Despite a growing demand for divestment from fossil fuel projects, RBC and other large banking institutions continue to fund projects in so-called Canada and globally that lack the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous peoples while destroying our lands and waters.

ICA has teamed up with organizers from across so-called Canada to send an Indigenous delegation to RBC’s Annual General Meeting happening this Wednesday, April 5, 2023. We will once again be calling on RBC to DIVEST and respect the rights and sovereignty of Indigenous peoples.

But what is divestment in an Indigenous rights and sovereignty context, and what is the role we play as Indigenous people living in so-called Canada? Check out the recording of our recent webinar for an Introduction to Divestment for Indigenous Peoples.

Defending Indigenous Sovereignty through Divestment
An Introduction to Divestment for Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous nations all over the world share our struggle with the same borderless corporations that rely on the lifeline of the banks fuelling the climate crisis and often hiding behind the greenwashing curtain to stay relevant. Just as the pipelines act as the company's veins running through our communities, the banks could be seen as the heart of the empire that allows the oil industry to continue business as usual. Land defense is asserting Indigenous Rights and asserting sovereignty. Land defense is a financial risk.

Major Canadian banks such as RBC are the top investors of fossil fuel projects that continue to violate Indigenous rights . Our sovereignty and traditions have not only proven to be a material risk for companies and their investors, but the threat to our ways of life is also a climate risk for us all. Indigenous rights have the capacity to actually stop projects. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) recognises Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is the right for Indigenous people to give or withhold consent to a project that may affect them or their territories. Who defines FPIC? How is it unique for your nation?

Indigenous legal traditions precede Canada’s rights. ICA invites you to join the conversation and learn how we can work together to develop strategies based on ways of life including

• What is divestment in an Indigenous rights and sovereignty context?

• What is risk?

• Indigenous legal rights and divestment

• Land defense as financial risk

• The Banks, the pipelines and the police. How sovereign Wet’suwet’en Rights Protect the Yintah

SPEAKERS: 

Ellen Gabriel
Ellen began her public activism during the 1990 Siege of Kanehsatà:ke (1990 Mohawk Crisis) and was chosen by the People of the Longhouse and her community of Kanehsatà:ke to be their spokesperson. Since then, Ellen has worked consistently and diligently as a human rights and environmental advocate for the collective and individual rights of Indigenous peoples.

Vanessa Gray
Vanessa Gray is a queer Anishinaabe Kwe from the Aamjiwnaang First Nation. She is a respected water protector, land defender, environmental researcher, and community organizer for the Great Lakes region with a focus on Indigenous peoples inherent and legal rights and sovereignty within climate justice.

Chief Na’Moks
Na’Moks is a Hereditary Chief of We’tsuwet’en. RBC is a financier of the Coastal Gaslink pipeline crossing We’tsuwet’en land.

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