RAVEN (De)Briefs RAVEN Trust

Welcome to Episode 1 of RAVEN’s new mining justice podcast series, Plunder: True Crimes, Canadian Mines. This is a show that looks beneath the surface of mining in Canada, a country that’s home to 60% of the world's mining companies. 
 
For all the glittering office towers that you might be used to seeing in Toronto and Vancouver, Mining has a dark history, and — you’ll discover, a controversial future. We’ll travel from the earliest days of colonization, fuelled by gold rush-style plunder, to the toxic era of uranium mining that contributed to the Manhattan Projects’ development of the nuclear bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and to today, where hunger for critical minerals continues to drive colonialism deep into the heart of Indigenous lands: in Canada, and around the world. 
After centuries of exploitation, the drive to get-rich-quick is baked into Canada’s DNA, with extractive industries still given preferential treatment by the government. Despite a lot of talk about reconciliation - allocation of resources is still very much done without proper consultation or consent of the Peoples who have stewarded these lands and waters since time immemorial. 
We’re going to start the series by looking at how mining actually begins. Even today, anyone with a laptop and $25 can stake a claim without even bothering to inform the First Nation whose territory they’re staking. We take a deep dive to look at how Gitxaała Nation dealt with illegal discharge of tailings from the Yellow Giant gold mine - a project that Gitxaała said from the beginning they did not want. After the company devastated Banks Island’s salmon-rich creeks and near-shore areas, Gitxaała decided to go to court to change the outdated and unjust Mineral Tenure Act in a case that has fundamentally shifted how mining will be done: not just on Gitxaała territory, but everywhere in B.C.

As we celebrate the landmark settlement of Cindy Blackstock’s class action lawsuit, we’re taking a look at kids in foster care with hip hop artist, youth worker and activist HK aka Higher Knowledge.

Today we’re featuring a special guest episode by Louise Romain, recorded during the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal this past winter. 
 

This episode features the voices of Melody Lepine, Tori Cress, Daniel T’seleie and Paul Belanger, all recorded at a press conference organised by Environmental Defence Canada and Keepers of the Water. 
Fora like UN summits can be structured in very colonial ways: we are grateful to Lou Romain for weaving a tapestry of sound, grounding Indigenous teachings in birdsong, the voices of the river, and the breath of the wind. 
The more-than-human voices are the Athabasca river and various animals are recordings from he Yellowstone National Park, which share many species also endemic to the Wood Buffalo National Park. red-winged blackbird, Wilson’s snipe, warbling vireo, bald eagle, western meadow lark, common loon, savannah sparrow, and sandhill crane.
Additional music is by Holizna CC0, Soft and Furious, and Loyalty Freak through the Free Music Archive; theme music is by Luke Wallace. 
You can hear more of Louise’s work on her podcast, Circle of Voices. Listen on Spotify and Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/tune-intotheworld
Now: sit back, pour yourself some tea and enjoy this guest episode from Circle of Voices and Louise Romain. 

On this episode of RAVEN (De)Briefs we're looking at the roots of Gitxaała Nation's court case challenging the outdated and unjust Mineral Tenure Act (MTA) in B.C. 
Join host, Andrea Palframan, as she breaks down what the MTA is, and why we need to act in solidarity with Gitxaała Nation to reform mining in their territory, and all across B.C.
You'll hear from Chief Nees Hiwwas, Tara Marsden, and Jamie Kneen on this final instalment on the Gitxaała court case taking place throughout the month of April 2023.  
Donate to support the cost of the legal challenge: raventrust.com/gitxaala

Protecting one salmon-rich island on BC’s north coast is important enough: but if this Indigenous Nation and their allies win in court, their victory will change mining regulations everywhere in BC.

Today on the podcast, we’ll hear from a different kind of mining company in B.C. First Tellerium are intervening in support of upholding First Nations’ Free Prior and Informed Consent over mining claims in their territories. 
 
In this guest episode, Ruben Tillman of Ng Ariss Fong interviews Tony Fogarassy, chairperson of First Tellurium Corp., about responsible mining in the age of UNDRIP. Hear from a mining company CEO how it’s good business to build relationships and get consent from First Nations before staking mineral claims. 
 
This is the second of three guest podcast episodes from the Ariss Fong team: we’re grateful to them as they put in long hours every day at BC Supreme Court this month, representing Gitxaała in court.
To support Gitxxala's legal challenge, visit https://raventrust.com/gitxaala