Theme: Indigeneity
Thursday, April 6th
April 6th | 8:55 am to 9:15 am | Zellerbach Hall
Keynote
Mar Stevens
Drummer and Teacher
Mar Stevens has studied West African drumming for 19 years. She started her journey under the apprenticeship of Master Drummer Afia Walking Tree of Spirit Drumz and has studied in Guinea, Africa. She has led a number of drum circles for women and taught classes and workshops at Born to Drum and Drum Sundays in Berkeley. She currently teaches a children’s drum class at Meadows Livingstone School and leads the ensembles Sistahs of the Drum and Sistah Boom.
Michaelle Goerlitz
Percussionist and Drummer
Michaelle Goerlitz, a San Francisco Bay Area-based highly versatile percussionist and drummer, has played with a wide range of artists, including: VNote Ensemble, ‘Chelle & Friends, Mark Levine, Tammy Hall, Rhiannon, Yair Dalal, Barbara Higbie, Jami Sieber, Roger Glenn, Mimi Fox and Samba Rio. She also co-founded two long-lived Bay Area groups, the Blazing Redheads and Wild Mango, and she teaches extensively, both privately and at music camps and schools.
Elizabeth Sayre
Percussionist, Hand Drummer and Educator
Elizabeth Sayre, a percussionist, hand drummer and educator based in Oakland, CA, studied with master drummers in the US and Cuba, and has played, taught, and written about Afro-Cuban batá drumming and other folk and traditional arts since the mid-1990s. She has served as Musical Director for Arenas Dance Company, directed by Cuban master dancer-choreographer Susana Arenas Pedroso, since 2012, and accompanies weekly virtual orisha song classes with legendary Cuban vocalist Bobi Céspedes. Elizabeth has written on folk and traditional arts, and some of those essays appeared in the Philadelphia Folklore Project’s magazine, Works in Progress. Elizabeth also plays Brazilian percussion and performed with Philadelphia-based dance band sensation Alô Brasil.
April 6th | 9:25 am to 9:32 am | Zellerbach Hall
Keynote
Corrina Gould
Co-Director | Sogorea Te’ Land Trust
Corrina Gould (Lisjan Ohlone), born and raised in the village of Huichin (aka Oakland, CA), is the chair and spokesperson for the Confederated Villages of Lisjan and co-founder and Lead Organizer for Indian People Organizing for Change, a small Native-run organization that sponsored annual Shellmound Peace Walks from 2005 to 2009. As a tribal leader, she has continued to fight for the protection of the Shellmounds, uphold her nation's right to sovereignty, and stand in solidarity with Indigenous relatives to protect sacred waters, mountains, and lands all over the world. Her life’s work has led to the creation of Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, a women-led organization in the Bay Area that seeks to heal and transform legacies of colonization and genocide.
Introduction by Cara Romero, Director of Bioneers’ Indigeneity Program
By now, we have all heard the statistic that Indigenous Peoples protect 80% of the world’s biodiversity, despite being 5% of the world’s population. This simple fact alone should position Indigenous, Native, and Tribal Peoples as not only leaders but experts on resource management and climate mitigation and adaptation. Yet, in many spaces, political and institutional, Indigenous knowledge and expertise are seen as supplemental, and at worse, romantic. So how can we move beyond just acknowledging Indigenous Peoples to working to ensure that their rights are centered and strengthened in climate action at the local, national and global levels? Jade Begay, one of North America’s most effective Indigenous Rights activists will share her insights on how far Indigenous leadership has come and what we can do to strengthen and embolden this leadership that is so needed if we are all to survive on planet Earth.
April 6th | 12:22 pm to 12:44 pm | Zellerbach Hall
Introduced by
Cara Romero
Program Director of the Indigeneity Program | Bioneers
Cara Romero (Chemehuevi), Program Director of the Bioneers Indigeneity Program, previously served her Mojave-based tribe in several capacities, including as: first Executive Director at the Chemehuevi Cultural Center, a member of the tribal council, and Chair of the Chemehuevi Education Board and Chemeuevi Headstart Policy Council. Cara is also a highly accomplished photographer/artist.
Keynote
Jade Begay
Director of Policy and Advocacy | NDN Collective
Jade Begay, MA, a citizen of Tesuque Pueblo and also of Diné and Southern Ute ancestry, Director of Policy and Advocacy at NDN Collective, works at the intersections of storytelling, narrative strategy, climate and environmental justice, and Indigenous rights policy at the domestic and international levels. She previously served as the Creative Director and Climate Justice Campaign Director at NDN Collective but now directs its programs and projects that elevate policy and advocacy issues important to the self-determination of Indigenous Peoples and tribal nations. In 2021, Jade was appointed by President Biden to serve on the inaugural White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council and is a recipient of a Ripe for Creative Disruption Environmental Justice Movement Fellowship.
