Event: UBC International Expert Seminar in support of the work of United Nations EMRIP
International Expert Seminar on
Indigenous Peoples’ right to traditional economies, sustainable development, and food security in an age of climate change
In support of the work of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP)
This event is open to the public via Zoom. The link will be posted here when available.
February 8 and 9, 2024
Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre – Robert H. Lee Family Boardroom
University of British Columbia
6163 University Blvd
Vancouver, BC
V6T 1Z1
Public Zoom link will be posted closer to the event date.
Register here to have the Zoom link sent to your email.
Event Concept Note
Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) Expert Seminar on
Indigenous Peoples’ right to traditional economies, sustainable development, and food security in an age of climate change
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, Canada
8-9 February 2024
Background
Established by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2007, the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) provides the Council with thematic advice on the rights of indigenous peoples in the form of studies and research. The studies and advice of the Expert Mechanism are meant to provide a better understanding of the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), hereafter refered to as “the Declaration”, and to propose concrete actions that States, Indigenous Peoples, civil society organisations, international organizations, national human rights institutions, and others can take to further its implementation.
In September 2016, in its resolution 33/25, the Human Rights Council amended and expanded the mandate of the Expert Mechanism on the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Among other things, the Council decided that the EMRIP should identify, disseminate, and promote good practices and lessons learned regarding the efforts to achieve the ends of the Declaration, including through reports to the Council.
3. To date, the EMRIP has developed several reports on good practices and lessons learned, including, for example, Ten-years of the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples: good practices and lessons learned (2017), Indigenous Peoples rights with respect to: Recognition, reparations, and reconciliation (2019), Reparation of ceremonial objects, human remains and intangible cultural heritage (2020), Indigenous Peoples and the right to self-determination (2021), treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements (2022) and the impact of militarization on the rights of Indigenous Peoples (2023). The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) provides substantive and administrative support to the Expert Mechanism.
4. During its 16th session in July 2023, the EMRIP dedicated a panel discussion to the topic of Indigenous Peoples’ right to engage freely in all their traditional and other economic activities, with a focus on fishing practices. The panel aimed to identify the main challenges faced by Indigenous Peoples in relation to access and control of their traditional lands, territories and resources, and the impact this has on their ability to engage freely in traditional fishing practices and also to identify gaps and barriers to fishing practices not only from the perspective of economic activities, subsistence, and food security of Indigenous Peoples, but also as a part of their culture and traditional knowledge. Discussions on this panel reaffirmed the recognition and protection of Indigenous Peoples rights in fisheries, as enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples and the International Labour Organization Tribal Peoples Convention 169. These instruments recognize the rights of Indigenous Peoples to lands, territories, and resources; the right to practice and revitalize their cultural traditions and customs as well their right to engage freely in their traditional and other economic activities. Moreover, they specify the rights to consultation and participation, including free, prior, and informed consent, whenever projects or other measures are likely to affect them.
5. During its intersessional meeting 9-10 November 2023, the EMRIP decided to prepare a report focusing on traditional economies, sustainable development, and food security in an age of climate change. This report will be presented to the sixtieth session of the Human Rights Council in September 2025.
6. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Article 20 affirms that Indigenous Peoples have the right to maintain and develop their political, economic, and social systems, including the enjoyment of their own means of subsistence and development, and to engage freely in all their traditional and other economic activities. This article recognises Indigenous Peoples` distinct economic systems based on traditional knowledge, practices, and resources. It recognises the right of Indigenous Peoples to practice and strengthen these economic systems, as well as to develop new ones that are consistent with their cultures, traditions, values, and aspirations. It also affirms that Indigenous Peoples who have been deprived of their means of subsistence and development are entitled to fair and just redress.
