Pamela Vernaus
Pamela Vernaus is a Communications Manager for Nature United and co-chair of Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership’s Communications Learning Circle.
In this conversation, Pamela describes how she came to the conservation sector, the importance of nature to her mental, physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing, and her passion for uplifting and sharing other’s voices and perspectives through film and media.
Pamela shares with us how she’s inspired by seeing important connections being developed and cultivated at an international scale where community-based Indigenous-led conservation is ‘catching fire’ in international dialogues and conversations.
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Full Transcript
Kristy Tomkinson
Hello, kwe’, boozhoo, taanishi, oki, atelihai , chachim 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 Pamela Vernaus. Pamela is Métis from the Red River Settlement in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
She is a Communications Manager for Nature United and co-chair of the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership’s Communications Learning Circle.
So grab yourself some tea, get comfortable, and join us.
Well, first I want to say thank you so much, Pamela for joining us for the community connections series and sharing your story with us. Can you start by briefly introducing yourself?
Pamela Vernaus
Hi so thanks for having me, maarsii. My name is Pamela Vernaus, and I am on treaty one territory. These are the traditional territories of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, Dene, and the Métis nations. And I am Métis from the Red River Settlement, where my ancestors took script here many years ago and I’m located, I think I said, in Winnipeg Manitoba. And yeah, it's -40°c today with the windchill, so I’m happy to be inside talking to you guys today.
Kristy Tomkinson
That's very cold. I think it for us here, in Guelph, -20°c is cold.
Can you tell us, so you told us where you're from, where you are currently, are there lands and waters that you have a relationship with?
Pamela Vernaus
So where I am is where the two rivers meet the Assiniboine and the Red, and it's a very special place, a very traditional place, to a lot of the Indigenous Peoples that are here, and that are from here, and that have permeated a culture on these lands and waters and I’m grateful to live on the Assiniboine, so I spend a lot of time on the river, especially in the winter time, when it's frozen, but also in the summer. I like to get out there on canoe and kayak and it’s, you know it's like my cathedral.
Especially during the pandemic, like I said, I’ve been just going to nature for solace, and for answers, and just for peace and stillness and it's just been a great. It's been, I don't think I would have come this far without nature so and I’m very thankful and, you know, indebted to being able to live so close to where my ancestors come from and be able to experience that every day and that, you know, leads into the work that I do and so I like to envision it a lot like a circle and just being able to give back, and then take what I need, and then give it back, and just having a connection with Mother Earth daily is just really important to my wellbeing and yeah.
Kristy Tomkinson
So, is that what kind of brought you to this work in the conservation sector? That connection, and that love for nature is that what brought you to the sector?
I'm also curious to know what brought you to the communications world in the conservation sector.
Pamela Vernaus
Yeah. So, in terms of communications, ever since I was a child, I wanted to make documentary films. I was completely enamored by them, and just very interested in the sort of the art of reality or truth-telling or truth-seeking, you know, with the hints of journalism. And so, I was accepted into the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 2010 and that opened an opportunity to explore the world of media and more specifically I got involved in the sort of the filming and editing aspect of it and the storytelling from that angle of media production.
And that led me to work with the Truth Reconciliation Commission, where I was, I had the honour of documenting testimonies from survivors and intergenerational survivors affected by the Indian Residential Schools and that then lead to me doing the same thing with the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls; collecting again, or documenting testimony and bearing witness to those as well. And so, within that was a lot of vicarious trauma and a lot of what came from those discussions were the ability to heal from the land and with the land and with Mother Earth and going back and permeating culture through that and it just, everything sort of just came full circle.
This position with Nature United came up when my, when the mandate was up with the National Inquiry and it just felt like the next best step was to work within Indigenous-led conservation and take all those skills and be able to work in partnership and share and learn more about what's happening on the land, with the land, and how we can tell those stories and help others share their stories and experiences as well.
Kristy Tomkinson
And so, can you tell us a bit about your journey to getting to know the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership and how have you been involved?
