Loading…
Back To Schedule
Friday, October 19 • 4:30pm - 6:00pm
Mni-Winconi: We Are Here to Protect Our Rivers | Indigenous Forum
Tweet Share
The Lakota phrase “Mní wičhóni” (“Water is life”) was the protest anthem from Standing Rock heard around the world, but it also has a spiritual meaning rooted in Indigenous worldviews. For Native Americans, water does not only sustain life—it is sacred. How can Natives create cross-cultural understanding for a river’s rights to protection? How do we help guarantee such “rights of nature” in mainstream jurisprudence? As we take leadership roles in restoring our rivers, how do we blend our Traditional Ecological Knowledge with contemporary science? Tribal leaders working to restore riparian ecosystems will explore cutting-edge Indigenous approaches to watershed management and restoration.

Moderated by Cara Romero (Chemehuevi), Director Bioneers Indigeneity Program; and featuring Caleen Sisk (Wintu), Josephine Mandamin (Anishinaabe), Waniya Locke (Ahtna Dene/Dakota/Lakota/Anishinaabe), and Carrie “CC” Curley (San Carlos Apache). 
Workshop Speakers
avatar for Carrie “CC” Curley
avatar for Waniya Locke

Waniya Locke

Waniya Locke, of Ahtna Dene, Dakota, Lakota and Anishinaabe ancestry, is a LLEAP Student from Sitting Bull College and the University of South Dakota. A mother of three who currently resides on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, she has been a practicing Doula for two years and... Read More →
avatar for Josephine Mandamin

Josephine Mandamin

Grandmother Josephine Mandamin (Wikwemikong/Anishinaabe), Commissioner of the Women’s Water Commission for the Anishinabek Nation, has 30+ years’ experience fighting for her people’s rights. One of the founders of the Great Lakes Mother Earth Water Walk, she has, since 2003... Read More →
avatar for Cara Romero

Cara Romero

Cara Romero (Chemehuevi), Program Director of the Bioneers Indigenous Knowledge 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... Read More →
avatar for Caleen Sisk

Caleen Sisk

Caleen Sisk is the spiritual leader and Tribal Chief of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, who practice their traditional culture in their territory along the McCloud River in Northern California. A leading advocate for salmon restoration and healthy, undammed watersheds, Caleen has become... Read More →

Friday October 19, 2018 4:30pm - 6:00pm PDT
Indigenous Forum
  Indigeneity