#LandBack has become a rallying cry in Indigenous circles and beyond from coast to coast, but what does #Landback really mean, and how can we be a part of this movement? In this panel, leaders in the #Landback movement will share different approaches to the return and “rematriation” of ancestral territories. For tribal members, the discussion will include organizational, fundraising, and legal strategies. For non-Natives, panelists will share how to be a good ally for #Landback. Moderated by Cara Romero. With: PennElys Droz; Corrina Gould; Tom Little Bear Nason; Kawenniiosta Jock.
April 6th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
Panelists
Corrina Gould
Co-Director | Sogorea Te’ Land Trust
Corrina Gould (Lisjan Ohlone), born and raised in the village of Huichin (aka Oakland, CA), is the chair and spokesperson for the Confederated Villages of Lisjan and co-founder and Lead Organizer for Indian People Organizing for Change, a small Native-run organization that sponsored annual Shellmound Peace Walks from 2005 to 2009. As a tribal leader, she has continued to fight for the protection of the Shellmounds, uphold her nation's right to sovereignty, and stand in solidarity with Indigenous relatives to protect sacred waters, mountains, and lands all over the world. Her life’s work has led to the creation of Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, a women-led organization in the Bay Area that seeks to heal and transform legacies of colonization and genocide.
PennElys Droz
Program Officer | NDN Collective
PennElys Droz, Ph.D., of Anishinaabe and European descent, a mother of five, is a Program Officer with NDN Collective (“an Indigenous-led organization dedicated to building Indigenous power through organizing, activism, philanthropy, grantmaking, capacity-building and narrative change”), and a founding board member of Sustainable Nations, an Indigenous regenerative community development organization. She has worked in Indigenous engineering and regenerative development for over twenty years, with the vision of the re-development of ecologically, culturally and economically thriving, sustainable Indigenous Nations.
Tom Little Bear Nason
Tribal Chairman | Esselen Tribe of Monterey County
Tom Little Bear Nason, born on his aboriginal homelands in Big Sur, CA, has been the Tribal Chairman of the Esselen Tribe since 1993, helping preserve 1,200 acres of Esselen sacred land, one the first “Land-Back” achievements for a non-federally recognized tribe in California. He has been involved in the preservation of traditional landscapes for 30+years and worked with agencies to remove one the largest dams in California history, effectively preserving salmon and steelhead populations. He continues to work with tribes, state agencies, land trusts and conservation groups to expand tribal land stewardship, and is also a Culture Bearer, Fire Ecologist, and Bear Dance Leader.
Kawenniiosta Jock
President | Waterfall Unity Alliance
Kawenniiosta Jock (Kanien’kehá:ka, Wolf Clan from Akwesasne, Mohawk Nation Territory), President of the Waterfall Unity Alliance, board member of Onkwe Inc., and an alumna of the Akwesasne Freedom School, is an activist, land protector, master seamstress, traditional full-spectrum doula, mushroom hunter and artist. She works on preserving and restoring her people’s language, cultural teachings and ancient knowledge.
Cara Romero
Program Director of the Indigeneity Program | Bioneers
Cara Romero (Chemehuevi), Program Director of the Bioneers Indigeneity Program, previously served her Mojave-based tribe in several capacities, including as: first Executive Director at the Chemehuevi Cultural Center, a member of the tribal council, and Chair of the Chemehuevi Education Board and Chemeuevi Headstart Policy Council. Cara is also a highly accomplished photographer/artist.
Indigenous peoples across the Pacific have a deep knowledge of the ocean and its ecosystems acquired from hundreds of generations of observation. Today, commercial farming, overfishing, resource extraction and global warming are destroying the ocean systems and exacerbating the climate crisis. In this panel, three leaders with intimate knowledge of the relationships between land and ocean will discuss how to restore balance to the Pacific and to the planet. Moderated by Alexis Bunten. With: Loa Niumeitolu; Kiana Frank; Andrea Kealoha.