7. Furthermore, Article 29 affirms that Indigenous Peoples have the right to the conservation and protection of the environment and the productive capacity of their lands, territories and resources. States have the responsibility to establish and implement programs for such conservation and take effective measures to guard the health of Indigenous Peoples and their lands and territories, including refraining from storing or disposing of hazardous materials on Indigenous Peoples’ lands and territories without their free, prior and informed consent.
8. Article 32 affirms that Indigenous Peoples have the right to determine and develop their own priorities and strategies for development of their lands, territories and resources. States are obligated to consult and cooperate with Indigenous Peoples in good faith, through their own representative institutions, in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent prior to approving projects that affects their lands and territories, and to provide effective mechanisms for just and fair redress and take appropriate measures to mitigate adverse impacts.
9. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was adopted in 1992, followed by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, and the 2015 Paris Agreement known as Climate Accord. 2015 was the year that the UN General Assembly adopted its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The right to sustainable development is explicitly incorporated in numerous international instruments including the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources, ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, and the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
10. The objective of this International Expert Seminar is to broaden the analysis to inform the Expert Mechanism on the theme as reflected in UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The seminar will provide an opportunity for exchange among both Indigenous and non-Indigenous academics, practitioners, advocates, and other experts on the issues concerning Indigenous Peoples human rights.
11. The University of British Columbia (UBC) is organizing this international expert seminar in support of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP). The hybrid seminar will take place on UBC’s Vancouver campus, Canada on 8-9 February 2024.
12. The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a global centre for teaching, learning and research, consistently ranked among the top 20 universities in the world. In its 2020 Indigenous Strategic Plan, UBC committed to becoming a leading voice in the implementation of Indigenous peoples’ human rights, as articulated in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and other human rights law. The Expert Seminar is hosted by Dr. Sheryl Lightfoot, Professor of Political Science and in the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. and co-sponsored by the Office of Indigenous Strategic Initiatives.
Objectives
- Hold an in-depth discussion on the topic to provide an opportunity for broad input to EMRIP`s 2025 report, traditional economies, sustainable development and food security in an age of climate change.
- Discuss the latest related developments in the policy, legal and institutional fields, at national and regional levels; and
- Identify examples of good practices, models and lessons learned; and
- Provide concrete suggestions and recommendations and agree on the principle framework for establishing and providing advice for states and Indigenous Peoples.
Participants
The Seminar will bring together approximately 30 participants, including:
- Members of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- Representatives from First Nations, the Metis Nation and the Inuit in Canada and Indigenous Peoples’ organisations
- Experts on Indigenous Peoples’ rights and practitioners from different regions
- Staff of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Academicss
- Academic friends of the Expert Mechanism working on the report.
In addition, students will be welcomed to observe the proceedings of the Seminar.
Agenda
Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) Expert Seminar on
Indigenous Peoples’ right to traditional economies, sustainable development, and food security in an age of climate change
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, Canada
8-9 February 2024
Day 1: Thursday, 8 February, 2024
| 8.30-9.00 | Breakfast |
| 9.00-9.30 | Welcome and Introductions Welcome – Sheryl Lightfoot, Host, Chair, Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples – Musqueam host and welcome – UBC welcome (President) Housekeeping |
| 9.30-10.30 | Panel 1: Leadership Voices: The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Traditional Economies and Sustainable Development in an Era of Climate Change (1 hour) Moderator: Valmaine Toki, Vice Chair and Member from the Pacific, Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Presenters: TBA Open Discussion |
