The 2nd annual Indigenous Climate Justice Symposium will be held on Thursday, May 4 and Friday, May 5 in The Evergreen State College’s Longhouse Education and Cultural Center (10 am-4:30 pm). The evening’s keynote speakers (7-9 pm) will be key leaders of Native-led alliances to stop oil pipelines: Faith Spotted Eagle on Thursday and Rueben George on Friday. The event is free, and open to the public. For more information see the Climate Change and Pacific Rim Indigenous Nations Project at http://sites.evergreen.edu/indigenousclimate/
This year the Symposium theme is “A Time for Gathering.” Its focus will be twofold–resistance to fossil fuel infrastructure, and resilience in the face of climate change, with a focus on Indigenous communities in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The 1st annual Indigenous Climate Justice Symposium drew hundreds to the Longhouse in November 2015. Please find below the tentative schedule of the 2017 Symposium.
Thursday, May 4
10:00-10:30 Welcome
10:30-12:30 Student presentations on fossil fuels, and tribal youth ambassadors
1:30-3:00 Panel on Fossil Fuel Resistance, including Quinault stand against Grays Harbor oil terminal, Lummi stand against Cherry Point coal terminal, and Puyallup stand on Tacoma LNG plant
3:00-4:30 Discussion on the Reverberations from Standing Rock
7:00-9:00 Keynote by Faith Spotted Eagle (Ihanktonwan or Yankton Dakota/Nakota), who has been a key leader in alliances to stop the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines, and recently received one electoral vote for President. http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/meet-faith-spotted-eagle-the-native-elder-voted-for-president-by-a-washington-state-elector/
Friday, May 5
10:00-10:30 Welcome
10:30-12:30 Panel on Climate Adaptation and Resilience
1:30-4:30 Student Presentations on resilience; Presentations (skyped in) on resilience in global context;
Workshop on Respectful Allyship in the Environmental Movement, Sweetwater Nannauck (Tsimshian/Haida)
7:00-9:00 Talk by Rueben George (Tsleil-Waututh First Nation) and his son Cedar George-Parker (Tsleil Waututh/Tulalip), leaders in the alliance to stop the KinderMorgan tar-sands pipeline expansion in B.C. http://thetyee.ca/Video/2013/08/02/Rueben_George/
Evergreen faculty in the “Catastrophe: Community Resilience in the Face of Disaster” program are co-hosting the Symposium with the Nisqually Tribe, as part of the Climate Change and Pacific Rim Indigenous Nations Project, with support from the Nisqually Charitable Fund, Nisqually Environmental Team, and Evergreen’s Clean Energy Committee, President’s Equity Fund, Native Programs, Native Student Alliance, and South Puget Sound Community College. The Nisqually Tribe is also inviting Native youth to a Sunday, May 7 Northwest Indigenous Youth Day on Climate Justice; see the website for details at http://sites.evergreen.edu/indigenousclimate/
For background and updates, see the Climate Change and Pacific Rim Indigenous Nations Project: http://sites.evergreen.edu/indigenousclimate/