April 6th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
Panelists
Kiana Frank
Assistant Professor in the Pacific Biosciences Research Center | University of Hawaii, Mānoa
Kiana Frank, Assistant Professor in the Pacific Biosciences Research Center at the University of Hawaii, Mānoa, weaves contemporary Western techniques with traditional Native Hawaiian science to study how microorganisms shape the land for productivity and health. Her work evaluates overall ecosystem health and informs current monitoring, restoration, cultivation, and management practices in Hawaii. She works to inspire the younger Hawaiian generations to cultivate a connection to science through their culture.
Loa Niumeitolu
Co-Facilitator | Spirit Root Medicine People
Loa Niumeitolu, a Tongan poet, community organizer and educator with degrees in English and International Development, is a farming teacher and lead farmer at Tennyson High School Farm in Hayward, California. She trained in planting taro and other foods of Moana Nui under Tura Koronui in Atiu, Cook Islands; and worked as a land steward at both Sogorea Te Land Trust and at Gill Tract Farm on Ohlone Territory (the East Bay). Loa also co-founded the LGBTQ+ Indigenous support groups One Love Oceania (OLO) and the Oyate Tupu'anga Project, and currently co-facilitates Spirit Root Medicine People (SRMP).
Andrea Kealoha
Oceanographer | University of Hawaii Mānoa
Andrea Kealoha, Ph.D., from Pāʻia, Maui, is an oceanographer at the University of Hawaii Mānoa who specializes in climate change and human impacts to coral reef health. She is the Director of UH Maui College's water quality lab and will be starting a faculty position at UH Mānoa in Fall 2023. In addition to conducting coral reef research to support marine resource management, Andrea also works with students and the community on water quality monitoring and education to increase diversity in STEM.
Alexis Bunten
Co-Director, Indigeneity Program | Bioneers
Alexis Bunten, Ph.D., (Aleut/Yup’ik), Co-Director of Bioneers’ Indigeneity Program, has been a researcher, media-maker, manager, consultant, and curriculum developer for organizations including the Sealaska Heritage Institute, Alaska Native Heritage Center, and the FrameWorks Institute. She has published widely about Indigenous and environmental issues, and is the author of So, how long have you been Native?: Life as an Alaska Native Tour Guide.
Friday, April 7th
This panel of community leaders from Aotearoa/New Zealand will share their on-the-ground insights, from initiatives that demonstrate paradigm shifts for “rights of nature” legal protections for land and people, cultural capability and education, and convening multi-stakeholder land stewardship. Underpinning all these stories, the unique natural, cultural and legal history of Aotearoa and the Māori worldview reminds us of the value of humility, courage and connection. With: Jan Hania, Principal of Strategy Development, Biome Trust; Lara Hania, educator, storyteller; Erin Matariki Carr, Project Lead, RIVER. Moderated by Chelsea Robinson, Open Lunar Foundation.
April 7th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Golden Bear Room, Hotel Shattuck Plaza
Panelists
Jan Hania
Principal of Strategy Development | Biome Trust
Jan Hania is Tuwharetoa, Raukawa-ki-teTonga, Te Atiawa of Aotearoa/New Zealand, and is the Principal of Strategy Development for Biome Trust, which is focused on having a sustained impact in environment, education, and human wellbeing. Jan has worked both in Aotearoa and internationally on large-scale bioregional regeneration and climate adaptation initiatives. Jan develops exemplar equity-based projects that are practically implemented, demonstrating effective and sustained outcomes.
Lara Hania
Educator and Facilitator
Lara Hania, with 30 years’ experience as an educator in Aotearoa/New Zealand, is committed to contributing to re-establishing Indigenous Māori equity and sovereignty as well as human-nature connections. Lara facilitates professional development for teachers and professionals enhancing cultural competency and nature connection and is a dynamic storyteller who shares narratives that draw on the patterns and wisdom of Te Taiao (the natural world) as a blueprint for humanity.
Chelsea Robinson
Chief Operating Officer | Open Lunar Foundation
Chelsea Robinson, from Waitakere in Aotearoa/New Zealand, lives in Tahoe, CA and leads the Open Lunar Foundation, which seeks to “create good governance and stewardship of the Moon.” Her background includes working on climate policy, movement building, commons management and improving democracy.
Erin Matariki Carr
Project Lead | RIVER
Erin Matariki Carr, of Ngāi Tūhoe and Ngāti Awa descent, lives in her traditional homelands in Aotearoa/New Zealand and works in law and policy, with a focus on the interface between Indigenous and Western legal systems and methodologies. She previously worked as Manager of Planning & Design to create and implement policies under the world-first legislation conferring legal personhood to the Te Urewera rainforest. Matariki is currently a project lead at RIVER, where she focuses on the constitutional transformation movement in Aotearoa with a number of other teams, including Tūmanako Consultants and Te Kuaka NZA.
Yurok and Karuk peoples have been fighting for decades to remove dams on the Klamath River that destroyed riparian ecosystems and decimated salmon populations that underscore traditional lifeways. In 2022, the US government finally agreed to remove four dams and engage in the largest river restoration project in US history. Join us to learn the story of this incredible achievement in tribal activism, groundbreaking tribal partnerships with state and federal governments, and culture-based methods for river restoration. Moderated by Cara Romero. With: Samuel Gensaw, Isaac Kinney and Craig Tucker.
April 7th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
Panelists
Samuel Gensaw
Founding Director | Ancestral Guard
Sammy Gensaw, III, (Yurok) is the Founding Director of the Ancestral Guard, Artist, Yurok Language Speaker, Singer, Writer, Cultural/Political/Environmental Activist, Regalia Maker, Mediator, Youth Leader & Fisherman.
Isaac Kinney
Yurok Tribal Citizen
Isaac Kinney (Yurok/Chicano) is a Yurok tribal citizen from the village of Weych-pues at the confluence of the Klamath and Trinity Rivers in what is now known as Northwest California. His extensive experience working with Indigenous communities and tribal governments have helped him become effective in his advocacy efforts in working with national and local governments, philanthropists and grass-roots organizations.
Craig Tucker
Founder and Principal | Suits and Signs Consulting
S. Craig Tucker, who has 20+ years of advocacy and activism experience, especially working with tribal members, fishermen and farmers in the Klamath Basin on dam removal, traditional fire management, gold mining, and water policy, is the founder and Principal of Suits and Signs Consulting, which provides professional advocacy and campaign planning services to tribes, local governments and non-profits working to protect watersheds and advance social justice.
Cara Romero
Program Director of the Indigeneity Program | Bioneers
Cara Romero (Chemehuevi), Program Director of the Bioneers Indigeneity Program, previously served her Mojave-based tribe in several capacities, including as: first Executive Director at the Chemehuevi Cultural Center, a member of the tribal council, and Chair of the Chemehuevi Education Board and Chemeuevi Headstart Policy Council. Cara is also a highly accomplished photographer/artist.
Indigenous wisdom contains a deep and broad understanding of body, mind and spirit that allows for a more holistic orientation than the narrow perspective that has led us toward inner and outer crisis. But how can we integrate Indigenous wisdom into our daily personal and professional lives? This interactive session is designed for those who are already on or who wish to begin a journey toward establishing “kin-centric” harmonious relationships with people, communities, and the entire natural world. Facilitated by: Anita Sanchez, Ph.D., author of The Four Sacred Gifts: Indigenous Wisdom for Modern Times.
April 7th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | San Pablo Room, Residence Inn
Panelists
Anita Sanchez
Author, Consultant and Trainer
Anita Sanchez, Ph.D., of Nahua (Aztec) and Mexican American ancestry, is a consultant and trainer who seeks to bridge Indigenous wisdom and modern science for individual and societal renewal. Her award-winning work focuses on diversity, equity, inclusion and cultural transformation. Anita, a board member of the Pachamama Alliance and of Bioneers, is the author of seven books including the international bestseller: The Four Sacred Gifts: Indigenous Wisdom for Modern Times. She also leads an annual Pachamama Alliance journey into the sacred headwaters of the Amazon each year (her next journey is June 3-14, 2023).
What does it mean to be Native? Is it enrollment in a federally recognized tribe? Is it descendancy proven by genealogical records? A family story? DNA? What does the saying, “everybody is Indigenous” mean? And how do you talk about Native identity depending on which category fits you? Join the Indigeneity Program team and special guests as we unpack tribal identity in a frank conversation. Moderated by: Cara Romero, Alexis Bunten and Nazshonnii Brown-Almaweri. With: Andrew MacDonald; Gregg Castro; Manny Lieras; Paloma Flores; Bette Billiot; Christie Lacoban; Te Maia Wiki; Manaia Lieras.
April 7th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
Panelists
Andrew MacDonald
Youth Chairman | Esselen Tribe
Andrew MacDonald, the Youth Chairman of the Esselen Tribe, who studies Sociology at Monterey Peninsula College, is dedicated to learning as much as possible about First Nations’ cultures, practices, societies, and values, and contributing to the reviving of Indigenous worldviews. He is also intent on reuniting his tribe.
