Upcoming Realizing UNDRIP Initiative Hosted Learning Events
The Realizing UNDRIP initiative hosts learning events, tailored workshops and other kinds of facilitated engagements to help individuals working in government and in the private and not-for-profit sectors better understand how to apply UNDRIP to advance both reconciliation and sustainability. As a connector of stories, people and initiatives, Realizing UNDRIP complements other good work already underway. We can do so much together by learning from each other!
More events are coming soon.
Past Events
Big Bar Landslide Emergency Response
October 30, 2023
In June 2019, a landslide at Big Bar on the Fraser River north of Lillooet was a crisis that demanded swift action. Over 85,000 cubic metres of rock had sheared off a 125-metre-high cliff and fallen into the river, creating a five-metre waterfall, trapping migrating salmon below the slide. The response was extraordinary: First Nations, federal and provincial staff rose to the occasion in remarkable ways, including the collaborative co-creation of fish passage solutions that had to be implemented within a highly compressed timeline.
The Realizing UNDRIP Initiative hosted the event, which sparked dialogue about how relationships between non-Indigenous and Indigenous people and organizations can be developed in a good way. The event took examples of the emergency response and discussed what was learned about building trust and relationships in a time of crisis.
Speakers:
Gord Sterritt, Executive Director, Upper Fraser Fisheries Alliance
Greg Witzky, Executive Director, Fraser Salmon Management Council
Dale Michie, Big Bar Response Engagement Lead, Fisheries & Oceans Canada
Trevor Bohay, Provincial Director, Big Bar Slide
Land Back: Leq’á:mél, Mathxwi, & Semá:th First Nations with City of Mission
March 29, 2023
The Realizing UNDRIP Initiative, hosted by the Fraser Basin Council, was honoured to showcase the Leq’á:mél, Mathxwi , and Semá:th First Nations and the City of Mission partnership that demonstrates steps toward the realization of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. On March 29th from 12:00 pm-1:30 pm Realizing UNDRIP hosted A Land Back Story to share the process, challenges, and keys to success from the First Nations and municipal leadership involved.
About the Partnership and Land Back Initiative
The signing of Í:xel Sq'eq'ó (Together We Paddle) brought together local, provincial, and the three First Nations governments. The First Nations worked together for over a decade to see the return of 60 hectares of their shared traditional territory – previously designated as municipal lands – in the first agreement of its kind in the province of British Columbia.
The Province transferred roughly 60 hectares of Crown land to the LMS Society which represents the three First Nations. Now, the Indigenous-led residential and commercial development provides a portion of the land for opportunities to the Nations, while the remainder of the land is leased back to the municipality for park purposes. This learning event will showcase the successful partnership that was formed and the necessary steps that were taken to all paddle together toward locally-driven reconciliation.
Speakers: Chair of the LMS Society, leadership from Leq’á:mél, Mathxwi, & Semá:th First Nations, and the City of Mission’s Deputy Chief Administrative Officer.
Ethical Space 101: Introduction to Ethical Space and Indigenous Engagement
April 5, 2023
Creating ‘safe spaces’ for respectful dialogue among Indigenous and non-Indigenous people is essential to building mutual understanding and positive relationships, especially at a community level. Local Governments play a unique and integral role in implementing UNDRIP on the ground in community planning and decision-making. Realizing UNDRIP in partnership with Gwen Bridge Consulting hosted the Ethical Space and Indigenous Engagement workshop. The online event was geared toward Local Government leadership and staff seeking to learn the theory and application of ethical space as a framework for advancing reconciliation, sustainability, and collaborative shared decision-making. In the workshop, participants learned the what, how, and why of ethical space in order to take concrete steps to realize UNDRIP and build successful relationships with Indigenous Nations in their communities.
Speakers
Gwen Bridge: Member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation, has over twenty years of experience in providing advice, developing strategies, and managing natural resources-related projects for First Nations and their partners, including in land and water planning, protected areas planning, and policy. Gwen has provided Ethical Space training to many levels of government including; the BC Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, BC Ministry of Forests, BC Ministry of Environment, BC Water Land and Resource Stewardship, and many others.
To learn more about Gwen: https://gwenbridge.com/
Moe Nadeau: Moe Nadeau has five years of experience working in natural resource decision-making and planning fields. Moe is an Ethical Space practitioner and community planner, with expertise in community-centered processes, governance, and conservation. Past work experiences include roles with the BC government, HeliCat Canada, the BC Wildlife Federation, the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, and Selkirk College. She is an adept facilitator and community organizer, with experience advising Indigenous engagement for non-Indigenous organizations.