Indigenous Forum – Healing Justice to Restore Relations with Land
Bioneers | Published: October 4, 2023 Indigeneity Video
We are living in a very exciting time as we witness more instances of successful Indigenous-led #landback campaigns and triumphs over the extraction industry than ever before, but we are also becoming increasingly aware that we cannot restore relations with the land without addressing our own trauma. This session will explore such critical questions as: How might the fight for #landback benefit from the inclusion of Black people and other historically marginalized groups? Does ‘call out culture’ actually harm decolonization movements? In addition to frankly exploring these issues, the panelists will share practical strategies for addressing them using such tools as an intergenerational focus, ceremony, and time on the land. Moderated by Eriel Deranger. With: Jodie Geddes and Carlee Loft.
This talk was delivered at the 2023 Bioneers Conference.
Eriel Tchekwie Deranger (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation), a leading global figure in Indigenous Rights and Climate Justice activism, is the co-founder and Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action and is a member of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change. She also sits on a number of boards of notable non-profit organizations (including Bioneers) and activist groups. She has organized divest movements, lobbied government officials, led mass mobilizations against the fossil fuel industry, written extensively for a range of publications and been featured in documentary films (including Elemental).
Jodie Geddes, a Jamaican native who grew up in Brooklyn, NY, is an international speaker on Restorative Justice and racial healing and justice. Currently the Safe Outside the System Program Director at RJOY (Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth) working to provide support for community members experiencing mental wellness and other crises; she is also the Co-Manager for CTTT (Coming to The Table), which provides training and resources for communities and individuals seeking to explore the history and legacy of enslavement. Jodie is also co-author of The Little Book of Racial Healing: Coming to the Table for Truth-Telling, Liberation, and Transformation; and co-hosts the Ma.ternity Leave podcast.
Carlee Kawinehta Loft (Shé:kon sewakwé:on), of Kahnawake/Mohawk ancestry, is the Youth Engagement Coordinator at Kahnawake Collective Impact; the Training Manager for the Muskrat Collective; and co-founder of Iakwatonhontsanónsta’ts—the Kahnawake Youth Environment Collective.
