Skip to Content

Partnerships + Projects

Partnerships + Projects

Partnerships + Projects

Russell Myers-Ross

Mar. 6

Written By Meghan Gillespie

M.A

Fire Practitioner

Russell Myers Ross (MA), member of the Tsilhqot’in Nation and Yunesit’in. Russell has a Masters of Indigenous Governance from the University of Victoria (2010). He was elected Chief of Yunesit’in Government for 8 years from 2012-2020. In the two, four-year terms, he was influential in helping establish capital projects, housing capacity, lands related projects, economic activities that have led to businesses, language revitalization plans and programs, and nation-level projects such as the 1 Mega Watt Tsilhqot’in Solar Farm.
In addition, with support from Gathering Voices Society, Russell has proactively sought activities to prevent future wildfires and restore the damage that impacted the Tsilhqot’in landscape from the 2017 wildfires. Since then, the community has piloted and participated in several seasons of preventative burns. The activities have led towards the development of the Yunesit’in Fire Stewardship program and has had a wide array of interest and attention from media, committees and advisory groups.

Fire Practitioner

Meghan Gillespie

William Nikolakis

John Jack, Chair

CONTACT

william@gatheringvoices.com
(778) 874-9231

Based in British Columbia, Canada

Home
Partnerships + Projects
Purpose
About Us
Get Involved

Follow us in Insta @gatheringvoicessociety

Dr. Jonaki Bhattacharyya is working for Gathering Voices Society to evaluate the effects of cultural burning on ungulate (hooved animal) behaviour.

Dr. Bhattacharyya joined us in spring to for our spring burns. She monitored post-burn ungulate behav

Beauty of the Land

Gorgeous shots of both Xeni Gwet’in and Yunesit’in land this spring.

Learning from the land…
Masters students taking soil samples and analyzing burns.

#indigenous #wildfire #bcwildfire
#ngo #gatheringvoices #bcwildfires #culturalburning #ecosystemrestoration #bc #prescribedfire #prescribedburns #indigenousca

Elders from Yunesit’in sharing traditional knowledge with Victor Steffensen of @firesticks.alliance.network. Our work could not exist without this sharing of knowledge through generations.

#indigenous #wildfire #bcwildfire
#ngo #gatheringvoic

Reconnecting with Traditional Practices:
Letting the land lead, Victor Steffensen discovered the benefits of using Aspen Bark as a fire starter for our cultural burns.
Instead of relying on modern tools such as drip torches, this technique incorpor

Unhealthy Forest Fuels Wildfires

These photos showcase how logging and mono culture leads to unhealthy forests. Reduced
biodiversity and increased flammability is prime fuel for
devastating wildfires.

It’s time to embrace Indigenous-led e

Members of the Gathering Voices Society who do not identify as Indigenous are grateful to live, work, and be in relation with people from across many traditional and unceded territories, covering all regions of British Columbia. We are honoured to live on this land and are committed to reconciliation, decolonization, and building practical long-term solutions to support the economic, ecological, social and cultural priorities of Indigenous communities.