Constituting Indigenous Law with John Borrows: S1 Episode 5 RAVEN (De)Briefs
Immerse yourself in the profoundly poetic worldview and philosophy of Canada Research Chair and RAVEN legal advisory panel member John Borrows. His discourse is richly adorned with the shapeshifting sounds of Jeremy Dutcher, a classically trained musician who takes 100 year old wax cylinder recordings of his Wolastoq ancestors, and sets them to soaring strings and vocals.
This is 30 minutes of pure inspiration to open hearts and arouse minds – have a listen, and please share and review on iTunes if what you hear resonates.
“We are the legal agents in this world. We all have an opportunity to practice law. Sometimes that is done by standing side by side with Indigenous Peoples, and in some instances, providing resources to help Indigenous Peoples as they are raising their voice.
So: providing resources is actually a practice of law – it’s a custom, that can be used to put us in relationship with one another. “ — John Borrows
Take a breath, pour yourself a cup of tea, and sink in to this special Earth Day edition of RAVEN (De)Briefs.
Take Action
I listen to “Unreserved” on CBC radio and have been watching different films offered by the National Film Board. I am relieved to hear in the latest program of “Unreserved” that settlers have been protesting abuse of First Nations at residential schools from 1907. I am sickened to see violence and abuse alive and well at the Oka incident in 1990, perpetuated by governments well schooled in the Colonialism of our founders. That violence and abuse continues today with construction of the Site C dam and the Coastal GasLink pipeline. The more things change, the more they stay the same in our world.
I feel thankful that the Fantasy Canada creation myth that I learned in school is being replaced with stories of the reality of what happened. I am delighted to see that The Law, created by those in power to make sure they and only they had power, is being revised however slowly to reflect the Justice that is needed in our world today.