National Indigenous People’s Day: An opportunity to work for a healthier and more sustainable environment
June 21, 2023
Sierra Club BC has 50+ years of conservation work, yet only recently we’ve started the work of better seeing and recognizing Indigenous governance as we make an effort to weave the wisdom practiced for generations by Indigenous People into our work.
As Kevin Barlow, Capacity-Building Strategist at SCBC and a Mi’kmaw, says, “Growing up, I never saw my people take anything more than what they needed. We must return to that way of being as we face growing pressures on our environment.”
B.C. is currently experiencing the second worst forest fire in the province’s history, and as we see more natural disasters such as forest fires, floods, mudslides, damaged infrastructure, and loss of life – both human and non-human –the more we see a need to reach out and partner with Indigenous communities to tackle these issues.
We believe that drawing from western-based knowledge and Indigenous Knowledges is where we can shift the direction we are going.
To that end, SCBC recently undertook training from the Indigenous Law Research Unit (ILRU) at the University of Victoria from Dr. Val Napoleon, an esteemed Indigenous Law Professor who builds capacity and understanding to identify Indigenous legal systems.
SCBC staff, the ILRU team, and workshop guests outside the Nuyumbalees Cultural Centre on We Wai Kai territory (Photo by Todd Biderman).
As ILRU explains, Indigenous Nations are in a period of Indigenous legal revitalization in which Nations and communities are making concerted efforts to re-state, articulate, practice, and apply their respective laws alongside or instead of imposed Canadian laws.
SCBC, like ILRU, believes Indigenous laws and legal orders are critical and have an important role to play within the environmental sector.
As an organization and as a community, we have much to learn, unlearn and reimagine. This is an ongoing process that we are committed to, and we hope you will come along with us.
This National Indigenous People’s Day, SCBC proudly stands with Indigenous People throughout B.C. and Canada and calls upon everyone to further commit to learning more about Indigenous laws and legal orders. We believe this is a necessary step to collectively shift our thinking to be more in harmony with this beautiful place we call home.
People from all sectors, scientists, artists, the faith community, and those from different political persuasions need to come together to make change happen. And for those that have not started this work, today is a great day to start!
If you’d like to learn more, we invite you to check out these publicly available resources:
Featured image by Mike Ambach
