Dear Community,

As we face accelerating climate chaos, rising authoritarianism, and ongoing attacks on human rights and democracy around the world, the protection and full realization of Indigenous rights and sovereignty is not only a matter of justice — it is a primary condition for a livable and just future for our planet and communities.

From April 21-25, WECAN will be on the ground at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) Twenty-Fourth Session in New York, to stand in solidarity with Indigenous women leaders and communities globally, advocating for the recognition and implementation of Indigenous rights as foundational to climate justice, gender justice, and vibrant democracies.

This year’s theme — “Implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples within United Nations Member States and the United Nations system, including identifying good practices and addressing challenges” — could not come at a more critical time.

For generations, Indigenous peoples have been on the frontlines defending forests, waters, biodiversity, and traditional knowledge systems that are key to climate solutions. Yet these vital defenders continue to face violence, criminalization, and the violation of their rights — especially the right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) — at the hands of governments and extractive industries.

These violations are not confined to fossil fuel and industrial deforestation projects alone. Increasingly, Indigenous lands and communities are being targeted by mining and energy developments positioned as part of the transition to renewable energy, with Indigenous rights violations proliferating. But we know there can be no Just Transition without Indigenous rights and sovereignty at the center.

As primary stewards of the Earth's remaining biodiversity, Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge, wisdom, and leadership are indispensable to confronting and addressing the climate, biodiversity, and social crises. Indigenous women, in particular, are vital in these efforts, often championing the role of protectors of their lands, cultures, and ecosystems. WECAN is honored to be engaging in the UNPFII with partners and colleagues to collectively advocate for Indigenous rights as a solution to the interconnected crises we face today.

As part of our advocacy, WECAN will release a new policy brief— to be delivered directly to governments during UNPFII— highlighting how Indigenous sovereignty, women's leadership, and community-led solutions are critical to addressing the climate crisis and building a Just Transition for all. In addition to our events below, WECAN staff will be engaging in strategic meetings and events, including the Indigenous Women's Caucus which convenes ahead of the UNPFII.

Indigenous women leaders continue to rise for the protection of their lands, cultures, and communities — and in doing so, they are leading the way toward a just, democratic, and thriving future for current and future generations.

See below for more details on WECAN’s upcoming events and advocacy during UNPFII and beyond— and stay tuned for further updates!

Protecting Land, Rights, & Future: Indigenous Women on the Frontlines of Climate Action & Earth Defense

Tuesday, April 22

5:00 - 8:00 PM Eastern Time

777 United Nations Plaza, NYC

Free and open to the public! English & Spanish interpretation provided.

If you cannot join us in person, we will be streaming live on social media!

Please join us on Earth Day for an impactful event, where Indigenous women leaders from across the globe will come together to highlight the urgent challenges facing their communities and our planet and inspiring paths forward in these times. Speakers will share firsthand experiences of the impacts of colonization, deforestation, extraction, and climate disruption while showcasing powerful climate solutions and strategies that uphold Indigenous rights and sovereignty and bring health and justice to their communities.

​This event is part of the 24th session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) and will emphasize the critical need to recognize and uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples, including the right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), which is essential to protecting their lands, cultures, and ways of life. WECAN will release a policy brief to governments on the vital importance of FPIC as a solution to interlocking crises.  

​Coinciding with Earth Day, we will also honor the women land defenders who are on the frontlines of protecting ecosystems from destruction, often at significant personal risk. Indigenous leadership and knowledge systems are essential to protecting land, forests, waters, and our global climate while cultivating long-standing egalitarian governance frameworks for current and future generations!​

Please see below for more details on the confirmed speakers for this event!

Casey Camp-Horinek (Ponca Nation)

Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member and Project Coordinator

Turtle Island/USA

Cindy Kobei (Ogiek)

Co-Founder and Chairperson, Tirap Youth Trust

Kenya

Galina Angarova (Buryat)

Executive Director, SIRGE Coalition

Turtle Island/USA

President Whitney Gravelle (Bay Mills Indian Community)

President and Executive Council Bay Mills Indian Community, Chair of the Department of Interior’s Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee and Commissioner on the Michigan Advisory Council on Environmental Justice

Turtle Island 

María Violet Medina Quiscue (Nasa)

Indigenous leader and human rights advocate; Founder of the Roundtable for Indigenous Peoples Victims of Armed Conflict, and LAC Representative to the UNPFII

Colombia

Betty Lyons (Onondaga Nation, Snipe Clan)

Executive Director, American Indian Law Alliance

Turtle Island

Paine Eulalia Mako

Executive Director, Ujamaa Community Resource Team (UCRT)

Tanzania

Majo Andrade Cerda (Kichwa)

Member of the Council of CONFENIAE, leading the Economy and Community Development area, Member of the Kichwa peoples of Serena, Federation of Napo Indigenous Organizations (FOIN)

Ecuador​

Dr. Crystal A Cavalier, Ed.D, MPA

(Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation)

Co-Founder and CEO, 7 Directions of Service

Turtle Island/USA 

Aimee Roberson (Choctaw, Chickasaw)

Executive Director, Cultural Survival

Turtle Island/USA

Indigenous Leadership in Advocating for the Rights of Nature

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

11:30 -12:45 PM ET

CR-9, UN Headquarters, NYC

Register to participate here.

