Marina Best
An image of a cart at Batoche National Historic Site, which lands and the waters of the South Saskatchewan River are very important to Marina, as she has a lot of family who fought there in the 1885 Resistance. (Photo Credit: Marina Best).
Marina Best is Métis and lives in Snuneymuxw traditional territory in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Her family originates from the Red River Settlement in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She has relationships and connections with both areas.
Marina is the Manager of Indigenous Conservation, within Indigenous Affairs and Cultural Heritage Directorate at Parks Canada. She has found that establishing relationships within the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership community has been a valuable opportunity for learning and reflecting along a shared journey of advancing Indigenous-led conservation.
She shares with us the transformation she’s seeing within Parks Canada as her colleagues from a diverse range of teams engage with these learning opportunities and apply it to their work.
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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 Marina Best.
Marina is Métis and lives in Snuneymuxw traditional territory in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Her family originates from the Red River Settlement in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She has relationships and connections with both areas.
Marina is the Manager of Indigenous Conservation, within Indigenous Affairs and Cultural Heritage Directorate at Parks Canada.
So grab yourself some tea, get comfortable, and join us.
Kristy Tomkinson
So, I wanted to thank you, Marina, so much for sharing your story with us, and sharing your time with us here today. If you could first briefly introduce yourself, we’d love to learn a little bit more about you.
Marina Best
Sure, I’ll introduce myself in my language so: Taanishi, Marina dishinihkaashoon. Aen Michif niiya, Snuneymuxw niwiken.
So, hello, my name is Marina. I'm a Métis woman residing in Snuneymuxw territory in Nanaimo British Columbia. My family originates from the Red River Settlement in the Winnipeg area of Manitoba, but we've lived for a few generations now here in Nanaimo, in British Columbia.
So, my connections with lands and waters are quite varied. I have lived in the prairies for the past, I want to say, four or five years, but I was able to move out back to British Columbia to join my family in 2020. So, I have connections to the lands and waters here on coastal BC, but also connections to my ancestral territory in the Manitoba and Saskatchewan areas.
Kristy Tomkinson
My mom moved out to Nanaimo I think it was 15, 20 years ago I want to say. So, I spent many summers there in between going to university. So, I have there's a special place in my heart with Nanaimo too.
Marina Best
Oh, that's awesome.
Kristy Tomkinson
Yeah, yeah, so I go as much as I can go. That's amazing. And so how did you come to this work in in conservation, especially Indigenous-led conservation and what has that journey looked like for you?
Marina Best
Yeah, well, I mean it, it started out from me just being a young child who did a lot of fishing and harvesting, and now I’m a hunter as well. So, I’ve always been interested in that area of conservation and getting back to the land.
But my journey in the, I guess, more "structured" conservation world is when I joined Parks Canada in 2016. I was working on a conservation project for bison in Prince Albert National Park. So that is kind of what led me on that journey.
So, working with Indigenous Peoples there on that project, and then since then I’ve moved from Alberta and Manitoba - again, working with Indigenous Peoples and other partners to enhance Parks Canada's conservation and reconciliation goals.
But more specifically, in the past few years I’ve been working as the Manager of Indigenous Conservation in Parks Canada, where we aim to weave in Indigenous Knowledge Systems and perspectives into the conservation work of the agency, and so that aligns really well with what the CRP Is doing and what it stands for. So that alignment has created a really close partnership between both Parks Canada and the CRP.
Kristy Tomkinson
So, you're seeing a lot of interconnections between your work and then your involvement with the CRP. And can you tell us a little bit more about your, like, how you're connected to the CRP and what you've been involved with?
Marina Best
Yeah, so the CRP and Parks Canada are definitely walking along a very similar path on trying to weave in Indigenous knowledge systems into this conservation world. So, we've had a lot to learn from each other.
And we do have a more formalized partnership and contribution agreement with the CRP where we are trying to streamline efficiencies and utilize lessons learned and best practices from each other as we walk along this path together, so my involvement has basically surrounded that partnership there. But we've also been involved in other streams because the CRP does have a lot of different streams that it's working on.
So yeah, we try whenever possible to collaborate and make things as streamlined as possible so that we can be more efficient and, I guess, take into consideration the capacity limits of our Indigenous partners as it's a very big topic of interest right now.
Kristy Tomkinson
And so, in your involvement, in your work on, you know, making things more efficient and moving things along in this journey have you been able to build any relationships either within the CRP community or in the, you know, the wider family who are involved in this work? And, you know, tell us a little bit about your relationship building.
Marina Best
Yeah, yeah for sure. So myself and some of my team members within Parks Canada are members of different working groups within the CRP, so through those working groups, we've been able to develop some pretty amazing and established relationships with folks within the CRP.
Again, like yourself, Kristy, or Allison and Robin, we've been able to build on those relationships and I’ve found that it's been super valuable and meaningful for advancing the work on this end, and just utilizing those relationships to share knowledge and understanding, and really, I guess, put an emphasis on what Indigenous conservation means and where that is headed within Canada.
Kristy Tomkinson
And so, where do you hope it will head? I'm curious to know.
Marina Best
Oh, that's a great question.
I would say that, I mean, that's not really something for me to say. I mean, yes, I am an Indigenous person, I do have perspectives on where I would like that to move forward, but I think it really lies with all Indigenous Peoples and you know, just every community having a different perspective on what that path looks like.
