On Saturday March 9th, RAVEN teamed up with First Unitarians Church of Victoria to host an in-person and livestream conversation on how to live in solidarity and allyship with Indigenous Nations.
Watch the video here:
Located on the unceded lands of the WSANEC First Nations, The First Unitarians Church of Victoria is a welcoming community, energized by the diversity of beliefs and identity.
The legal landscape is often hard to understand to most. But our Campaigns Director, Leslie Anne, was there to break down some of the legal jargon that exists in the realm of Indigenous laws and reconciliation.
“There’s a lot of jargon and words that get thrown around that we don’t often get an explanation of. Sometimes it can be hard to find somebody to ask what they mean, or to even know who to ask, or what to be asking. So, I’m going to start at a really basic level because I want to make sure that everyone can understand and be part of the conversation.”
Leslie Anne St. Amour, RAVEN Campaigns Director
RAVEN’s Director of Communication, Andrea Palframan then talked about the work of RAVEN and how to put reconciliation into action. She had just returned from spending time in Gitxaala and Wet’suwet’en territory that morning, two Nations whose legal challenges RAVEN is supporting.
Andrea Palframan, RAVEN Director of Communications
“I met matriarch Antoinette Austin, a schoolteacher and Wet’suwet’en hereditary chief, who, when she spoke about bringing young children out on the land to learn their culture, spoke about the powerful connecting she fosters as a means of ‘occupying our hearts, while decolonizing our minds’.”
We would also like to give a big thanks to Elder Virgil Sampson of Tsartlip Nation, who took the time out of this day to open the event and share some of his wisdom and teachings.
If you’d like to learn more about Indigenous justice in Canada, sign up to our FREE self guided course, Home on Native Land. Through a series of 10 videos, illustrative cartoons and lessons, you are invited to take a walk down the back alley of history—and the frontlines of legal action.
