Valérie Courtois and Sacred Kinship in the Boreal

In the Arctic Circle, Innu peoples’ relationship with caribou “is so sacred that we could become them, and they could become one of us,” says Valérie Courtois. She is a member of the Innu community of Mashteuiatsh, a forester by trade, and the Director of the Indigenous Leadership Initiative, an organization dedicated to strengthening Indigenous nationhood and leadership. Valérie has spent her life bridging traditional Indigenous knowledge and Western science. She shares stories about what it’s like to live in the Boreal, home to hundreds of species of lichen and nesting ground to billions of birds. The special relationship between caribou and people in these lands goes back thousands of years and holds lessons about caring for Mother Earth and each other. Learn more about ILI on their website and connect with them on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.Host: Jessica Ramirez. Producer: Felipe Contreras. Story editor: Julie Keck.  We want to hear from you! What is your special place, the land YOU feel most connected to? We’d love to hear your stories and may share them on a future episode. Email [email protected] or connect with us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter as #Seedcast at @NiaTero. Seedcast is a production of Nia Tero, a global nonprofit which supports Indigenous land guardianship around the world through policy, partnership, and storytelling initiatives.Enjoy the Seedcast podcast on the Nia Tero website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your other favorite podcast platforms. Keep up with Seedcast on Instagram and use the hashtag #Seedcast.