The last word in Gitxaała’s Big Mining Challenge

Despite having only 2 weeks to prepare, Lisa Fong’s legal team, together with Gavin Smith of West Coast Environmental Law, presented so many pages in their 89-page submission of their closing arguments, they exceeded the upload bandwidth of the Law Courts’ portal. With just one day to sum it all up, Gitxaała’s lawyers did a…

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Gitxaała is Heading to Court

Legal challenges are like icebergs.  There is a mass of work involved in preparing arguments, collecting evidence from elders and community members, pulling together expert reports and interviewing plaintiffs. While the work of RAVEN supports that process every step of the way, it’s only when Nations are in court, at hearings, that all that work…

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Passing forward Grandmother wisdom, wrapped up as legal precedents

As we pick our way along a cedar-lined trail near Bella Bella, B.C.  elder Pauline Waterfall explains how her Heiltsuk traditions have been “passed forward” to her.  Having suffered through colonial onslaughts of genocide and residential schools, the resilience that Pauline embodies goes much further than just cultural survival. When you follow her into the…

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VIDEO: Groundswell Indigenous Mining Summit

Last night, we hosted an absolutely riveting conversation that should motivate anyone with a sense of justice to get behind Gitxaala’s mining challenge. The passionate arguments that presenters brought forward illuminated the genius of pairing the deep wisdom of land-based tradition carriers with the brightest legal strategists in the country.  Have a listen.  Chat Transcript…

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John Borrows – On Mindfulness, and Indigenous Law

John Borrows is a member of RAVEN’s legal advisory panel and is co-founder of the joint Common Law and Indigenous Law program at the University of Victoria, the first of its kind. He spoke as part of Sorrento Centre’s Mindfulness and Indigenous Law Conference, sharing beautiful stories and teachings on Indigenous law from his Chippewan of the Nawash Nation and ancestors.

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