Rights of Mother Earth International Indigenous Conference speech of Canadian, Clayton Thomas-Muller talks about Tar Sands and what it means to his people of this "science fiction nightmare."

Clayton Thomas-Muller, of the Mathais Colomb Cree Nation (Pukatawagan) in Northern Manitoba, Canada, is an activist for indigenous self-determination and environmental justice.

Rights of Mother Earth International Indigenous Conference -Ecuadorian Process Defending Indigenous Territories With Rights of Mother Earth: Patricia Gualinga Montalvo, Spiritual Indigenous Leader, Sarayaku, Ecuador.

Professor Cornel Pewewardy is a traditional Comanche-Kiowa elder and Director of Indigenous Nations Studies at Portland State University. He talks about the negative effects of education on indigenous culture and language. Re-traditionalization is his term for this shift in education, a tribal approach to education.   He spoke on February 11, 2011 in Portland, Oregon.

Meet Richmond, CA's Tania Pulido, one of the Earth Island Institute's 2011 Brower Youth Award Winners! Tania is nourishing, employing, and educating her community through urban agriculture. Her award speech is here.

Rhiannon Tomtishen & Madison Vorva created Project ORANG (Orangutans Really Appreciate and Need Girls Scouts) in 2007. They discovered that the Girl Scouts' iconic cookies contain palm oil, and that palm oil plantations are one of the leading causes of orangutan habitat destruction. They started a campaign to get the Girl Scouts to replace palm oil with a more eco-friendly oil instead. They have since partnered with Rainforest Action Network, co-authoring a petition that has generated more than 70,000 emails to the Girl Scouts headquarters.  Both a great admirers of Jane Goodall.

Tania Pulido runs a community garden that's more than just a place to grow food. The Berryland garden in the Iron Triangle neighborhood of Richmond, CA, is also a space where local youth can take summer apprenticeships and learn about issues like climate change and environmental racism. Here is a video about her work in her community, a food desert.  Tania is deeply involved in issues impacting the health of her community, including a campaign against the local Chevron oil refinery. She accepts the Brower Youth Award.

The Brower Youth Awards recognize people ages 13 to 22 living in North America who have shown outstanding leadership on a project or campaign with positive environmental and social impact.  

Raised in Vancouver and Toronto, Severn Cullis-Suzuki has been camping and hiking all her life. When she was 9 she started the Environmental Children's Organization (ECO), a small group of children committed to learning and teaching other kids about environmental issues. They were successful in many projects before 1992, when they raised enough money to go to the UN's Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Their aim was to remind the decision-makers of who their actions or inactions would ultimately affect. The goal was reached when 12 yr old Severn closed a 1992 Plenary Session with a powerful speech that received a standing ovation.

Here she is again nearly twenty years later addressing our understanding or lack thereof about our environment.

IKEA talks to children about environmental sustainability. Children have some unique and surprising perspectives! Spend a few moments and listen to what they have to say about taking care of our planet.

How a young activist called Alec Loorz grew to be a main stage speaker at Bioneers.