Bette Billiot
Community Organizer
Bette Billiot, a member of the United Houma Nation Tribe of Louisiana who is a Community Organizer with the Sierra Club and Housing Louisiana, has represented and advocated for her community as part of several Gulf South delegations speaking on Louisiana industries, climate and land-loss issues internationally.
Manaia Taula-Lieras
Youth Ambassador | Sacramento Native American Health Center
Manaia Taula-Lieras, 17, (of Diné, Umatilla, Samoan and Chicana ancestry), a Youth Ambassador at the Sacramento Native American Health Center, founded and is President of the World Justice Club at her high school, where she focuses on promoting diversity and a safe space for underrepresented students, along with providing accurate information about social and environmental issues. Manaia, who has received several scholarships from the Native Like Water program to exchange cultural knowledge with indigenous peoples from Hawaii to San Diego, has a passion for writing and ethnic studies and spends her free time involved in hula and Tahitian dance, as well as surfing.
Gregg Castro
Culture Director | Association of Ramaytush Ohlone
Gregg Castro [t'rowt'raahl Salinan/rumsien-ramaytush Ohlone] has worked preserving his indigenous heritage for three decades as a writer-activist. He is Culture Director for the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone; the Society for California Archaeology’s ‘Native American Programs Committee’ Chair; and Adviser to the California Indian Conference, California Indian History Curriculum Coalition and American Indian Cultural District of San Francisco.
Manny Lieras
Title VI Indian Education Coordinator | Oakland Unified School District
Manny Lieras (Navajo & Comanche), the Title VI Indian Education Coordinator for the Oakland Unified School District who relocated to Oakland to work with urban American Indian youth at the American Indian Child Resource Center, is an influential role model and change agent in the Oakland Intertribal community. Beyond his educational work, he teaches pow-wow drumming and singing, leads programs such as Native Like Water, and has been an activist state-wide and nationally fighting for American Indian education, land rights, fishing and hunting rights, Indian child welfare, and sovereignty. A well known artist and singer in American Indian drum circles, Manny is also the producer of the mixed-media project, Injunuity.
Christie Lacoban
| United Houma Nation
Christie Lacoban, 16, a citizen of the United Houma Nation tribe residing in Houma, Louisiana, is a Community Resource Coordinator for a non-profit there and studies pow-wow dance styles and beadwork through the Federal Indian Education Program. Christie, a highly accomplished beadworker at such a young age, was taught that traditional craft from Houma elder, Louise Billiot, and has mastered the embroidery stitch, two-needle, brick and peyote stitch styles.
Nazshonnii Brown-Almaweri
Intercultural Conversations Program Manager | Bioneers
Nazshonnii Brown-Almaweri, Intercultural Conversations Program Manager for Bioneers’ Indigeneity Program, is a West Oakland-based STEAM educator who advocates for exposure and opportunities for historically excluded people, especially Black and Native youth. She has provided many middle and high school students with the space to learn about STEAM at the intersection of ancestral knowledge and their lived experiences and has worked to help Oakland youth thrive in disciplines such as engineering. Nazshonnii is also a farmer connected to the Gill Tract Community Farm in Albany and was previously a STEM tutor, media educator, and youth program assistant for the American Indian Child Resource Center.
Cara Romero
Program Director of the Indigeneity Program | Bioneers
Cara Romero (Chemehuevi), Program Director of the Bioneers Indigeneity Program, previously served her Mojave-based tribe in several capacities, including as: first Executive Director at the Chemehuevi Cultural Center, a member of the tribal council, and Chair of the Chemehuevi Education Board and Chemeuevi Headstart Policy Council. Cara is also a highly accomplished photographer/artist.
Alexis Bunten
Co-Director, Indigeneity Program | Bioneers
Alexis Bunten, Ph.D., (Aleut/Yup’ik), Co-Director of Bioneers’ Indigeneity Program, has been a researcher, media-maker, manager, consultant, and curriculum developer for organizations including the Sealaska Heritage Institute, Alaska Native Heritage Center, and the FrameWorks Institute. She has published widely about Indigenous and environmental issues, and is the author of So, how long have you been Native?: Life as an Alaska Native Tour Guide.
Saturday, April 8th
Introduction by Alexis Bunten, Co-Director of Bioneers’ Indigeneity Program
“In community we pause, we open, we nourish, and we become.”