| 10.30-10.45 | Health Break |
| 10.45-12.15 | Panel 2: Indigenous Knowledge and Traditional Economies in the Context of Climate Change (1 and ½ hours) Topics: – Exploration of how Indigenous communities draw upon traditional knowledge to navigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change on their economies. – Case studies highlighting survival strategies employed by Indigenous groups in the face of changing environmental conditions. Moderator: Anexa Brendalee Alfred Cunningham, Member from Central and South America, and the Caribbean, Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Presenters: – Kiri Toki, University of Oxford Law, UK – Bablu Chakma, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany – Elifuraha Laltaika, Tumaini University Makumira, Tanzania Open Discussion |
| 12.15-14.30 | Lunch and Tour – Museum of Anthropology |
| 14.30-16.00 | Panel 3: Human Rights, Indigenous Law, and Social Development for Sustainable Livelihoods (1 and ½ hours) Topics: – Examination of the human rights framework and Indigenous law supporting the right to sustainable livelihoods. – Insights into social development initiatives that empower Indigenous communities in maintaining their traditional economies. – Analysis of the intersection between Indigenous rights, social development, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Moderator: Mr. Binota Moy Dhamai, Member from Asia, Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Presenters: – Carwyn Jones, Te Whare Whakatupu Mātauranga at Te Wānanga o Raukawa, Aotearoa New Zealand – C. Ogbonna Chidiebere, Kampala International University, Uganda – Carlos Chex, Independent Expert, Guatemala – Dominic O’Sullivan, Charles Sturt University, Australia ) Open Discussion |
| 16.00 – 16.15 | Health Break |
| 16.15 – 17.30 | Open Discussion |
Day 2: Friday, 9 February, 2024
| 8.30-9.00 | Breakfast |
| 9.00-10.30 | Panel 4: Indigenous Food Systems, Fisheries, and Coastal Cultures (1 and ½ hours) Topics: – Exploration of Indigenous food systems and their role in ensuring food security in coastal cultures. – Insights into sustainable fishing practices and the challenges faced by Indigenous communities in maintaining their fishing livelihoods. – Consideration of how traditional knowledge contributes to the preservation of fisheries and coastal cultures. Moderator: Antonina Gorbunova, Vice-Chair and Member from Central and Eastern Europe, the Russian Federation, Central Asia and Transcaucasia, Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Presenters: – Brigitte Feiring, Charapa Consulting, Denmark – Miguel Gonzales, York University, Canada – Nechey Serotetto, Association of Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples of Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous Okrug, Russian Federation – Line Kalak, Sámi allaskuvla, Norway Open Discussion |
| 10.30-11.00 | Health Break |
| 11.00-12.30 | Panel 5: Panel 5: Indigenous Food Systems, Fisheries, and Coastal Cultures, continued (1 and ¼ hours) Topics: – Exploration of Indigenous food systems and their role in ensuring food security in coastal cultures. – Insights into sustainable fishing practices and the challenges faced by Indigenous communities in maintaining their fishing livelihoods. – Consideration of how traditional knowledge contributes to the preservation of fisheries and coastal cultures. Moderator: Margaret Lokawa, Member from Africa, Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Presenters: – Bob Chamberlin, Chamberlin & Associates Consulting, Canada – Laureli Ivanoff, Independent Expert, USA – Andrei Metelitsa, Public Expert Council on Fisheries, Aquatic Biological Resources, and Aquaculture under the government of the Kamchatka Territory, Russian Federation – Binota Moy Dhamai, Member from Asia, Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) Open Discussion |
| 12.30-14.30 | Lunch |
| 14.30-16.00 | Panel 6: Climate Change, Livelihoods, and Food Sovereignty (1 and ½ hours) Topics: – Examination of the impact of climate change on Indigenous livelihoods and traditional economies. – Discussion on the role of carbon trading in supporting sustainable Indigenous livelihoods. – Insights into the concept of food sovereignty and its relevance to ensuring food security in the context of climate change. – Case studies from regions like Siberia, reindeer husbandry, and their unique challenges and solutions Moderator: Dalee Sambo Dorough, Member from the Arctic, Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Presenters: – Priscilla Settee, University of Saskatchewan, Canada – Minnie Dagawan, Kawari, Philippines – Richard Asaba Bagonza, Makerere University, Uganda – Tabitha Robin Martens, University of British Columbia, Canada Open Discussion |
| 16.00 – 16.15 | Health Break |
| 16.15 | Open Discussion, Recommendations and Conclusions Moderator: Sheryl Lightfoot, Chair and Member from North America, Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples |
