From Canada to Australia, Indigenous people flocked to COP15 to present their views, with one of the key messages being that they are and always have been guardians of biodiversity. Here, they give voice to their concerns for their ancestral lands.
Grandma Losah is an elder of the Tla’amin Nation of B.C.’s Sunshine Coast. She has been an activist for 40 years and was present at the Fairy Creek old-growth logging protest. With other Indigenous people, she helped bring a cross-cut of a huge old-growth Douglas fir that had been logged.Roger Lemoyne/The Globe and Mail
Grandma Losah is an elder of the Tla’amin Nation of B.C.’s Sunshine Coast. She has been an activist for 40 years and was at the Fairy Creek old-growth logging protests that began in 2020 on Vancouver Island. With other Indigenous people, she brought to the conference a cross-cut of a huge old-growth Douglas fir that had been logged.
“Justice for climate change and justice for Indigenous people go hand in hand. I keep looking for justice, but I keep finding injustice.”
Sleydo’ Molly Wickham is a member of the Wet'suwet'en Indigenous nation in Canada, representing the Indigenous Climate Action organization at COP15.Roger Lemoyne
Sleydo’ Molly Wickham is a member of the Wet’suwet’en Nation of British Columbia, representing the Indigenous Climate Action group at COP15.
“I don’t have much faith that Canada will follow through. Look at what’s happened with commitments to climate change or emissions.”
Ta’Kaiya Blaney is a member of the Tla’amin Indigenous nation in Canada, with the Muskrat Collective at COP15.ROGER LEMOYNE
Ta’Kaiya Blaney of the Tla’amin Nation is one of a small group of Indigenous women from Canada’s West Coast who call themselves the Muskrat Collective. Moments into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s remarks at the opening ceremony, they stood on their chairs and unfurled a yellow banner that read “Indigenous genocide= ecocide.” For several minutes they shouted, sang and played traditional drums before UN security came. The women left voluntarily, drumming and chanting on their way out.
“I came here to learn, and I learned a lot.” – Ta’Kaiya Blaney
Orpah Novita Oshua is an Indigenous Nablong woman from the Grime Nawa Valley in West Papua, a province of Indonesia. She is a university student and activist working to contain the spread of palm oil plantations in the region.Roger Lemoyne/The Globe and Mail
Orpah Novita Oshua is an Indigenous Nablong woman from the Grime Nawa Valley in West Papua, a province of Indonesia. She is a university student and activist working to contain the spread of palm oil plantations in her region.
“In my culture, we consider the forest to be a woman. This is because the forest feeds us, just like a mother feeds her children. So we are protecting the forest. It’s something women must do, because if men do it, their actions are criminalized by the state.”
Conrad Malangurra of the Warddeken Land Management Ltd. is an Indigenous Australian working on land management and land rights in Northern Australia.Roger Lemoyne
Rosemary Nabulwad of Warddeken Land Management Ltd. is an Indigenous Australian working on land management and land rights in Northern Australia.Roger Lemoyne
Conrad Maralngurra and Rosemary Nabulwad of Warddeken Land Management Ltd. are Indigenous Australians working to manage and protect lands in Northern Australia.
“The most important thing for us here has been meeting other Indigenous people, learning how they are managing their land. But it’s too cold here for us. The cold was stinging my hands” – Conrad Maralngurra
Joziléia Daniza Jagso is an Indigenous woman of the Kaingang people from Brazil. She is also an anthropologist, magazine editor and leader of several organizations.Roger Lemoyne/The Globe and Mail
Joziléia Daniza Jagso is a Kaingang woman from Brazil. She is also an anthropologist, a magazine editor and leader of several organizations in Brazil, including the National Articulation of Ancestral Women Warriors and the Association of Indigenous Anthropologists.
“Indigenous rights should be included in all the targets [of the conference].”