Yuria Celidwen is of Nahua and Maya descent from the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico, born into a family lineage of mystics, healers, and poets. Her scholarship centers on Indigenous forms of contemplation and has developed into a broader statement she calls the “ethics of belonging.” It has become evident that when we pay attention to the world around us, all we hear is urgency. It is time for community reflection. Yuria will share two core guiding principles from her scholarship, Kin Relationality and Ecological Belonging. She will explain how these concepts can help us access an ever-expansive unfolding of a path of meaning and participation rooted in honoring Life.
April 8th | 11:36 am to 11:58 am | Zellerbach Hall
Introduced by
Alexis Bunten
Co-Director, Indigeneity Program | Bioneers
Alexis Bunten, Ph.D., (Aleut/Yup’ik), Co-Director of Bioneers’ Indigeneity Program, has been a researcher, media-maker, manager, consultant, and curriculum developer for organizations including the Sealaska Heritage Institute, Alaska Native Heritage Center, and the FrameWorks Institute. She has published widely about Indigenous and environmental issues, and is the author of So, how long have you been Native?: Life as an Alaska Native Tour Guide.
Keynote
Yuria Celidwen
Senior Fellow | Other & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley
Yuria Celidwen, Ph.D., of Indigenous Nahua and Maya descent, born into a family of mystics, healers and poets from Chiapas, Mexico, conducts research at U.C. Berkeley’s Department of Psychology at the the intersection of Indigenous studies, cultural psychology, and contemplative science; is a Senior Fellow at the Other & Belonging Institute; co-chairs the Indigenous Religious Traditions Unit of the American Academy of Religion, and is part of the steering committee of its Contemplative Studies Unit. She also works with the United Nations on the advancement of Indigenous peoples’ rights and the rights of the Earth and is a teacher of Indigenous epistemologies, spirituality and contemplative practices.
Bioneers brings together a very diverse, discerning, engaged and reflective community, and the curated conversations around crucial topics we have been hosting recently (“Conversation Cafes”) have proven highly popular and stimulating. Each session begins with a very brief presentation by one of the conference presenters as a “conversation starter” to frame the topic, followed by structured group discussion. At the end of each session, a “harvester” who has carefully witnessed and “absorbed” what has transpired, offers us a poetic synopsis/recapitulation of the highlights of our time together.
Join best-selling Manitoba author and activist Clayton Thomas-Muller to explore what may be required for First Nations people, and all Indigenous peoples, to heal from the violence of the country they’ve lived upon for so long. In Canada, as in the U.S., colonialism is at the heart of many of Native peoples’ most pressing issues, such as food insecurity, climate change, environmental injustice, inequality, and MMIW. We will discuss and explore together how a better future is not only possible, but necessary, and how Indigenous Peoples are leading the way. Facilitated by: David Shaw, Santa Cruz Permaculture and UCSC Right Livelihood College. “Harvester:” Jason Bayani, author, theater performer, Artistic Director, Kearny Street Workshop.
April 8th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Ashby Room, Residence Inn
Panelists
Clayton Thomas-Muller
Author
Clayton Thomas-Müller, a member of the Treaty #6 Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (aka Pukatawagan) in Northern Manitoba, Canada, is a Winnipeg-based, award winning Indigenous and human rights and climate activist who has campaigned across North America organizing in hundreds of First Nation and Native American communities to defend their territories against the encroachment of the fossil fuel industry with a special focus on stopping the expansion of the Canadian tar sands and its associated pipelines. Clayton is also an award-winning film director, media producer, and bestselling author. His book, Life in the City of Dirty Water, was a national bestseller and a CBC Canada Reads finalist.
Jason Bayani
Artistic Director | Kearny Street Workshop
Jason Bayani, MFA, a theater performer and author, is Artistic Director of the Kearny Street Workshop, the oldest multi-disciplinary Asian Pacific-American arts organization in the country. A Kundiman Fellow, his published works include: Locus (a 2019 Norcal Book Award finalist) and Amulet. He has written for World Literature Today, Muzzle Magazine, Lantern Review, and other publications and performs regularly around the country. His first solo theater show was 2016’s Locus of Control.
David Shaw
Founder | Santa Cruz Permaculture and the UCSC Right Livelihood College
David Shaw, a whole systems designer, facilitator, educator, and musician, founded Santa Cruz Permaculture and the UCSC Right Livelihood College, a partnership with the “Alternative Nobel Prize.” He supports communities locally and globally to transform their shared future through strategic dialogue and collective action.
