Indigenous Women Upholding Indigenous Rights and Knowledge, and Leading Climate Solutions

During this UNPFII side event we hear from global Indigenous women leaders on the impacts of

Indigenous Women Upholding Indigenous Rights and Knowledge, and Leading Climate Solutions

During this UNPFII side event we hear from global Indigenous women leaders on the impacts of fossil fuels, deforestation, and the climate crisis in their communities and how they are implementing solutions, practicing traditional knowledge systems, upholding Indigenous rights, and advancing policies and practices of care and climate justice.

Panel ONE
-- Ruth �chav’aya K’isen Miller (Curyung Tribe of Dena’ina Athabaskan) | Indigenous Climate Activist, Turtle Island, USA
-- Yasso Kanti Bhattachan (Thakali) | Founding Member and the Vice Chair of the National Indigenous Women’s Forum (NIWF), Nepal
-- Claire Charlo ( Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes)| Indigenous Feminisms Organizer, Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), Turtle Island/USA
-- Xiye Bastida (Otomi-Toltec)| Co-founder and Board, Re-earth Initiative, USA

Panel TWO
-- Josefina Tunki (Shuar) | First woman president of the Shuar Arutam organization (PSHA)
-- 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/USA
-- Michelle Woodhouse (Métis) | Water Program Manager, Environmental Defence, Canada
-- Majo Andrade Cerda (Kichwa) | Young leader of the Kichwa People of Napo, Land is Life’s Latin America Program Assistant, Ecuador
Panel moderation and comments by Osprey Orielle Lake, WECAN Executive Director

On December 5, WECAN hosted our formal UN Side Event at COP28, “Women Implementing Climate Justice Solutions to Mitigate and Adapt to the Climate Crisis.” During the side event,

On December 5, WECAN hosted our formal UN Side Event at COP28, “Women Implementing Climate Justice Solutions to Mitigate and Adapt to the Climate Crisis.” During the side event, grassroots, Indigenous and frontline women, and representatives of global organizations presented climate justice strategies and solutions, including forest and biodiversity protection, Indigenous rights, agro-ecology, renewable energy and a Just Transition, fossil fuel phase out and divestment, and protection of women land defenders.

Speakers included: Lucy Mulenkei (Maasai), Executive Director, Indigenous Information Network, Kenya; Eriel Tchekwie Deranger (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation), Executive Director, Indigenous Climate Action, Canada; Braulina Baniwa (Baniwa), Executive Director, National Articulation of Indigenous Women Ancestrality Warriors (ANMIGA), Brazil; Taily Terena (Terena Nation), Indigenous rights activist, WECAN Coordinator in Brazil, Brazil; Casey Camp Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member, Turtle Island, USA; Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), USA

During the event we also had a special appearance by Sonia Guajajara, Minister of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil, who shared a powerful testimony to the leadership of women in Brazil and globally. We are honored to have worked with Minister Guajajara for the past several years, and to see her continue her advocacy efforts in her newly appointed position.

Global Voices and Women-Led Calls to Action in Response to COP27

Around the world, peoples’ movements are responding to the escalating climate crisis and rising to address the

Global Voices and Women-Led Calls to Action in Response to COP27

Around the world, peoples’ movements are responding to the escalating climate crisis and rising to address the urgency and needs of people and the planet. During this event, we heard from women and gender-diverse leaders on the ground at #COP27 to report out on negotiations, share highlights, report releases, calls to action, demands from women globally, struggles, and solutions.

Speakers included:
- Noelene Nabulivou | Co-founder/Director, DIVA for Equality, Fiji;
- Carmen Capriles, Founder of Reacción Climática, WECAN Coordinator for Latin America
- Patricia Gualinga (Kichwa), Indigenous Leader from Sarayaku, and Spokeswoman, Mujeres Amazónicas Defensoras de la Selva;
- Mitzi Jonelle Tan, Convenor and International Spokesperson for Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP);
- Jacqui Patterson, Founder and Executive Director, The Chisholm Legacy Project;
- Leila Salazar-López, Executive Director, Amazon Watch;
- Geraldine Patrick Encina, Indigenous Relations Advisor, One Earth Member of Grand Council of the Eagle and the Condor, and member of Earth Timekeepers;
- Adriana Calderón, Youth Climate Activist, USA & Mexico; Advocate with Fridays For Future, Fridays For Future MAPA (Most Affected People and Areas) and Fridays For Future in Mexico (Viernes Por El Futuro Mexico);
- Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN)

During the convergence, we brought together global women leaders in all their diversity to share the many ways they are working and strategizing to build the solutions needed for an equitable and

During the convergence, we brought together global women leaders in all their diversity to share the many ways they are working and strategizing to build the solutions needed for an equitable and Just Transition— including food sovereignty, gender responsive climate policies, regenerative economics, forest protection, Indigenous rights, rights of nature, demilitarism, phasing out fossil fuels, and much more.

Thank you to the many amazing speakers: President Whitney Gravelle (Bay Mills Indian Community), President and Executive Council Bay Mills Indian Community, Turtle Island/USA; Mitzi Jonelle Tan, Convenor and International Spokesperson for Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP), Philippines; Neema Namadamu, Founder and Executive Director of Hero Women Rising, and WECAN Coordinator in the DR Congo; Tzeporah Berman, Chair, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, Canada; Ruth Nyambura, African Ecofeminist Collective, Kenya; Dr. Crystal A Cavalier, Ed.D, MPA (Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation), Co-Founder, 7 Directions of Service, Turtle Island, USA; Dipti Bhatnagar, World Commission on Fossil Fuel Phase Out, Mozambique; Dr. Tammy Greer (Houma Nation), Associate Professor and Director, Center for American Indian Research and Studies (CAIRS) at Southern Mississippi, and WECAN OHIH Program Leader, Mississippi, Turtle Island/USA; and Osprey Orielle Lake, Founder and Executive Director of Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), USA

Women for Climate Justice Leading Solutions on the Frontlines of Climate Change - COP27 Side Event

At this official UN Side Event, grassroots, frontline and Indigenous women leaders,

Women for Climate Justice Leading Solutions on the Frontlines of Climate Change - COP27 Side Event

At this official UN Side Event, grassroots, frontline and Indigenous women leaders, alongside representatives from international climate justice organizations, spoke out to address root causes of interlocking crises and the need for solutions based in a climate justice framework, including forest and biodiversity protection, Indigenous rights, agro-ecology, fossil fuel resistance, protection of women land defenders, and community-led solutions.

Speakers included:
--- Neema Namadamu, Democratic Republic of Congo Coordinator, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), Democratic Republic of Congo
-- Sônia Bone Guajajara (Guajajara), Indigenous Leader from Brazil, Federal Deputy of the National Congress of Brazil, Brazil
--- Casey Camp Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member, USA
--- Anne Songole, Climate Justice Coordinator, The African Women’s Development and Communications Network (FEMNET), Kenya
--- Jessica Grefa, Indigenous youth leader from Santa Clara
--- Eriel Tchekwie Deranger (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation), Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action, Canada
--- Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director of Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN)