News

No fooling, it’s our birthday: buy yourself — or someone you love — a present in RAVEN’s new online shop!

By Andrea Palframan / April 1, 2023 /

For our birthday, we’ve got a surprise for you. We’ve been quietly putting the finishing touches on our new Online Shop, where we’re featuring high quality, sustainably sourced t-shirts, tote bags, mugs and touques featuring art by Indigenous creators like Mark Gauti (Coast Salish) and the late Mervyn Windsor (Heiltusk-Haisla). 

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

By Jamie-Leigh Gonzales / March 30, 2023 /

This episode of RAVEN Debriefs is a guest episode put together by Gitxaala’s legal team at Ng Ariss Fong.

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Gitxaała is Heading to Court

By Andrea Palframan / March 21, 2023 /

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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A lone surf scoter in the water

Meet the Surf Scoter: A biodiversity indicator for Gitxaala Nation

By Jamie-Leigh Gonzales / March 13, 2023 /

If there is one thing we know about life on Earth, it’s that humans cannot exist without being in relationship to the natural world around us. Indigenous ways of being teach that we are a part of nature, not the owners of it: resources are gifts, not commodities. And, the only way to ensure the…

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‘Our home on native land’: How a lyric change sparked long overdue reflections

By RAVEN / March 10, 2023 /

During the NBA’s All-Star Weekend in February, singer Jully Black made a bold statement when singing Canada’s national anthem. Performing live in a full stadium in Salt Lake City, the Toronto born singer altered the lyric “Home and native land” to “Home on Native Land” with emphasizing the word “on.” Now, RAVEN is urging everyone…

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A Night of Brazilian Music in Support of Gitxaala — April 2, 2023

By Karissa Chandrakate / February 17, 2023 /

***This event has been rescheduled to April 2, 2023.*** Gitxaala Nation has launched a groundbreaking legal challenge that aims at B.C.’s outdated Mineral Tenure Act. Currently, the province allows anyone with $25 and a laptop to stake a mining claim without having to notify the Nation whose territory they’re prospecting on.  RAVEN is so grateful…

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Photo of Carly from the bust up, looking at the camera with a smile. She stands in front of a cloudy/foggy background

Introducing: Carly Eldstrom, RAVEN’s new Development Director

By Jamie-Leigh Gonzales / February 17, 2023 /

RAVEN is welcoming back Carly Eldstrom, former RAVEN grant writer and now our newest Development Director! Carly recently graduated from Columbia University with a masters degree in Nonprofit Management, and we couldn’t be more excited to have her back on the RAVEN team in this new capacity. 

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Job Posting: Administrative Assistant

By RAVEN / February 13, 2023 /

RAVEN is hiring an Administrative Assistant! The Administrative Assistant reports directly to the Operations Manager, works closely and collaboratively with the Accountant, and will be required to perform a wide range of duties to assist with organizational support.

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RAVEN reflections with Susan Smitten: gratitude and greatness

By RAVEN / February 9, 2023 /

We caught up with Susan Smitten, who has helmed RAVEN as  Executive Director for 14 amazing years. Smitten is stepping away from her job this spring, making way for new leadership at a time when the organization is thriving.  She’s leaving behind big shoes to fill: but, she assures her successor, they’re comfortable.  Says Smitten,…

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Alberta lawyers say “Canada has no history of oppression”, proving how desperately they need Indigenous justice training

By Andrea Palframan / February 7, 2023 /

The fact that that 50 lawyers in Alberta have been trying to wriggle out of taking a short course on Indigenous cultural competency proves the TRC’s point: that such education is sorely needed.

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