Next Up

I am thrilled to welcome Paisley Nahanee to our staff team as Right Relations Director, in partnership with IndigenEYEZ.

Paisley Eva Nahanee is from the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nation village of Eslha7an. She was raised by a family of Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Matriachs that for generations have been pioneers of feminism, social justice, and racial equity. They inspired her and taught her to how to advocate for these things at an early age. Her approach to social change is always based in indigeneity and cultural teachings. It’s about sharing knowledge and stories to grow as a society. She practices calling in organizations, instead of calling out to include Indigenous people and ideologies in a post-colonial, post-capitalist society. You can read her full bio HERE.

It is time to rethink our systems and meaningfully address the root causes of inequity in the non-profit sector and our own organizing work.

Our mandate is to build capacity in the progressive movement to address issues of oppression and colonization, and, in doing that, we cannot neglect to confront our own ways of perpetuating systems of harm. Affirmed by the Truth and Reconciliation Committee’s Calls to Action, there is a responsibility on social justice organizations to lead transformative change in reconciliation. We must listen first, understand organizational truths, and centre reciprocal relationships. There is a need for us to do some deep relationship-building in a way that weaves equity and recognizes Indigenous sovereignty through all aspects of our work.

As part of our continued priority to deepen and strengthen our equity and anti-oppression work within Next UP, I’m excited to learn with and from Paisley about decolonized spaces, as we build potential best practices together. Over the next few months, she will also lead other progressive youth to challenge how we talk about colonization and equity in the non-profit sector.

Welcome, Paisley!

This project is funded as part of the Vancouver Foundation’s LEVEL – Youth Granting.