Posts by Maia Wikler
Elderberry Farmers in Solidarity with Secwepemc
For RAVEN’s “In Conversation” series via Instagram, we spoke with Louise Lecouffe from Elderberry Grove about her inspiring efforts to fundraise for RAVEN’s campaign supporting Secwepmenc Nation. For the last 12,000 years, the Stk’emlupsemc te Secwepemc Nation has managed the land and resources of their unceded territory in interior B.C. Their traditional knowledge and stewardship…
Read MoreArt as Activism with Fanny Aishaa
The power of art can move us to bring about change. Art can be an essential tool in mobilizing communities to act for justice by spurring the capacity to imagine a better world. Fanny Aishaa is a renowned visual artist and muralist whose work has coloured streets from Montreal to community spaces in Brazil and…
Read MoreMobilizing passion into action with Mary Lovell
Mary Lovell has spent the last decade dedicated to the dynamic intricacies of organizing for climate justice and Indigenous rights. From supporting the Tiny House Warriors and rappelling from Vancouver’s Ironworkers Memorial Bridge in an aerial blockade to stop tanker traffic, to raising tens of thousands of dollars for Pull Together to support the Indigenous-led…
Read MoreRAVEN’s 10 Recommended Indigenous Reads
Despite the stay-at-home orders and canceled holiday gatherings, this winter can be the perfect time to retreat inward, curl up by the fire with a hot cup of tea and a good book. Let the words, stories and visions of these incredible writers be a balm during these cold nights and challenging times. Special thanks…
Read MoreWhat Impacts the Orcas Will Impact Us All
During the summer of 2018, a stunned world watched in sorrow as a mother orca, Tahlequah, carried her dead newborn for at least 17 days for over 1,000 miles off the Pacific Northwest coast in an unprecedented display of grief. Tahlequah is a member of the J Pod of Southern Resident Killer Whales. The orcas…
Read MoreSecwepemc Nation: Reclaiming Land, Sustaining Culture
RAVEN envisions a day when Secwepemc Nation’s title to the land is reflected in land use practices that incorporate the caretaker values that have kept this land and waters healthy since time immemorial. RAVEN is excited to be working with Stk’emlupsemc te Secwepemc Nation to secure Aboriginal title to unceded traditional territory in interior B.C.…
Read MoreA Key Strategy to Stop the Tar Sands: International Alliance
In northern Alberta, Beaver Lake Cree Nation has stewarded the lands since time immemorial. But now, their traditional territory has become ground zero for dirty fossil fuel expansion. The tar sands involve both open-pit mining of bitumen, and ‘in-situ’ steam extraction to pull bitumen from deep within the Earth. Both methods cause devastating water pollution…
Read MoreIndigenous Stewardship is true Conservation: We Need to Move Beyond Eco-Colonialism
Since time immemorial, Indigenous Peoples have stewarded the lands and waters in this place now known as Canada. Through advanced practices, grounded in Indigenous law, these ways of knowing and being have supported abundant, thriving ecosystems. Historically Canada’s approach to conservation was grounded in a romanticized idea of an empty, untouched, pristine wilderness devoid of…
Read MoreCOVID 19: No excuse to delay reconciliation
While pipeline construction, man camps and resource extraction continued unencumbered throughout the pandemic, long standing commitments to Indigenous rights and reconciliation are taking a back seat. The pandemic has jeopardized delivery of the Canadian government’s reconciliation commitments, including a promise to end all long-term boil-water advisories on First Nation’s reserves by next March. The September…
Read MoreLummi Leads Cross-Border Action and Solidarity to stop TMX
Amid a climate crisis, the assertion of Indigenous rights in the courts is a powerful tool that supersedes electoral politics. Parties may come and go, but legal precedents leave an enduring legacy for future generations. We’ve seen four years of politics that touted a ‘reconciliation agenda’ — while steamrolling Indigenous nation’s concerns about expanding pipelines. In…
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