The ravages inflicted on ecosystems and human communities, especially those of frontline First Peoples, by the brutally exploitative extractive system that dominates the global economy, threaten to unravel the entire web of life. The challenge of our time is to quickly reverse that ecocidal trajectory, and one of the best places to look for effective alternative models is in the deep wisdom of traditional Indigenous cultures who learned over millennia to work with the natural world with an attitude of reverent and respectful reciprocity to meet human needs while ensuring the environment’s ongoing health. In this session three inspiring leaders working to implement various forms of Indigenous ecological science in partnerships with university, state and local partners share their perspectives and experiences. With Nina Simons, author of Nature, Culture & the Sacred and Bioneers’ co-founder; deeply respected longtime activist and educator Jeannette Armstrong, Ph.D., Syilx Okanagan Nation, cofounder Enowkin Centre; dynamic young leader in salmon restoration/dam removal struggles on the Klamath River, Sammy Gensaw III, Yurok, co-founder, Ancestral Guard; and Niko Alexandre, co-founder of the Shelterwood Collective, which brings together Black, Indigenous and LGBTQ people in a land-based, community-building project that is implementing TEK methods in their fields and forests.
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March 30th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm
Panelists
Co-Creator & Stewardship Lead
The Shelterwood Collective
Nikola Alexandre, Co-Creator & Stewardship Lead of the Shelterwood Collective, is a Black queer forester with MA degrees in both Forestry and Business Administration from Yale who founded Conservation International’s Ecosystem Restoration Program. After attending a nature-based healing gathering following the Pulse massacre, Nikola committed his life to tending the earth and reclaiming land stewardship as a way of nurturing a future for the communities he belongs to, which led to his co-founding the Shelterwood Collective in Sonoma County.
Founding Director
Ancestral Guard
Sammy Gensaw III is a leader in environmental and cultural preservation in his Yurok community. Director of the Ancestral Guard, a nonprofit focused on teaching traditional fishing and farming methods to Indigenous youth, his approach is deeply rooted in food sovereignty, cultural preservation, community resilience, and self-sufficiency. Gensaw's activist journey began in his early teens with the Klamath Justice Coalition, the largest dam removal and river restoration project in history, and his contributions to restoring Native American foodways are featured in the documentary film, Gather.
Co-Founder
Enowkin Centre
Jeannette Armstrong, Ph.D. (lax̌lax̌tkʷ) from the Penticton Indian Band, a fluent speaker and knowledge keeper of Syilx Okanagan and its oral histories, is an Associate Professor and the Coordinator of Interior Salishan Languages programs at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. She collaborates with other Salish-speaking groups to re-establish Indigenous languages and historical relationships through food harvesting ceremonies, gatherings, and the protection of water and land practices. A recipient of the Eco Trust USA Buffett Award in Indigenous Leadership, Jeannette serves on the Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge Subcommittee of Canada’s Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife and is a lifetime Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an officer of the Order of Canada.
Co-Founder and Chief Relationship Strategist
Bioneers
Nina Simons, co-founder of Bioneers and its Chief Relationship Strategist is also co-founder of Women Bridging Worlds and Connecting Women Leading Change. She co-edited the anthology book, Moonrise: The Power of Women Leading from the Heart, and most recently wrote Nature, Culture & The Sacred: A Woman Listens for Leadership. An award-winning social entrepreneur, Nina teaches and speaks internationally, and previously served as President of Seeds of Change and Director of Strategic Marketing for Odwalla.