November 28 is Giving Tuesday! A day that offers us all a much needed detox from the rampant email campaigns, advertisements, and sales that characterize the lead up to Black Friday. Extractive capitalism pushes us every year to rush to spend, to race to the bottom, to buy the cheapest, newest products. And — each year, corporations receive huge profits on the stolen lands of Indigenous Nations who are, with RAVEN’s support, pushing back and defending the land, air, and water for generations to come. 

Giving Tuesday is one of the biggest days of the year for RAVEN (next to, say, one of our campaign partners’ legal challenges actually reaching the courtroom). We know we’re not the only ones talking about it.

Every nonprofit you’ve ever donated to has likely sent a donation appeal to your inbox today — and we’re no different. Well, actually, we are a little bit different. And, here’s how:

1) No one else does what we do — literally no one else. 

RAVEN is the only charitable nonprofit in Canada that funds Indigenous Nations who take on legal challenges to reassert their rights to their lands, waters, cultures, and ways of being through the courts. This long haul, costly approach to Indigenous justice is led by the Nations we partner with, but the actual cost is a burden they should not have to shoulder themselves. That’s where we come in. Together, with RAVEN donors and supporters, we extend our hands in solidarity and invest in the long game vision for transformative change and Indigenous justice in Canada. 

2) Our multi-pronged approach weaves in accessible and strategic impact via our Intervenor Fund.

While RAVEN primarily supports Indigenous Nations with their own legal challenges, we also support access to justice by funding intervenors in Indigenous legal challenges across Canada. For those of us who don’t speak legal jargon: Intervenors are third-party voices who can bring unique perspectives to a case in which the outcome may impact them. Since the launch of our Intervenor Fund in 2019, we have funded 10 interventions in cases related to Indigenous rights. 

3) We can’t do it without you.

Transformative change through the (colonial) court system is not easy. To see real change, for Canadian law to begin to become unbound from its rigidity, and for Indigenous laws to be upheld in court, we need to build momentum and strengthen the movement. We need people from coast to coast to coast to join the chorus of voices calling for Indigenous justice in Canada. It’s going to take a lot of us, and it’s going to take a long time — and, while not every legal challenge ends in a win, we have seen first hand the transformative effects of our collective effort. From the success of the Pull Together campaign, which had Nations coming together to say no to the Enbridge pipeline — and win; to this year’s Gitxaała court victory that changes the way mining consultation must be done across the province of B.C.. RAVEN is honoured to support and amplify this integral work being done by Indigenous Nations — and this is only possible because of RAVEN’s supporters. 

Whatever your thoughts about Black Friday, we believe that Giving Tuesday represents a necessary opportunity to slow down and reflect on the state of the world and, instead of consuming more, to give for environmental justice. Choosing not to buy (or, not to buy too much) on Friday was the first step towards this, but consider taking it a little further with a gift to RAVEN. 

If a donation isn’t feasible for you this year, or if your donation has already been allocated to another wonderful organization, you can still help us out by sharing this article, sharing our website, talking about RAVEN, signing up for our newsletter, and encouraging others in your network to donate to RAVEN.