3:00 pm: Indigenous Forum – Healing Justice to Restore Relations with Land
Presented in collaboration with Indigenous Climate Action
We are living in a very exciting time as we witness more instances of successful Indigenous-led #landback campaigns and triumphs over the extraction industry than ever before, but we are also becoming increasingly aware that we cannot restore relations with the land without addressing our own trauma. This session will explore such critical questions as: How might the fight for #landback benefit from the inclusion of Black people and other historically marginalized groups? Does ‘call out culture’ actually harm decolonization movements? In addition to frankly exploring these issues, the panelists will share practical strategies for addressing them using such tools as an intergenerational focus, ceremony, and time on the land. Moderated by Eriel Deranger. With: Jodie Geddes and Carlee Loft.
April 8th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
Panelists
Carlee Loft
Youth Engagement Coordinator | Kahnawake Collective Impact
Carlee Kawinehta Loft (Shé:kon sewakwé:on), of Kahnawake/Mohawk ancestry, is the Youth Engagement Coordinator at Kahnawake Collective Impact; the Training Manager for the Muskrat Collective; and co-founder of Iakwatonhontsanónsta'ts—the Kahnawake Youth Environment Collective.
Eriel Tchekwie Deranger
Executive Director | Indigenous Climate Action
Eriel Tchekwie Deranger (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation), a leading global figure in Indigenous Rights and Climate Justice activism, is the co-founder and Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action and is a member of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change. She also sits on a number of boards of notable non-profit organizations (including Bioneers) and activist groups. She has organized divest movements, lobbied government officials, led mass mobilizations against the fossil fuel industry, written extensively for a range of publications and been featured in documentary films (including Elemental).
Jodie Geddes
Healing Circles Manager | Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (RJOY)
Jodie Geddes, a Jamaican native who grew up in Brooklyn, NY, is an international speaker on Restorative Justice and racial healing and justice. Currently the Safe Outside the System Program Director at RJOY (Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth) working to provide support for community members experiencing mental wellness and other crises; she is also the Co-Manager for CTTT (Coming to The Table), which provides training and resources for communities and individuals seeking to explore the history and legacy of enslavement. Jodie is also co-author of The Little Book of Racial Healing: Coming to the Table for Truth-Telling, Liberation, and Transformation; and co-hosts the Ma.ternity Leave podcast.
It is not surprising that Indigenous Peoples are leading the way in the “Rights of Nature” movement given that the idea that trees, waters, and ecosystems have a right to flourish reflects Indigenous worldviews. In this panel, we’ll hear from Indigenous leaders whose tribes have adopted Rights of Nature frameworks to protect sacred territories. They will share practical strategies for organizing and implementing Rights of Nature campaigns within international legal frameworks. Join us to learn more about the movement, and how you can be a part of it. Moderated by Brittany Gondolfi. With: Samantha Skenandore; Danielle Greendeer and Erin Matariki Carr.
April 8th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
Panelists
Britt Gondolfi
Law Student and Community Organizer
Britt Gondolfi, born and raised in Southeast Louisiana, is a law student, community organizer, future state legislature candidate, and mother. Since 2017, Britt has worked with the Bioneers Intercultural Conversation Program facilitating programming for students from Atlanta and from Bogalusa and Houma, Louisiana. While in Law School, Britt has supported the Bioneers Rights of Nature initiative by researching the intersection of tribal sovereignty and federal Indian law and facilitating workshops on the Rights of Nature at the Ho-Chunk and Mashpee Wampanoag nations.
Samantha Skenandore
Attorney/Of-Counsel | Quarles & Brady LLP
Samantha Skenandore (Ho-Chunk/Oneida), Attorney/Of-Counsel at Quarles & Brady LLP, has vast knowledge and experience in working on matters involving both federal Indian law and tribal law. Her extensive previous experience includes serving as a Tribal Attorney for the Ho-Chunk Nation Department of Justice and clerking for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Indian Resources Section. She currently advises tribal and corporate clients in tribal governance, governmental affairs, corporate transactions, real estate, labor issues and litigation. Samantha represents clients before members of Congress, congressional committees and agencies through federal lobbying services.
Erin Matariki Carr
Project Lead | RIVER
Erin Matariki Carr, of Ngāi Tūhoe and Ngāti Awa descent, lives in her traditional homelands in Aotearoa/New Zealand and works in law and policy, with a focus on the interface between Indigenous and Western legal systems and methodologies. She previously worked as Manager of Planning & Design to create and implement policies under the world-first legislation conferring legal personhood to the Te Urewera rainforest. Matariki is currently a project lead at RIVER, where she focuses on the constitutional transformation movement in Aotearoa with a number of other teams, including Tūmanako Consultants and Te Kuaka NZA.