| This Expert Seminar is proudly hosted by: – Professor Sheryl Lightfoot, Department of Political Science and the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia Made possible with funding from the Academic Excellence Fund, University of British Columbia. Expert Seminar Co-Sponsors: – Office of Indigenous Strategic Initiatives, University of British Columbia With special assistance provided by: – Canadian Friends Service Committee |
Speaker Bios
Richard Asaba Bagonza
Richard Asaba Bagonza is currently a Lecturer at the School of Women and Gender Studies, under the College of Humanities and Social Sciences of Makerere University. He holds a Doctorate in sociology from Maynooth University in the Republic of Ireland, a Post Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Water Management from Dundalk Institute of Technology, Republic of Ireland, and a master’s degree in Environment & Natural Resources, and a Bachelor of Arts, both from Makerere University. For the past 15 years, Richard has worked as a lecturer, researcher, and consultant. His research has mostly been transdisciplinary and has focused on areas such as gender and development, environmental sociology, human-environmental relationships (mainly aspects such as water governance, adaptation to climate change, disaster risk reduction, wildlife, livelihoods, and food security with interest in indigenous people), health, and violence. This has led to the publication of over 14 journal articles and book chapters in these areas.
Bablu Chakma
Bablu Chakma has a PhD in International Development Studies from the Institute of Development Research and Development Policy (IEE) of Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany. His research interests include human rights advocacy and activism, survival strategies, social movements, identity politics, and Indigenous Peoples’ issues in general. He comes from the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region of Bangladesh and belongs to the Chakma Indigenous group. He has written a number of journal articles including “Encountering the state: situated strategies and perspectives of Tanchangya villagers in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh,” in Contemporary South Asia and “Everyday Politics of Dadan Contracts in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh,” in Development and Change.
Bob “Galagame” Chamberlin
Galagame brings many years of experience to the discussion of Aboriginal Rights especially as it pertains to wild fisheries. He has been a stong steady voice for the protection of Wild Pacific Salmon for Food Security of First Nations across BC. This was evident throughout his 14 years as Elected Chief Councilor for the Kwikwasutinuxw Haxwa’mis First Nation and 9 years as Vice President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC). Galagame was also a key team member seeing the implementation of the UNDRIP in the Fish Farm Transition for the Broughton Archipelago and has presented twice to the Expert Mechanism of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on the topic of Indigenous Fisheries and Economy.
Carlos Chex
Carlos Chex is Maya Kaqchikel and is a consultant for international agencies in Guatemala and Central America. He also works as a national specialist of the agencies of the United Nations system including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Peacebuilding Fund, Development Program, World Intellectual Property Organization, and the High Commissioner for Human Rights. As a legal and political advisor, he has also worked with Indigenous and state organizations in Guatemala and Central America. This work has focused on access to the international human rights protection system but has also includes advice on strategic plans, annual operational planning, budget preparation, and more. He has also worked as an advisor to diplomatic missions and international agencies in Guatemala on cooperation with Indigenous Peoples. Carlos is an expert in preparing reports, studies, and investigations on topics related to the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Minnie Degawan
Minnie Degawan is an Indigenous Kankanaey Igorot from the Cordillera, Philippines. She has been a long-time activist for Indigenous Peoples rights working at the local, national, and global levels. She has participated extensively in community mobilizations to defend ancestral lands from extractives and government projects that put the integrity of the ancestral domain at risk. Her work with policy makers at the national and global levels has included developing standards and policies, such as in the Global Environment Facility, that advance the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Lately, she has been working with conservation organizations to ensure that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is implemented and promoted. She is currently the Director of Kawari – a regranting fund to support Indigenous Peoples in ensuring integrity in the forest carbon markets. She is based in her home in the Cordillera, Philippines.
