. 

 

It’s been a long strange journey, from the fallout of a rogue mining company who despoiled sacred watersheds in Gitxaała territory to the assembling of a coalition of diverse yet committed intervenors who, one by one, have taken the stand to denounce the casual and discriminatory way mineral claims are handled in B.C. Protecting this one salmon-rich island, on B.C.’s north coast, is important enough: but if Gitxaała and their allies win, it will change mining regulations everywhere in B.C. 

To contribute to Gitxaała's legal challenge, visit https://raventrust.com/gitxaala

S3 E3 A different kind of mining company

Today on the podcast, we’ll hear from a different kind of mining company in B.C. First Tellerium are intervening in support of upholding First Nations’ Free Prior and Informed Consent over mining claims in their territories. 

 

In this guest episode, Ruben Tillman of Ng Ariss Fong interviews Tony Fogarassy, chairperson of First Tellurium Corp., about responsible mining in the age of UNDRIP. Hear from a mining company CEO how it’s good business to build relationships and get consent from First Nations before staking mineral claims. 

 

This is the second of three guest podcast episodes from the Ariss Fong team: we’re grateful to them as they put in long hours every day at BC Supreme Court this month, representing Gitxaała in court.

To support Gitxxala's legal challenge, visit https://raventrust.com/gitxaala

The Fight Against Big Mining: Guest Episode with Gitxaala Nation’s legal team

This April, Gitxaala Nation will be in court, pushing back against British Columbia’s outdated and unjust mining claims regime.  The case has garnered national attention as it is the first to put legislation based on implementing UNDRIP to the test.

As part of our work raising legal defence funds for Indigenous Nations, RAVEN gets to work with Nations like Gitxaala who are applying their own legal frameworks at the same time as expertly navigating colonial courts. Today on the podcast, we’ll hear about how those intersecting strategies come to life, from the powerhouse legal team of Ng Ariss Fong.

Support this case by donating or fundraising online : https://raventrust.com/gitxaala

The Constitution Express with Doreen Manuel

We sat down with Doreen Manuel, Secwepemc filmmaker and one of the organizers of the historic Constitution Express.  From her office at Capilano University, where she mentors a new generation of Indigenous media producers, Manuel shared stories and personal reflections from what was one of the most important Indigenous movements, ever. 

Season 2 Bonus: Private Prosecutions of Indigenous Land Defenders

Private corporations with the power to police and jail peaceful land defenders. Oil and gas interests ordering the violent arrest of Indigenous peoples. 

We'll dive into the shady world of corporate injunctions, lawsuits and prosecutions in this special bonus episode of RAVEN Debriefs, featuring guests Kai Nagata and Kris Statnyk.

 

S2 E8 Cedar Sisters: Haida lawyer Terri Lynn Williams Davidson

Terri-Lynn Williams Davidson - lawyer, singer, knowledge keeper and weaver of worlds. She hails from Haida Gwaii, a wild archipelago off of Canada’s west coast where bears, whales, otters and eagles all dwell in a lush coastal rainforest soaked in rain and salt water. 

We asked Terri Lynn about her story - how she became the counsel for the Haida Nation- an expert in both Canadian common law AND in the indigenous laws of the Haida people. She talks about how she brought the stories and laws which she was raised with into the courtroom when her Nation challenged powerful logging interests in the landmark Haida case at the Supreme Court of Canada. 

She also shares her perspectives on the defeat of Enbridge and on RAVEN's role in bringing together 8 Indigenous Nations to fight - and beat - the tar sands pipeline and tankers project.

Today’s show features the magnificent Terri Lynn Williams Davidson in conversation - and in song. Music on this episode is by Terri Lynn, Bill Henderson and Claire Lawrence, and  is from their latest album, “Grizzly Bear Town” available on iTunes, Spotify and Soundcloud. 

S2 E7 - Restorative Justice with John Reilly

Right now, across Turtle Island, we are experiencing a flowering of anti-racist activism. On the other hand, we still contend with a system where Indigneous Peoples make up 5% of the country’s population but more than 30% of the prison population. As an organization dedicated to seeking justice, RAVEN is joining the conversation about those gross inequalities.  Music by Snotty Nose Rez Kids.

S2 E6 Nancy Turner: Cultural Refugia

For the RAVEN (De)Briefs podcast “Indigenous Foodways” series, we spoke with celebrated author, distinguished professor emeritus and outstanding botanist Nancy Turner. She shared her perspectives from the decades of work she’s done travelling around the Canadian west, writing dozens of books and articles and, most importantly, cultivating friendships with Indigenous knowledge keepers. 

 

Turner combines a botanists’ understanding of classification and an ethnographers’ attunement to human culture. Here, she  reveals the intricacies of interspecies dynamics that form the basis of Indigenous People’s deep affinity to the lands and waters. 

S2 E5 Walking the Path of Respect with Ed Jensen

Part 2 of our series on Indigenous foodways and features Ed Jensen of Secwepemc Nation in south central British Columbia. 

Just as his Nation embarks on an historic Title Action to assert Indigenous sovereignty over traditional territories that were never ceded through treaty, Jensen is involved in practicing, teaching and breathing life into Secwepemc hunting traditions. Grounded in Secwepemc laws that were taught to him by his uncles and grandfather, Jensen is bringing those traditions forward by teaching new generations of Indigenous - and non-indigenous - people about  stewardship practices grounded in reciprocity and respect. 

The type of knowledge that Ed Jensen speaks about as a hunting guide and carrier of Secwepmec traditions is part of the evidence being gathered to form the basis of the Title case: proving that aboriginal ownership of, and jurisdiction over, lands and waters pre-dates colonization relies on oral histories like the ones Jensen is carrying. 

Jensen’s work involves not only carrying and passing knowledge, but in creating artistic and functional hunting tools based on the designs of his ancestors. He’s one of the world’s pre-eminent flint-snappers; his studio in Kamloops is full of beautifully wrought spears, arrowheads, and bone-handled knives that are made entirely from natural materials. Another way that Jensen shares his knowledge is through mentorship - just as his own uncles did with him, Ed is bringing up a new generation of Secwepmec hunters, and working to change the culture of hunting from the collection of trophies, which is what it has become in mainstream, colonial society, to a practice that is about deep attunement with the land and deep relationship with the animals themselves.