Graeme Reed
Graeme Reed smiles at the camera.
Graeme Reed was born and raised in Ottawa with mixed ancestry from England, Scotland, Germany, and mnidoo-gaamii (Georgian Bay). His great-grandfather was born in Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory on Odaawaa-minis (Manitoulin Island) with family ties to Thessalon First Nation.
As a PhD candidate at the University of Guelph and member of the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership (CRP), Graeme is investigating Indigenous and alternative visions for nature-based climate solutions. He also participates in various Work Streams and Sharing Circles within the CRP.
Graeme has worked with the Assembly of First Nations for nearly six years in the realm of domestic and international climate policy.
In our conversation, Graeme describes the relationships he has built and strengthened through the CRP, and his vision for creating a just, equitable and resilient future for the future generations and beyond through Indigenous-led advocacy.
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Full Transcript
Kristy Tomkinson
Hello, kwe’, boozhoo, taanishi, oki, Atelihai , čačim hihak kʷaa, bonjour and welcome to Community Connections – a collection of stories from the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership that explores relationships that strengthen our work to support and elevate Indigenous-led conservation across what is now known as Canada.
My name is Kristy Tomkinson and I will be your conversation guide.
In this episode I am speaking with Graeme Reed. Graeme is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Guelph and senior policy advisor for the Assembly of First Nations. His research is studying the intersection of Indigenous governance, environmental governance and the climate crisis. Graeme is also a member of the Ethical Space Stream of the CRP.
So grab yourself some tea, get comfortable, and join us.
Kristy Tomkinson
First of all, Graeme, I really wanted to thank you very much for contributing your time to the CRP; but I don't think we've met in person, not in person, virtually, face to face. So, I’m really excited to get to know more about you and your work with the CRP.
So, would you be able to briefly introduce yourself and tell us how did you come to this work and what does that journey look like for you?
Graeme Reed
Yeah, miigwetch Kristy and Heather for opening up this virtual space and I’m really excited to share the next little while with both of you so many and Aanii and boozhoo . Graeme Reed nindizhinikaaz.. Ottawa nindoonjibaa anishinaabe n’dow.
I'm joining this virtual circle far from where I grew up on Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh lands; what's currently known as Vancouver.
And, yeah, I guess I join wearing a few hats; but first just identity hat. So, I, as I indicated I grew up in Ottawa. My dad's family is English and Scottish of heritage from the Toronto area and my mom's family is German and Anishinaabe from the Great Lakes area and my connections are to my great grandfather, being born on Wiikwemkoong and his mother being born in Thessalon on and his dad being kind of around the Bruce Peninsula.
And how do I show up in this space? So, I guess my primary affiliation with the CRP is through my doctoral research at the university of Guelph; and so, I’m a fourth year PhD candidate there looking to finish relatively soon, hopefully, and focusing on this question of Indigenous visions, alternative visions to the emerging concept of nature-based solutions.
And then more professionally, I’ve been at the assembly of First Nations for the last five and a half years, coming up on six, where I’ve been a part of both domestic and international climate policy. And I think that's really cemented how I think about approach and communicate the work that I do in this space, which is really about, you know, advancing that, that just, equitable and resilient future for our little ones and do it primarily through you know that kind of First Nations led advocacy and, you know, with respect to the mandates that the chiefs and assembly produce.
Kristy Tomkinson
Thank you.
Could you tell us how you first heard or how you first became involved with the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership?
Graeme Reed
Yeah, definitely, and like I was, my colleague Curtis Scurr was a part of the Indigenous Circle of Experts, so we, are our involvement and discussions kind of predated the formal creation of the CRP around the advancement of Indigenous protected and conserved areas and in particular, how they relate to an Indigenous led or First Nations led climate action.
And so you know, when the CRP kind of started rolling out and started gaining steam based on the, you know, incredible recommendations within the we rise together report it just kind of made sense, especially given you know my own work at the university of Guelph on the things that I was looking at to join the kind of virtual circle and team of the CRP.
And then you know, I have had an opportunity to participate in a number of different streams, those related to ethical space and Indigenous knowledge systems, but also, you know, international policy. And that, yeah, that has allowed me to meet Noella Gray and that's been a very, I think, mutually supportive conversation and relationship.
Kristy Tomkinson
Yeah, that leads into my next question. And because this series, and these conversations are about relationships because they're so integral to our work and to the partnership.
So, I’m curious, you spoke about Noella Gray, is that an example of a relationship that either began or strengthened through your work and in collaboration with the CRP?
Graeme Reed
Yeah, definitely. And, you know, I’d say Noella is one of many.
Also predating the CRP like I had pretty good relationships with Deb McGregor and Danika Littlechild. And I think maybe just focusing in on this question like the work that, you know, Danika is doing on ethical space also relates to the conversations that that we've been having around ethical space and its application to what we call the joint committee on climate action, which is a joint federal First Nations climate policy technical table.
And so, you know, a lot of the conversations that we're having in the biodiversity space are related to conversations that I’ve been privileged to be a part of with Danika and with Elder Reg Crowshoe in the climate policy space. And so I’ve really, yeah, I really learned a lot from, you know, both of those strong Indigenous women and obviously also Noella and you know have really benefited from, you know, their ability to, you know, be grounded and in culture and First Nations identity while at the same time interacting with you know the western world, especially in the context of the academy, which I feel like is a bastion of often kind of supremacy of knowledge systems.
