RAVEN is in a phase of growth! Which means we get to welcome incredible people like Aneri Garg to the team. Aneri has a plethora of experience in the movement-building and organizing worlds, which she will be applying to her work at RAVEN through leading our peer-to-peer and grassroots donor programs.
Trained as a biologist, anti-oppressive facilitator & science communicator, Aneri is a creative cross-disciplinary pollinator; using skills in relationship building, campaigning, media production, research, and advocacy to uplift work that cares for People and Planet. She has worked in academia and non-profits for the past 7 years and is excited to be joining the Development Team at RAVEN. Continue reading to hear more from Aneri about what brought her to RAVEN and what inspires her to do this work.
What drew you to working with RAVEN?
I’ve had a trans-disciplinary career – from working in conservation biology, to media production and science communication, to climate campaigning and anti-oppression facilitation. Woven throughout these callings have been the threads of integrating justice, relational leadership, and creativity -values I see reflected in how RAVEN operates. I was especially drawn to use and deepen my skills in grassroots fundraising and relationship development at RAVEN because it is one of the most impactful Indigenous-led organizations centering Indigenous rights as a key pathway to climate justice, human rights, and the protection of Land and Waters.
Audre Lorde teaches us that the tools of the oppressor will not liberate us. I see RAVEN’s work of upholding Indigenous laws under the current colonial western legal system as one of the components in a constellation of tactics towards collective liberation. This work is a lesson in real-time; we must all exist within the hypocrisy of surviving oppressive systems while also envisioning and enacting world-building work (like centering Indigenous legal principles) to guide us towards a more just future. The mission to protect the human rights of Indigenous peoples and to protect the planet go hand-in-hand -and RAVEN is where it’s lived out in real time.
I also respect and admire the educational and community-building components RAVEN integrates into their work. Their reputation for hosting art and community-building nights, producing high-quality accessible media, and the attention to detail on their educational campaigns are so effective at engaging and mobilizing folks. I’ve seen just how powerful this small team is from the outside. It’s been an honour to join such a skilled and passionate group of people!
What is your favourite part of the job so far?
The people! As someone who gets to interact with grassroots donors and peer-to-peer fundraisers, I truly have such a heart-warming portfolio. Each day, I get to hear from everyday people who just want to use their skills, time, and resources towards upholding Indigenous rights — not just as a pathway towards environmental protection, but as a key right to sustain and amplify Indigenous ways of being. Even in the short time I’ve been here, this has looked like people getting creative and reaching out to find out how they can help — from volunteering their time tabling at events, organizing open mic fundraisers, and coordinating concert fundraisers! I get to witness the goodness of people who just want to do what they can to help. I’m so grateful to receive that good energy and amplify these labours of love!
Beyond the work we’re focused on to fundraise for First Nations engaged in litigation, how we work together is so important to me. It’s no secret that the Non-profit sector can be an industry rife with passion exploitation, hierarchy, and a sprinkling of white supremacy culture characteristics (perfectionism, urgency, etc.). While no workplace is perfect, I respect the way I see decolonization in action in how this team operates and the work being put into creating long-term culture shifts. I have already seen modelled work-life balance, an attitude of open communication and collaboration, and a deep sense that people are prioritized. It’s been great getting the opportunity to learn and contribute to a culture of care so we can sustain this work well. It feels great getting to work with such smart, empathetic, collaborative humans!
Is there anything else that you are bringing to your position that you are excited to integrate into your work at RAVEN? Whether from your career experience or personal life experience?
As I mentioned already, I’ve had a fairly trans-disciplinary, non-linear career (ahem, neurospicy even!). I have embraced my generalist-leaning tendencies, which means I get to integrate different skills wherever I am (and am even encouraged and supported to be creative!).
I’m excited to tie together threads of collective action, art, science, event planning, community organizing, fundraising, data management and relationship building into this work!
What does Indigenous sovereignty mean to you or look like to you?
We live under racial capitalism, and here in Canada, we live in an occupying state built on the forcible land dispossession and genocide of its people. Settler colonialism relies on the silence of settlers in response to continued extraction and harm to Lands and Peoples. So, to me, Indigenous sovereignty means decision-making lying with the Peoples on whose lands we reside on, settlers taking on the responsibility of interrupting ongoing harm to Indigenous Lands and Peoples, and Land Back. In a day-to-day sense, this looks like getting comfortable with the uncertainty of being in the process of Land Back, redistributing wealth and resources through a voluntary annual land-back tax (especially if any wealth is built through resource extraction on Indigenous lands), and learning the local context/history of colonization and Indigenous cultures where you live.
I think these things can look/feel really daunting if you’re at a point in your learning journey of feeling lost, shame, helpless, scared or uncertain. What’s often given me hope or stamina when these feelings have come up for myself is leaning into the value of curiosity and the beauty of community. For example, when gift giving, I may ask friends if they know any local Indigenous artists I could support, or keep an eye on current events, if there are any calls from the local community/regional First Nations to show up for a protest/court hearing or fundraiser. Or, when I make a mistake, I know I have trusted friends I can turn to for support to keep learning repair skills. I also think it’s important to carry humility in any of these learnings —it’s so easy to compare ourselves to others and think “oh, they know better” or “What if I say/do the wrong thing?” We’re all in the process of learning— it’s exciting to get to learn better, then do better! I sort of went off topic here with the original question, but I still think it’s important to mention.
What makes you feel connected to the land or water? Do you have any practices that keep you grounded in the natural world?
Spending time together. In the same way I feel connected to my friends and family when we spend time together, I feel connected to Land and Water when we spend time together! As a self-described amphibian, I love when my dog takes me on walks and hikes, snorkelling and free-diving with my friends, paddling by canoe or kayak, and engaging in habitat restoration in service to the Nations on whose lands I live and love on. If anyone is looking for recommendations, I highly recommend checking out all the volunteer opportunities that Habitat Acquisition Trust, Surfrider, Gorge Waterway Action Society or Peninsula Streams offer! I’m still relatively new to Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ territories, so I’m excited to spend more time with community and with the lands and waters around here.
What’s something that brought you joy in the last year?
Well, my dog makes me laugh at least 5 times a day with her expressions and antics. But really, this has been such a year of transformation and transition (I’m looking at you wood snake energy!). Deepening into reciprocal relationships and friendships full of joy, political engagement and education, goofiness, singing, dancing, making food together, grieving together, making art and getting to show up in the everyday small ways brings me so much contentment and joy. Oh, and I can’t forget K-Pop Demon Hunters, Wicked 2, and Heated Rivalry!
It’s also been a year where I got to help welcome twin nibblings into our family. Whenever I feel unstable or uncertain about the world we currently live in, I think about the world I hope they’ll inherit. Along with my other nibblings, they are a living reminder of the fiery radical hope I carry in my heart for the steps we can take every day to resist these oppressive systems that feel unshakable (can I hear an “all empires fall!”). I am grateful to learn from them and am so excited to see who they will keep becoming!
Is there anything else you want the RAVEN community to know or any message you want to share with our supporters?
If you’re ever curious about RAVEN or what it would take to host your own fundraiser, I am truly so happy and eager to connect with you! It could be anything from, “I don’t want stuff for my birthday, but I’d love for my dear ones to redirect funds to a RAVEN campaign I believe in” to “I’m a musician and want to host an open mic fundraiser” to “my student group wants to host a trivia night” — the possibilities are endless, and the creativity of folks is inspiring!