Laureli Ivanoff
Laureli Ivanoff is Inupiaq and Yup’ik, lives in her home community of Unalakleet where she was raised by her parents, Herb and the late Lena Ivanoff. Laureli previously worked in communications in the fisheries realm where she came to understand management processes, affirming her desire to write about and advocate for a way of life living in a direct relationship with the land and waters surrounding her home. A former radio journalist, Laureli has a regular column with High Country News that explores “the seasonality of living in direct relationship with the land, water, plants, and animals in and around Uŋalaqłiq (Unalakleet).” She has been published in The New York Times, Anchorage Daily News, Outside Magazine, and various publications with the intent to bring representation to a way of life integral to Indigenous Peoples. Laureli received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and her Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts. She enjoys being out on every nice day with her extended family, harvesting and eating good food.
Carwyn Jones
Dr Carwyn Jones is a member of the Māori nation/iwi, Ngāti Kahungunu, and is Kaihautū (Director) of Te Whare Whakatupu Mātauranga at Te Wānanga o Raukawa, where he teaches in the Māori Laws and Philosophy programme. He is also an Honorary Adjunct Professor in the School of Māori Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. Carwyn’s primary research interests relate to Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi), the rights of Indigenous peoples, and Indigenous legal traditions, and he has published numerous articles on these topics. He is the author of New Treaty, New Tradition – Reconciling New Zealand and Māori Law and co-editor of Indigenous Peoples and the State: International Perspectives on the Treaty of Waitangi. He is also co-editor of the Māori Law Review, and of AlterNative – an international journal of Indigenous peoples.
Line Kalak
TBD
Elifuraha Laltaika
Elifuraha Laltaika is a Senior Law Lecturer at Tumaini University Makumira, Tanzania, and a former Harvard Law School Visiting Scholar. A Fulbright alumnus, he holds a Doctorate from the University of Arizona. Between 2017 and 2019, he served as an expert member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Elifuraha is the 2022 recipient of the Sivtlana Kravchenko Environmental Rights Award (Oregon, USA) recognizing his “impact in the law while working to support local communities.” Recently, the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights acknowledged Elifuraha’s expert contribution in the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights V. Republic of Kenya reparation case. He is a board member of the International Work Group on Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Currently Elifuraha is a Visiting Professor and the 2023-24 Douglas McK Brown Lecturer at the Peter Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia.
Andrei Metelitsa
Andrei Metelitsa was born on March 2, 1981 in Khabarovsk, Khabarovsk region. He is a representative of Indigenous Small-Numbered People of the Russian Federation – Kamchadaly, whose main traditional economic activity is fishing. Mr. Metelitsa is a member of the Far Eastern Scientific and Fisheries Council; Kamchatka Fisheries Council; Public Expert Council on Fisheries, Aquatic Biological Resources and Aquaculture under the Government of the Kamchatka region; Commission for the regulation of extraction of anadromous fish species in the Kamchatka region; Commission for determining the boundaries of fishing areas in the Kamchatka region. In 2013, he was elected to the position of president of the local public organization “Yelizovskaya Association of Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples of the Kamchatka region.” In 2021, he was elected to the position of Сhairman of the regional public organization “Association of Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples of the North of the Kamchatka region”, which unites 8 Indigenous Peoples and and carries out its activity in the territory of the Kamchatka region. Andrei Metelitsa’s hobbies: active recreation, tourism, athletics.
Silje Karine Muotka
TBD
Donald Nicholls
Donald Nicholls is a member of the Cree Nation of Mistissini in Eeyou Istchee. He is currently the Director of the Cree Nation Government Department of Justice and Correctional Services. He is also responsible for the Indigenous-related international human rights file for the Cree Nation of Eeyou Istchee, which includes involvement in various national and international human rights fora, working groups and expert mechanisms. Mr. Nicholls has served in the Executive Office of the Cree Nation Government. He has also served as a Senior Director in the Administrative Branch of the Cree Nation Government for many years. In addition to teaching law at the University of Arizona, Mr. Nicholls has led Indigenous-related justice and international human rights law initiatives. Mr. Nicholls holds three law degrees and is a graduate of the Harvard School of Business. Mr. Nicholls has made it his lifelong mission to work at the protection, promotion and realization of Indigenous-related rights and law, and, to this end, he has helped to build the framework for a number of institutions and to negotiate several important agreements. He was also appointed as a chair on national and international committees for the Government of Canada, as well as appeared as an expert for Canada before international bodies.