And so, it's been, yeah, it's been really, really important having kind of both of them as you know, mentors of mine to have to walk this path, especially as I embark on my own you know, academic journey. And you know what does that mean for my perspective and identity as an Anishinaabe man and how do I express that through you know, the inevitable academic hoops that I and others within this space need to need to navigate?
Kristy Tomkinson
So yeah, it sounds like there's so many interconnections on what you're working on and who you're interacting with. So, it's, and it's reaching far into various corners of your work.
As you may know, the CRP Elder’s Lodge have shared with us the seven Grandmother/Grandfather Teachings to frame our work and guide our governance. And these sacred gifts are love, respect, bravery, truth, honesty, humility, and wisdom, as you may know.
I’m curious to know which of these sacred gifts have been present for you in your relationships and in what ways?
Graeme Reed
Yeah, for sure I, I mean, I think they're foundational too, especially given just that this is a, you know, one of the Anishinaabe teachings. Very central to you know how I show up in the work that I do and also the relationships that I carry. And how that, you know, connects to living a good life, minobimaadiziwin, and then how do we, you know, strive for that, that good life within you know the kind of professional, personal and an academic? And I, you know, I guess I’d pick on a number of different ones of these, but just for illustrative case, you know one Elder and kind of strong kind of guiding person in my life who is unfortunately walked on is an Elder named Elmer Courchene and always one of the things that that he used to talk about within the context of leadership is the importance of being brave and courageous.
And you know, I think that's kind of central to you know, how do I show up in these spaces? And I think there are, you know different ways to characterize that and it's not you know, always, in an aggressive way. It's like the kind of standing mother bear, right? Like the point is not necessarily to be aggressive it's really just to indicate fortitude and protection.
And so when thinking about that within the work that that I do it's like how you stand resolute in the face of, you know, ongoing attacks against Indigenous identity through the structural and ongoing legacy of colonization and the extractive tendencies of capitalism and how that manifests in, you know how power is distributed, how all of these inequitable starting points then feed into, you know, the conversation around conservation, climate policy, etc.
And so, I think like you know that that's an important piece for the work that I do, especially as I interface with policymakers very regularly; it's, you know, how do you do it in a way that that's firm but gentle? And Eli will always say that, right? How do you guide, you know, through, you know, being firm but gentle through that guiding? And so, I think you know that that's an important kind of teaching that that I carry with me.
Two others that maybe I’ll touch on. One you know the teaching around love, and I think it's application for how we think about our relationship to the land and how we think about our role in advancing Indigenous led conservation, Indigenous led climate policy.
And it really does emanate from you know that love for the land and that intricate connection to who we are as Indigenous people. And I think you know, it's something that is often missed within kind of mainstream and dominant discussions, and you know, is really central to Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing.
And so, you know putting that forefront and that that relationality, I think, is essential. And then I guess the final one that that I really carry with me among all of the other ones, obviously, is that that notion of humility and especially when you know thinking about you know our role and our position as the you know, the two leggeds and the you know unfortunate dominance that we've designed our societies to extend and express against the land around us.
And so, I think, like really, and when thinking about conservation or climate policy or just, you know, solutions more broadly really, it's really about being kind of humble with, you know, when first we were created, right? Humans were created last in our creation stories, but also how does that connect to you know, your deference to, you know the land around you and your respect and responsibilities associated with that.
So, I guess those are our three that that kind of touch on not only my work, but what guides the relationships that I have with you know, many different people and what I strive for, as you know foundational to the work moving forward.
Kristy Tomkinson
Thank you, thank you for exploring, you know all three of those, and I really do love that visual of the mother bear and being firm but gentle as a mother bear would be.
have you had opportunities to support or connect others into this work? You've mentioned several connections you've been able to make, but have you ever been able to have the opportunity to bring others into this work?
Graeme Reed
Yeah, I mean I guess like one concrete way is bringing the AFN into the CRP fold, and so we're pursuing a support resolution that'll help kind of bring that that into the conversation in in a more deliberate way.
I don't know if I’ve had any like, you know a lot of the people that I interact with and work with are already part of the CRP, so it's tough to kind of bring them into that because they're already there or they're leading it. So yeah, I guess that's my thought for that.
Kristy Tomkinson
Are there some connections that you have always wanted to make or that you envisioned making as you were introduced to the CRP, but haven't had a chance to?
Graeme Reed
Yeah, I mean I think like the reality of covid, preventing kind of, you know, on the ground interactions and visits is an important element of what I think is foundational to relationship-building. And so obviously I would like to have more opportunities to interact physically and not through the kind of virtual space.
And part of that is really just like growing, I guess growing the network to advance my desire to help support creating that parallel space of Indigenous-to-Indigenous solidarity. And I think like often we find ourselves trying to fit within, you know, the colonial frameworks of our what we call Canadian society.
And I’m interested through some of the work that I do and also just the conversations that I have in exploring what's that parallel space? How do we create that space that's actually, you know, really about lifting up our nationhood and lifting up our experiences and sharing peer to peer?
And so, I think you know that's an important element of, for example, the solutions bundle and how do we, you know, support the really good lessons of different IPCAs as we also support the development and implementation of those IPCAs across the country. And I think you know, part of that is really just founded on having time and space with one another that we unfortunately have been unable to do.
Kristy Tomkinson
Well, thank you so much Graeme.
it was a pleasure to get to know you a bit better and how you've come to this space and come to this work and thanks again for your time.
Graeme Reed
Yeah wicked.
Yeah, chi miigwech and I really appreciate this opportunity.