Pamela Vernaus
Yeah, so it was, I started at Nature United in 2019, so pre-pandemic, and it was sort of a natural fit because of the work that I had done with the Truth and Reconciliation and the dots sort of just connected that I would sort of move into this space within the organization and also with the CRP. So that took place fairly early on.
You know, I didn't have much of a conservation background, but I was, you know, I was willing to learn and grow and see what would come of it. And so, the idea of reconciliation within the conservation space was sort of my anchor point, because that was always an interest of mine and sort of where my work lies so, yeah, it was, it was an obvious fit.
Yeah, so I joined the CRP group in the in the Communications Working Group and then from there I just started sharing some of the work that we've been doing at Nature United and that just led to me becoming a co-chair and sharing a lot of the bigger pieces that Nature United created prior to my arrival and now I have the ability to sort of collaborate in that space both with so many amazing ENGO's and Indigenous communities, also, you know, with Nature United's global affiliate, the Nature Conservancy. They've now sort of started to adopt this same methodology, which I think is really exciting.
So there's some moving pieces going on, and there's this national conversation, but there's also very local community based conversations taking place, but then at a higher level, there's an international conversation taking place across Turtle Island and to me that is, that's where I’m seeing the connections as being able to take this work that's being done at a very grassroots level, but on a national scale and then seeing it sort of catch fire internationally, and I think that that is, that is, you know, just it's such a beautiful thing. And I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes and where the CRP is going to land in that as well, and just having all these amazing voices at the table so.
Kristy Tomkinson
Oh great, that's so wonderful to hear that it's kind of burgeoning from this community, grassroots level up into the international, national and international level.
So, it's so amazing to hear that and, and I’m wondering if you could tell us about a connection, a specific connection or relationship, either with an individual or an organization that you've been able to develop or strengthen as part of your collaboration within the partnership.
Pamela Vernaus
Yeah, well first of all I think for me personally, the fact that the CRP exists is just phenomenal and really exciting and I had no idea that this was even going on until I got into this conservation space, so that in itself is a huge connection for me because I wasn't aware that that was taking place at this level, and so it just gives me a lot of hope.
And I think Allison Bishop was sort of the one who pushed me along. She was sort of the first connection I made at the starting of, at the start of this journey. And she, you know, she pushed me to be more vocal and share my insights even though I couldn't always see how they connected because I didn't have that deep conservation background at the time and I still don't, I have so much to learn. But she just, you know, I would have a few off conversations with her and sort of explain to her the work that we were doing to see if it had a space in the CRP and it turned out it did. So, making that connection, you know, both the physical connection with Allison but also this mental spiritual connection with the work that's taking place is just huge, and I think that it's, yeah, I just think it's absolutely amazing. So, thank you Allison!
Kristy Tomkinson
Oh, she'll be so happy to hear that.
And as you know the Elders Lodge of the CRP has shared with us the Seven Grandmother/Grandfather Teachings and I’m curious to know which of these sacred gifts have been present for you as you are making these connections either physically, spiritually and connecting, you know, to that broader conversation you were talking about earlier.
Pamela Vernaus
Yeah. Well, I think that there's no one particular sacred teaching. I feel that they all work in harmony together.
So definitely, you know, there's the love and that's the love of the land and the people and the culture and the love for Creator.
And then the respect, which just respect is so important respecting Mother Earth, respecting people's knowledge, respecting the teachings, respecting each other, and respecting ourselves in this work, I think is really important.
And then the bravery is too. That one, I mean, is sometimes difficult, but it's just the way I interpret that is to speak up against oppressive systems, systemic racism, colonialism, things that have been institutionalized that, you know, have worked to suppress a lot of these teachings and knowledge and sacred gifts that were passed on for, you know, since time immemorial.
And then truth. And that's I mean the truth is so important. You know, we don't know where we're going until we understand the truth and that has been opened and shared so to be able to walk in our own truth, but also to sort of share the truth of why it is that we are where we are and how we got here and it's not until then that we'll know how to where to go.
