Indigenous Nations worldwide are at the forefront of maintaining biodiversity for the future of our planet and the next generations to come. Yet, while state representatives are gathered here in Tiohtià:ke (so-called Montreal) for the 15th UN Biodiversity Conference, Indigenous communities on Turtle Island, Abya Yala (Latin America), and beyond are standing up against many of these very settler entities that threaten our relationship to the land and all its living beings.
Whether claiming to be progressive or otherwise, state officials who gather in the name of protecting Biodiversity on the world stage displace Indigenous Peoples, our Nations and our relations in the name of profit.
From pipelines and chemical valleys to forestry plantations, Indigenous communities are facing the tremendous loss of our lands and resources to the extractive policies of governments and capitalist interests all around the world. With this reality in mind, Indigenous Climate Action (ICA) is releasing the executive summary of a new report: Indigenous-led Climate Policy. The report is part of the second phase of ICA’s Decolonizing Climate Policy Project and calls for Indigenous-led solutions, such as land and water defense to fight the climate crisis and widespread biodiversity loss.
As Indigenous Peoples at CBD COP 15, we demand Indigenous-led solutions to the climate crisis and for our rights to be respected. Our peoples are the keepers of Biodiversity around the world. It is through our solutions that we will see the world through the climate crisis.
What:
ICA and frontline Indigenous activists will convene for a press conference to highlight the important work of land and water defenders within so-called Canada and beyond who are protecting biodiversity and calling out false solutions and the lack of political will within colonial spaces like the UN Conference on Biodiversity.
Who:
Indigenous Climate Action: the only Indigenous-led climate justice organization in Canada.
Brazil’s National Association of Ancestral Indigenous Women Warriors: an articulation of Indigenous Women from all biomes in Brazil.
Gidim’ten Camp: the Wet’suwet’en people standing against the Coastal Gas Link pipeline (CGL).
Where and When:
2:00 pm EST on Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Media Center, room 220D, 2nd floor, at the Palais des Congrès, Montreal
Speakers:
Yaroslava Montenegro, Indigenous Climate Action
Yaroslava Avila Montenegro is a Mapuche organizational specialist, with a background in Non-Profit governance and Labour organizing. Born and raised in Tkaronto, she is the daughter of Mapuche refugees from Wallmapu (aka Chile), organizing on topics of indigenous rights, economic and social justice. Read more.
Vanessa Gray, Indigenous Climate Action
Aamjiwnaang First Nation
Vanessa Gray is a queer Anishinaabe Kwe from the Aamjiwnaang First Nation. She is a water protector, environmental researcher, and community organizer for the Great Lakes region. Vanessa is a respected land defender emphasizing Indigenous peoples inherent and legal rights and sovereignty within climate justice. Read more.
Ellen Gabriel
Kanien’kehá:ka Nation
Ms. Gabriel graduated from Concordia University in May 1990 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Major Studio Art. She began her public activism during the 1990 Siege of Kanehsatà:ke (1990 “Oka” Crisis) and was chosen by the People of the Longhouse and her community of Kanehsatà:ke to be their spokesperson. Read more.
Jozi Kaingang
Brazil’s National Association of Ancestral Indigenous Women Warriors (ANMIGA)
Joziléia Daniza Jagso, is an Indigenous woman of the Kaingang People and an Anthropologist, PhD student at PPGAS/UFSC. She is the Vice President of the Kaingang Institute (INKA). She is a co-founding member of Brazil’s National Association of Ancestral Indigenous Women Warriors (ANMIGA) and its project coordinator. Jozi is also a founding member of the Brazilian Association of Indigenous Anthropologists (ABIA). She is also a member of Brazilian Indigenous organizations ARPINSUL and APIB and a COMIN Project Advisor. Jozi is also Editor of the Magazine by and for Indigenous Women: FAG TAR – A FORÇA DELAS, or “Her Strength.” She is also an editor of the FIOCRUZ Indigenous Voices in Health project.
Sleydo’ Molly Wickham, Gidim’ten Camp
Wet’suwet’en Nation
Sleydo’ Molly Wickham is a spokesperson for Gidimt’en checkpoint on Wet’suwet’en territory. The Wet’suwet’en people, under the governance of their hereditary chiefs, are standing in the way of the largest fracking project in Canadian history. The Coastal Gas Link pipeline (CGL), owned by TC Energy (formerly TransCanada) aims to connect the fracking operations of Northeastern B.C. with a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility in the coastal town of Kitimat.
