NEW YORK CITY, New York – On April 22, global Indigenous women leaders will unite to advocate for Indigenous rights and protection of forests, water, communities, and the global climate during a public event organized by the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) twenty-fourth session in New York City. The event is free and open to the public.

Worldwide, Indigenous peoples are facing increasing threats to their lives, land, and cultures by extractive industries, rising authoritarianism, and worsening climate disasters. Women are at the forefront of both resistance to climate and environmental threats and implementing solutions to protect and defend Indigenous rights, democracies, traditional knowledge, forests, biodiversity, and the global climate. Indigenous women leaders will share firsthand experiences of the impacts of colonization, deforestation, extraction, and climate disruption while also showcasing robust climate solutions and strategies that uphold Indigenous rights and sovereignty and bring health and justice to their communities. Coinciding with Earth Day, we will also honor the women land defenders on the frontlines of protecting ecosystems from destruction, often at significant personal risk. English and Spanish interpretation will be provided.

During the event, WECAN will release a policy brief on the importance of upholding and implementing Indigenous rights, specifically the right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), as a crucial mechanism to stop harmful extractive industries and protect global ecosystems. For more information or an embargoed copy, please contact Katherine@wecaninternatonal.org.

Public Event - Protecting Land, Rights, and Future: Indigenous Women on the Frontlines of Climate Action and Earth Defense

WHEN: Tuesday, April 22, 5:00 - 8:00 pm ET

WHERE: 777 United Nations Plaza, New York City, NY 10017

WHO:

• Casey Camp-Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member and Project Coordinator, Turtle Island/USA

• Cindy Kobei (Ogiek), Co-Founder and Chairperson, Tirap Youth Trust, Kenya

• Galina Angarova (Buryat), Executive Director, SIRGE Coalition, Turtle Island/USA

• President Whitney Gravelle (Bay Mills Indian Community), President and Executive Council Bay Mills Indian Community, Chair of the Department of Interior’s Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee and Commissioner on the Michigan Advisory Council on Environmental Justice, Turtle Island

• María Violet Medina Quiscue (Nasa), Indigenous leader and human rights advocate; Founder of the Roundtable for Indigenous Peoples Victims of Armed Conflict, and LAC Representative to the UNPFII, Cauca, Colombia

• Dr. Crystal A Cavalier, Ed.D, MPA (Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation), Co-Founder and CEO, 7 Directions of Service, Turtle Island, USA

• Paine Eulalia Mako, Executive Director, Ujamaa Community Resource Team (UCRT), Tanzania

• Aimee Roberson (Choctaw, Chickasaw), Executive Director, Cultural Survival, Turtle Island, USA

• Betty Lyons (Onondaga Nation, Snipe Clan), Executive Director, American Indian Law Alliance, Turtle Island

• With moderation by Osprey Orielle Lake, Founder and Executive Director of Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), USA

HOW: This is a public event, no UN accreditation is required. Please register here.