And then honesty is being honest, you know, with ourselves and with the work that we do, and sometimes not always, you know, having the right answers and being ok with that and saying you know, being honest about that.
Humility: Well, that to me is really important. I don't think I would have made it anywhere in life without being, without having humility or being humiliated. But I think that mistakes are important because we learn from those and not everything needs to be perfect. I think that failure is important. We learn from failure. And if we can't acknowledge it then we're not being honest, so you know, like I said, these all works together. And then wisdom; I mean that's all encompassing but It's, wisdom to me is understanding that I don't know everything and that there's a lot more to learn.
And so, I’m just, yeah, I’m just really honored to be part of this, to be part of these conversations, and just to come in with an open heart and an open mind and spirit to receive the teachings and just share the small little, tiny piece of what I know. And so yeah, I feel like they all work together.
Kristy Tomkinson
Yeah, it's difficult to separate them out, so yeah. Thank you.
Pamela Vernaus
And to just to answer your question, I like humility.
I think that if more organizations and individuals and groups and especially government, could you know, be humble and walk with a little bit of humility, I think we could see some more substantial changes. So that that one to me, just based on the work that I’ve done in the within the federal government and within these inquiries, humility has always stood out to me. It's a big one, so.
Kristy Tomkinson
You talked a little bit about how you've been able to connect Nature United in in your work into the communications learning circle especially, and that has really helped to guide what we're working on in inside the circle. I'm curious to know if you've had an opportunity to connect others within this work or bring others into this community and in what ways?
Pamela Vernaus
Yeah, so I did speak about it a little bit at the beginning, but some, there, the fact that I’ve been able to share this with our affiliate, our global affiliate, the Nature Conservancy, which is one of the largest conservation organizations in the world, and the fact that I'm able to talk about this work and connect it to that level, to me it's just been huge. And I, I think that it, it's going to be big. Like I think that that it's, that this is all happening at the same time and there's like this conscious you know this, this level of consciousness that's taking place. And so, yeah, that's how I would connect that. That's the connection I’ve seen there.
Kristy Tomkinson
And so, I’m just, I'm curious what that looks like, and what kind of conversations are happening at that level? If you're able to share a little bit.
Pamela Vernaus
Yeah, there's the conversations, there's a, there's a lot of curiosity taking place. There's a lot of questioning about how conservation has affected Indigenous Peoples and in the us specifically, tribal lands.
What that land acquisition and repatriation can look like. So, there's definitely a lot of conversation happening and just the idea of decolonizing communications and taking, you know, taking conservation organizations, sort of out of the heart of the story and putting, giving it back to the community is sort of what's, where I see that shift happening.
Kristy Tomkinson
Great and my final question is, are there connections or relationships that you would like to make with individuals or organizations, and you just haven't had a chance? So, and who would that be?
Pamela Vernaus
Yeah, well, I’ll just state the obvious I would love to meet everyone in person. I would love to be able to, you know, be able to get out and go and meet with the whole group. So hopefully post-, well, I don't know if there'll ever be a post-COVID, but hopefully at some point we will be able to meet in person and so for me, that's probably the one of the most important is to be able to do that.
I'd like to, so I don't know, I haven't had a chance, I mean there, I would hope to see potentially being able to bring the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation in somehow or see what they, you know, how they, how their work and our work fit in together, or if they can offer any guidance that would be really amazing. And just yeah, just other folks who are having conversations like this who maybe don't know that this exists or that are looking for a place to feel safe and have conversations, and maybe that's at a federal government level, I don't know or a municipal, I'm not sure. So, there's yeah, I think there's a lot of opportunity to bring all different levels and maybe some different sectors that may not be present that do have the ability to influence policy that could potentially be of benefit. And so, if there's anything that we've overlooked, or maybe we haven't thought of because I didn't know that the dots could be connected. So yeah.
Kristy Tomkinson
Great, well thank you so much Pam. That's all I have in terms of questions, and I want to, I'm really grateful for your time and for sitting down to share your story with us today.
Pamela Vernaus
Maarsii.