So, I wouldn't say that there's necessarily one path forward, but having that ability to take in those different perspectives and voices and really be flexible when and where possible and to the local communities' perspectives on things. So that's kind of how I hope to see it, is that it can have that flexibility in the future.
Kristy Tomkinson
And so back to relationships, is there a specific relationship or connection that you would like to tell us a little bit more about in in terms of your work, either within Parks Canada or the CRP?
Marina Best
I mean there's been so many, but I think just really, the connections that we've made through the working groups because it's not just Parks Canada and the CRP in those working groups, but there's folks from different organizations that are again on that same path.
And having that opportunity to connect with folks who are again having the same questions, the same concerns, and the same barriers, I think, is really, really helpful. And so, I’m just thinking of some folks from, you know, other federal organizations but also, like NGOs that are involved in those.
I think having that wider lens to discuss these types of questions and themes is really useful. But again, I’m very, very grateful for the level of relationship that we've built with, for instance, Allison and Robin, where we can connect with each other at a moment's notice to discuss something, and again try and make things as swift as possible in this realm of Indigenous conservation.
Kristy Tomkinson
And so, the CRP Elders’ Lodge, they have shared with us the gifts of The Seven Grandmother or Grandfather Teachings, and we're always curious to know how these continued to weave within our work or strengthen other's work.
So, which sacred gifts have been present for you in your work and in your relationship-building efforts?
Marina Best
Oh, that's a great question. I would say that I mean all aspects of the Seven Grandfather Teachings have been present because I don't think one can really come without the others.
And for me I really appreciate that when I first got involved with the CRP, Eli Enns was there and I think he really embodied a lot of those Grandfather Teachings in his words and then what he had shared.
And I think just throughout being involved with this process, I’ve become a little bit more in tune with recognizing things like honesty and the scope of wisdom that a lot of these folks coming to the table have to share and really just respecting their voices and their time because again, they're very busy people with a lot on their plates, but they're providing those types of gifts to the people who are involved in the CRP.
And so, I think just thinking of somebody like Eli and just what he brings to the table every single time, there’s so much bravery in the things that he says, there's so much truth in the things that he's saying, but he says it in a way that connects with people.
And so, I think that it's been really welcoming to be in this CRP circle of relationships when there's somebody like that and I think everybody else within the CRP also embodied those different teachings as well. But I think just my initial interactions were just so meaningful and then from there it's just kind of continued on throughout the relationships.
Kristy Tomkinson
And so, how do you think, like, embodying all of those teachings, how do you think that's helping to strengthen the journey that, you know, CRP and Parks Canada are walking along together? Do you think that's strengthening the work?
Marina Best
Definitely, yeah, I think that it means a lot to Indigenous Peoples when people come to the table who are honest, who are sharing their truth, even if it means that you know they don't know necessarily the best path, best path forward or you know their level of wisdom is very low.
But when they're eager there to be at the table and show that respect and love for Indigenous Peoples on this journey, I think it's so meaningful. And so, I think just thinking about and reflecting on those teachings is really helpful when coming to the table to discuss and think about Indigenous conservation and its path forward.
Kristy Tomkinson
I'm wondering if you had any opportunities to support others to come into this work or connect to this work and in what ways?
Marina Best
Yeah, definitely. So since our involvement with the CRP, we've definitely seen a lot of folks within Parks Canada become interested and engaged in the different work streams that have been created, the different working groups that have come with the CRP, so we do have a number of colleagues within Parks Canada who are involved in those conversations, which is fantastic because it's not something that one person can be just the leader of.
We really need to take these conversations and the learnings from what we discuss at these meetings and, you know what we hear from elders and things like that through these workshops and discussions and kind of disperse out.
So, I think that over the past, I would say, year and a half we've seen folks from communications from our Indigenous Relations team within the conservation community at Parks Canada, so we've seen folks from all different areas come in and really take the learnings and try and apply them to the work that they're doing within the agency.
And I’ve been really grateful that there are those opportunities to bring more people in to enhance the conversation within my organization. But I’ve also seen it in other organizations too, and it's really continuing its momentum.
Kristy Tomkinson
That's good, that's great to hear. And I would like to know are there connections with organizations or individuals or communities that you haven't had a chance to yet but would like to and who would those be?
Marina Best
Yeah, like I think it just comes down to capacity again. I think that there's a lot of opportunities there for us to connect with other folks who are involved with the CRP, but there's just not enough time. So, I’m hoping by bringing more people and we can create stronger connections, especially with organizations on a more regional level, because there are regional folks at the table as well, and I think that that would be an amazing opportunity to make those links a little bit stronger.
So, I would say that that's definitely a goal for us to utilize the relationship-building and networking opportunities that the CRP brings, but again, it just comes down to capacity. But we are moving towards that, and I think that there is an opportunity there. But again, I think right now we've been so impressed with the connections that we've been able to build thus far.
Kristy Tomkinson
That's great. Well thank you very much Marina. Thank you again so much for your time.
Marina Best
You're welcome. Thank you.
Kristy Tomkinson
That concludes this week’s story on Community Connections. New episodes will be released biweekly and you can find all episodes on our website at www.conservation-reconciliation.ca.
We would like to extend our gratitude to all of our community members who have made this series possible, including Heather Patterson, Allison Bishop, and our guest contributors. The music for this series is called Moonrise and is produced by Reed Mathis.
If you are enjoying this series and are interested in sharing your stories of connection, please email us at crpinfo@uoguelph.ca
Thank you and tune in next time to Community Connections.