What if the world had a protective, preserving force scattered across the planet that has been in the most precious places for thousands of years, even in the face of violence, colonialism, genocide, untold trauma, destruction and ignorance? What if these peoples had stayed true to humanity’s relationship to all other beings? What if this careful guardianship was one of the most effective and powerful ways to protect and restore the planet? Indigenous peoples are the unyielding guardians of at least 38 million square kilometers in 87 countries, a quarter of Earth’s surface. After a ceremony by a traditional elder and a short video, our host will guide a discussion on guardianship featuring Indigenous leaders from 4 continents.
This session was curated in partnership with Nia Tero.
Dr Teina Rongo is the Chairperson for environmental NGO, Kōrero o te `Ōrau, based on Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. Teina is a Cook Islands Māori, raised in a family where subsistence planting and fishing was a normal practice. This nurtured his love for the marine environment, motivating him to pursue a degree in Biology at the University of Guam. He later obtained his Ph.D. in Marine Biology from the Florida Institute of Technology, becoming the first Cook Islander to achieve this qualification in this field of study. Teina’s area of research has been around coral reef ecology, ciguatera poisoning, and climate change, and he has published in peer-reviewed journals. Teina has conducted coral reef research in Micronesia, the Caribbean, across the Central Pacific and throughout the Cook Islands. His field of study has cultivated his passion for improving the well-being of indigenous Cook Islanders and their natural environment. Over the last four years, Teina has been delivering environmental science and climate change programmes to young Cook Islanders in primary and secondary schools as well as in the Takamoa Theological College on Rarotonga. The focus has been on using traditional knowledge and practices merged with scientific knowledge in hopes of retaining cultural identity, reversing biodiversity loss, and strengthening the resilience of communities from the imminent threat of climate change and
the pressures of development.
World Union of Indigenous Spiritual Practitioners and Organic Aimak, Individual
Sultan Sarygulov was born and raised in the Talas region of Kyrgyz Republic. He has a degree in law and beekeeping. Expert in traditional Indigenous knowledge and culture, strong advocate and practitioner of agroecology and food sovereignty, he is one of the founders of the organic movement in Kyrgyzstan. Experienced environment and development educator. A respected traditional elder he is a genuine proponent of reactivation of Indigenous traditional eco-centrism. He sees it as a foundation for restoring harmony between humans and natural environment and as a condition for survival of human species. Sultan Sarygulov is a member of the World Union of Indigenous Spiritual Practitioners (WUISP).
Physician, attorney and health policy advocate, Michael is a senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He works tirelessly scouring the nation and the world looking for ideas and innovation that will help build a better, just and healthier future for all on a rapidly warming planet. In 2003-2004, Michael was an RWJF Health Policy Fellow with Senator William Frist, MD, then Majority Leader where he was the Senator’s lead staff person for “Closing the Health Care Gap Act” (S2091). Prior to that, Michael was an attending physician and the chief of medical staff at the Seattle Indian Health Board, a community health center serving urban American Indians and Alaska Natives. Michael holds a JD from Stanford Law School and an MD from the University of Washington.
Malih Ole Kaunga is the founder of OSILIGI(HOPE) in Maasai. OSILIGI later transformed into IMPACT is an organisation that exists to organise, build and strengthen indigenous peoples’ social movements in Kenya. Key areas of intervention are climate and adaptation, human rights, community self –organising and capacity development, peace building, Business and human rights, Land rights and natural resource governance and Legal and self-determined development. He is also the convenor of PARAN (Pastoralists Alliance for Resilience and Adaptation in Northern Kenya Rangelands) a coalition of community leaders and natural resources stewards, grassroots organisations, customary institutions that also sub grants to its members. He is an indigenous people’s expert on indigenous peoples and promoter of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge and Climate Change. He has published numerous articles on different journals in the areas of indigenous traditional knowledge, indigenous peoples and urbanisation,
Senior Global Policy and Advocacy Lead, Nia Tero Foundation
Jennifer Tauli Corpuz coordinates the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Program of Tebtebba – Indigenous Peoples’ International Center for Policy Research and Education, an organization based in the Philippines. An indigenous woman from the Kankana-ey Igorot People, and a lawyer by profession, she attends to the legal needs of Tebtebba partner communities and conducts regular trainings on indigenous peoples’ rights in the international system. Jennifer graduated from the University of the Philippines College of Law and obtained her Master of Laws from the Indigenous Peoples’ Law and Policy (IPLP) Program of The University of Arizona. She was the 2012 Indigenous Intellectual Property Law Fellow at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and since then has been an active participant in the WIPO IGC negotiations on the protection of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions. She was involved as negotiator and expert for the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB), representing indigenous peoples’ views and positions at the negotiations leading to the adoption of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Jess Housty is a mother, writer, educator, and community organizer from the Heiltsuk Nation in Bella Bella, BC, Canada. She serves her community as the Executive Director of Qqs (Eyes) Projects Society, a Heiltsuk charitable non-profit leading land-based cultural programming for youth and families since 1999. She has also recently completed two terms as an elected leader on Heiltsuk Tribal Council, one of the Heiltsuk Nation's governing bodies, where she chaired the Lands Portfolio and supported the Nation's stewardship work. More broadly, Jess focuses her energy on social and environmental justice, food security, ethical philanthropy, and decolonial parenting. She resides in her unceded ancestral homelands with her family.