Danielle Hill Greendeer
Writer, Farmer, Crafter, Dancer and Artist
Danielle Hill Greendeer (Mashpee Wampanoag), is a writer, farmer, crafter, dancer and artist who is also a seed-steward of King Philip Corn, a historically Wampanoag heirloom corn variety stolen during the King Philip War but now rematriated back into Wampanoag soil. Danielle also teaches a course on Native Food Systems at the UMass Amherst Stockbridge school of Agriculture.
4:45 pm: Solving the Climate Crisis in One Generation
Presented in collaboration with One Earth
According to the groundbreaking, highly influential organization, One Earth, the solutions to the climate crisis already exist, and there are three pillars of collective action we need to embrace to implement them: a just transition to 100% renewable energy; protection and restoration of half the world’s lands and oceans; and a shift to regenerative food and fiber systems. These goals are daunting, but the good news is that millions of people and organizations around the world are already driving this transformation. How are all these movements connected? How does work in each area grow and thrive with a coherent understanding of the larger systems of change? Join leaders in the three key fields outlined above in a vibrant conversation to explore how both big-picture thinking and slews of on-the-ground practical projects can play a role in solving the climate crisis in time. Hosted by: Justin Winters, co-founder and Executive Director of One Earth. With: Samuel Gensaw III (Yurok) Director of the Ancestral Guard; Cynthia Daley, Ph.D., founder/Director of the Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems at Cal State Chico; and Danny Kennedy, entrepreneur and founder of New Energy Nexus.
April 8th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm | Freight & Salvage
Panelists
Samuel Gensaw
Founding Director | Ancestral Guard
Sammy Gensaw, III, (Yurok) is the Founding Director of the Ancestral Guard, Artist, Yurok Language Speaker, Singer, Writer, Cultural/Political/Environmental Activist, Regalia Maker, Mediator, Youth Leader & Fisherman.
Cynthia Daley
Founder and Director | Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems at California State University Chico
Cynthia Daley, Ph.D., born into a four-generation Midwestern farming family, is a professor within the College of Agriculture at Cal State Chico and currently serves there as both the Rawlins Endowed Professor for Environmental Literacy and the Director for the Center for Regenerative Agriculture & Resilient Systems (a consortium of interdisciplinary faculty and farmers who recognize the ecological benefits of regenerative farming practices including water conservation, soil fertility, and carbon sequestration).
Danny Kennedy
CEO | New Energy Nexus
Danny Kennedy, with a long background in eco activism, has become one of the nation’s leading figures in clean-technology entrepreneurship and the capitalization of the transition to a “green” economy. Co-founder of the solar energy company, Sungevity, and the clean energy incubator Powerhouse, Kennedy supports the clean technology and energy fields in myriad ways. In addition to leading roles with Third Derivative (a joint venture with the Rocky Mountain Institute) and the California Clean Energy Fund, Kennedy is currently CEO of New Energy Nexus, a global nonprofit providing funds, accelerators, and networks to drive clean energy innovation and adoption.
Justin Winters
One Earth | Co-Founder and Executive Director
Justin Winters, the co-founder and Executive Director of One Earth, a philanthropic organization working to galvanize science, advocacy and philanthropy to drive collective action on climate change, is focused on creating a vision for the world in which humanity and nature coexist and thrive together, based on three pillars: 100% renewable energy; protection and restoration of 50% of the world’s lands and oceans; and a transition to regenerative, carbon-negative agriculture. Prior to One Earth, Justin served as Executive Director of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation for 13 years, where she awarded over $100 million in grants across 60 countries.
Cara Romero: Following the Light profiles the art and inspiration of Bioneers’ Indigeneity Program Co-Director and award-winning photographer, Cara Romero. Q&A with featured artist, Cara Romero.
April 8th | 6:40 pm to 7:25 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
Long Line of Ladies tells the story of the return of women’s coming of age ceremonies among the Yurok tribe of Northern California. Q&A with featured culture-bearer, Pimm Allen.
April 8th | 7:30 pm to 8:10 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
Indigeneity shorts present an accurate portrait of the Native American experience by tackling stereotypes, exploring contemporary issues, and celebrating Indigenous contributions to America. Q&A with producer/writer/director, Alexis Bunten.
April 8th | 8:15 pm to 8:45 pm | Goldman Theater, Brower Center
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