On September 25, 2024, the David Suzuki Foundation hosted a panel called “Reweaving the Legal Fabric: Indigenous Governance and Conservation Law in Canada.”

The event was a partnership between the David Suzuki Foundation, the University of Ottawa, Ecojustice, and the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership.

Victoria Watson, co-chair of the Reconciliation Working Group at Ecojustice and of mixed Haudenosaunee and Scottish descent, opened with a Haudenosaunee teaching about the Two Row Wampum belt. The Two Row Wampum belt represents peace, friendship, and sovereignty between Indigenous Peoples and European settlers.

Victoria introduced Kristen Boone, Dean of Common Law at the University of Ottawa, who noted the importance of advancing conversations on Indigenous knowledge systems. Jesse Wente, an Indigenous broadcaster and film critic, introduced panelists Aimée Craft (Associate Professor Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa and Anishinaabe-Métis lawyer from Treaty 1 territory, Manitoba), Lisa Young (Biologist & Executive Director of Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources), and Sue Chiblow (Assistant Professor, School of Environmental Sciences’, University of Guelph & Environmental Policy Analyst).

Panelists shared stories and teachings about reconciliation, self-determination, and weaving Indigenous laws and knowledge into environmental conservation. Panelists also pointed to challenges, like colonial legal systems, lack of understanding, and funding, but shared hopeful examples such as Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) and cross-border water governance. The panel ended with a call to invest in Indigenous communities, honour the land and its treaties, and centre truth and knowledge as the path forward.

Listen to the full recording and view the full transcript below.