Chidiebere C. Ogbonna
Chidiebere C. Ogbonna, Ph.D is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Development, Peace and Conflict Studies, at Kampala International University, Uganda, where he also serves as the Research Coordinator. He is an interdisciplinary scholar whose areas of specialization encompass: Human Rights and Social Development; Communal Security Dilemma; Inter and Intra-Tribal Relations; International Relations and Power Dynamics; Indigenous Knowledge Emancipation and Non-violent Civil Resistance Paradigm. He is a Fellow and External Examiner of the UNESCO Chair Philosophy for Peace, Universitat Jaume I, Spain, a Research Fellow of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Research, University of Granada, Spain. He is an academic friend of Indigenous Peoples of the world. He is the author of “Belligerent Peace”.
Dominic O’Sullivan
Dominic O’Sullivan is a Professor in Political Science at Charles Sturt University. He is from the Te Rarawa iwi of New Zealand. He has over 70 refereed research publications and his nine books include ‘We Are All Here to Stay’: Citizenship, Sovereignty and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Canberra. ANU Press, 2020) and Indigeneity, Culture and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Singapore, Palgrave Macmillan, 2023). He is a regular political commentator for radio and television and writer for the Conversation. He has had work commissioned by the International Labor Organization, the New Zealand Ministerial Review into the Future of Local Government and provided expert advice on te Tiriti o Waitangi to the New Zealand Pharmacy Council. Dominic was one of the developers of Critical Tiriti Analysis, a policy development and evaluation method that is being widely used across the New Zealand public sector and being adapted for use by indigenous peoples in other jurisdictions.
Miguel Gonzalez Perez
Miguel Gonzalez is an Assistant Professor and the Coordinator of the International Development Studies program at York University. He holds a PhD and master’s degree in political science from York University and a Bachelor of Arts from the National School of History and Anthropology of Mexico. Currently, his research involves the comparative study of multiethnic and indigenous governance regimes in the Americas, which resulted in the publication of a volume on Indigenous Autonomy in the Americas (University of Calgary Press 2023). This publication was sponsored by the International Working Group on Indigenous Peoples (IWGIA) and the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (Kakenhi). His previous publications include contribution to El Desarrollo Humano en la Costa Caribe Nicaragüense (in English: Human Development in the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua), a book published through the United Nations Development Program.
Tabitha Robin
Tabitha Robin (Métis/Cree) is an Assistant Professor in the Applied Biology program at the University of British Columbia. She has her BSc in Environmental Studies from the University of Winnipeg and MEnv from the University of Manitoba, where she looked at dozens of Indigenous food sovereignty initiatives in Western Canada. She earned her PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Manitoba, where she examined the role of food in Cree helping and healing practices. Her research includes how Indigenous knowledges can be used as food literacy; the reclamation of Indigenous seed knowledges; and factors that affect Indigenous food sovereignty.
Nechey Serotetto
TBD
Priscilla Settee
TBD
Kiri Toki
Kiri is Māori, of Ngāti Wai and Ngāpuhi tribal descent. She is completing her PhD at the University of Oxford and holds an LLM (Harvard) and a BA/LLB (Hons) (Auckland, New Zealand). Kiri is an experienced commercial and indigenous rights litigator and a former Indigenous Fellow at the World Intellectual Property Organization (Geneva, Switzerland). She is active in a range of Indigenous organizations and has participated in international forums such as the annual sessions of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) and the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP).