JOIN US: UNITED NATIONS PERMANENT FORUM ON INDIGENOUS ISSUES

Indigenous Governance: 
Wayfinders Circle Learnings

Virtual Event: Thursday, April 28th 1:00-2:30pm EDT (GMT -4)

Created in 2019, the Wayfinders Circle was established to amplify Indigenous leadership that manifests a time-tested understanding of the deep connection between humans and Mother Earth, and our collective responsibility to Earth and each other. The Wayfinders Circle currently includes 12 Indigenous members from around the world who are doing just that.

At this UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) virtual side event on April 28, 2022, you will learn the story of the Wayfinders members, their lands, governance systems, and their contributions toward each others' shared learnings and efforts in Indigenous guardianship.

We invite you to learn more and join us!

LISTEN: SEEDCAST

A State of Perpetual Memory: Native Identity Through Connection to Land

“Wherever I’m at, I'm supposed to be a caretaker and steward, and I'm to conduct myself in an honorable and respectful way to Mother Earth, to other human beings.” 
- John Scott-Richardson (Haliwa-Saponi Tribe, Tuscarora lineage from Six Nations)

There is no singular Indigenous experience. In the latest episode of our Seedcast podcast, guest producer Stina Hamlin takes a walk with five Indigenous storytellers from five different regions of Turtle Island (also currently known as the United States) to hear their stories about their identities, cultures, and connections to land. We invite you to listen, learn, and join the conversation.

The Seedcast team is inviting Indigenous listeners to record your thoughts on this question in an email message or voice memo sent to: seedcast@niatero.org.
We plan to share your voices in a future episode! 

READ: STAFF INTERVIEW

Nia Tero Has Its Own Famous Writer – His Name is John Reid

By Margarita Mora

A couple of weeks ago, John Reid, Nia Tero’s Senior Economist, and I were talking about his trajectory. One of the things that I didn’t know was that John majored in English and Spanish, and then found his path to the environmental conservation world by working as a freelance journalist and volunteering in an environmental education project in the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. These experiences led him to specialize in environmental economics.

After a couple of years of working on biodiversity conservation projects, he founded Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF), an organization established in 1998 to train environmentalists on economy. Back then his goal was to provide tools to environmentalists, so they could have the strategic vision on how to save nature by understanding human incentives.
 
After leaving CSF in 2016, he and his wife spent four months in the Amazon and Patagonia. One of the realizations that John had during the trip was that Indigenous lands are vast and remain healthy due to the deep relationship of Indigenous peoples to the natural world. In 2018, John joined Nia Tero, and since then he has been advancing Nia Tero´s work related to securing the lands and rights of Indigenous peoples that have decided to remain isolated from the rest of us.
 
During the last three years, John has also spent part of his time writing Ever Green: Saving Big Forests to Save the Planet together with Thomas E. Lovejoy. The book was published on March 23, 2022. I was curious about John’s experience writing the book, and want to share an excerpt of our conversation together.

Head to our website to hear what John has to say about writing Ever Green, Nia Tero's influence on the book, writing with Thomas E. Lovejoy, and more!

WATCH: KIN THEORY 

Creating Impact Through Solidarity with Indigenous Media Makers

At the 2022 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Missoula, Montana, Nia Tero's Kin Theory team launched the Kin Theory Indigenous Media Makers Database to create a space for community, connection, and career for global Indigenous creators, and held a panel on "Creating Impact Through Solidarity."

In this video from the event, you will hear moderator Jessica Ramirez (Creative Producer, Nia Tero), panelists (Leya Hale, Colleen Thurston, Chloë Walters-Wallace), and audience members share ways to support Indigenous creators and other creators of color and what success for Indigenous and BIPOC-created projects can mean outside of traditional notions of exhibition and distribution.

Want to join Kin Theory's Community of Indigenous Media Makers?

• Indigenous media makers are invited to create a profile with Kin Theory here.
• Meet the amazing Indigenous creators who have already joined the Kin Theory community here.
• Non-Indigenous BIPOC creators and industry allies who wants to connect, celebrate, and collaborate with Indigenous creators are invited to sign up here.

UPCOMING EVENTS