The Indigenous Council for the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN) is gathering at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) to uplift Indigenous leadership in the global movement for the Rights of Nature. This is a powerful moment to honor and listen to Indigenous voices working to protect Mother Earth.

This event will be held inside the UN Headquarters, and registration to the UNPFII is required to attend. WECAN is honored to support this event at the UNPFII and to serve on the Executive Committee of GARN.

WECAN will be sharing our work at the UNPFII on social media so please follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

Please see below for more updates and events

from our programs and campaigns.

Please join us from June 23-28 for the WECAN Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice: Path to COP30 and Beyond! This event is a free, public forum taking place virtually in June 2025 - all are welcome!

​The Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice will bring together grassroots and frontline women leaders in all their diversity, global advocates, thought leaders, and policy-makers to showcase a diverse array of visions, projects, policy frameworks, campaigns, and movement strategies with which we can accelerate a bold and transformative path to a healthy and just world. This collective work is paramount as we face a growing polycrisis. While global challenges are ever-increasing, so are our power, hearts, and leadership when we gather together.

The virtual Assembly serves as a convening to support collective calls to action in the lead-up to COP30 and beyond, and is designed to generate ongoing networks of action regionally and by campaign focus for the years to come. We will tie these networks into existing women's and feminist formations as our collective movement for women’s climate leadership grows.

RSVP down below and check out our website for further information, including confirmed speakers and the Assembly agenda. The Assembly will feature over 125 speakers from over 50 countries on 25 breakthrough panels.

Please share with your networks far and wide!

Following the current administration’s Executive Order to expand American timber production by 25%, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a memo on April 3 that claims over 112 million acres of national forests face an “emergency situation” with wildfires, insect and disease outbreaks, and invasive species, and suggests logging and increased timber production as the solution. However, the memo offers no evidence of an “emergency” across all national forests and ignores the real threat of climate change, which is driving an increase in wildfires due to severe high temperatures and drought conditions. 

Increased timber production means logging old-growth forests, which provide critical benefits for clean water, air, wildlife habitat, carbon sequestration, wildfire resilience, and cultural lifeways for Indigenous communities who have called these forests home since Time Immemorial. Logging in these sacred forests would worsen forest conditions, as fragmented forests are more susceptible to fires, disease, and invasive species. 

This new development prompts immediate action from the U.S. Forest Service– which is overseen by the USDA— to bypass and weaken the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This would reduce public involvement, limit the consideration and analysis of potential impacts on the environment and community welfare, and accelerate the implementation of destructive projects on public lands. 

Forests are a first line of defense against the escalating climate crisis, for communities, species, and biodiversity. We need real solutions to protect biodiversity and prepare for wildfires, including local emergency planning, tribal management of lands, and decreased timber production. WECAN’s Women for Forest program is committed to keeping our forests standing! Please see our website for more information.

Photo via the Make Polluters Pay campaign

The fossil fuel industry has known for decades that coal, oil, and gas are driving the climate crisis, yet they continue to expand and pollute waterways, ecosystems, and communities globally. In California, we've seen unnatural disasters increase with this year's wildfires already causing an estimated $250 billion in destruction. Recognizing the deep need for state-level leadership to stop the harms of climate disasters and reign in fossil fuel expansion, communities are calling for strong laws and leadership in California that hold polluters accountable.

Already, organizers are pushing forward critical legislation to make polluters pay. Frontline communities, environmental advocates, and climate activists gathered in Sacramento to make their voices heard at the California Senate Environmental Quality Committee hearing in support of #SB684, the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act. This bill would require fossil fuel corporations to pay for the climate devastation they have contributed to across California.

On April 2nd, the bill passed out of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee in a 5-3 vote and will be heard by Assembly Committees in the coming weeks. Please show your support and sign the petition today!

It's time for California to make polluters pay into a climate superfund that will get money to communities most in need of recovery and resilience. Vermont and New York already passed a Climate Superfund, let's make California next!

Please consider supporting WECAN as we continue to uplift the leadership and solutions of women worldwide fighting for climate justice and the defense of the planet for current and future generations.