Celebrating 11 Indigenous Youth Who are Changing the World
In honor of indigenous peoples day, we are celebrating the work of 11 extraordinary young indigenous leaders! Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchú Tum first began advocating for her K'iche' community as a teenager, before later becoming a voice for indigenous peoples worldwide. Rigoberta Menchú remains a fierce believer in the power of indigenous activists to ensure a better reality for their communities-as well as the entire world. Her greatest aspirations lie in the hands of the youth- including the indigenous youth who have joined the frontlines. From the protection of ancestral lands to the revitilization of indigenous languages-- here are 11 of these youth leaders that you need to know.
Autumn Peltier
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Photo by Linda Roy of Ireva Photography
Autumn Peltier is an indigenous water advocate from the Wiikwemkoon First Nation in Ontario, Canada. She is the youngest person to ever hold the position of Chief Water Protector for the Aniishnabek Nation. She gained recognition after confronting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on his record regarding indigenous water protector movements and large-scale pipeline projects. Her presentation to Trudeau was done at a meeting of the Assembly of First Nations. Afterwards, the Assembly was inspired to create the Niaba Odacidae fund. Since then, she has brought her concerns around water protection and indigenous rights to the UN General Assembly, the Children’s Climate Conference, and The Global Landscapes Forum. In September 2019, Peltier was nominated for an International Children's Peace Prize.
Follow Autumn Peltier on Facebook and Instagram and check-out the movie “Water Walker” about her work.
Facebook: @autumnpeltier
Instagram: @autumn.peltier
Mitã Xipaya
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Mitã Xipaya is a member of the Xipaya Kuruaya people, an indigenous nation within the Pará region of Brazil. Mitã is the founder of the Middle Zingu Indigenous Youth Union, (União da Juventude Indígena do Médio Xingu), a council of youth representatives from different indigenous groups around the Middle Zingu region of the Amazon. Mitã is described as a defender of indigenous rights and a voice for climate justice. Mitã also serves as a leader within the Indigenous Youth National Mobilization Throughout Brazil for the Rights of the Earth, the organization Engajamundo, and the Altamira Youth Collective.
Archana Soreng
Photo from @ArchanaSoreng on twitter
Archana Soreng is a rising environmental activist from the Kharia tribe, an indigenous community in Odisha, India. She is well-known for her extensive documentation of indigenous knowledge systems and practices from the tribes around her region. Soreng has widely encouraged other indigenous youth to document, protect, and promote indigenous knowedge through a platform known as Adivasi Drishyam. Recently, Archana Soreng was named one of just seven members of the Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change established by UN Secretary General in support of the UN Youth Strategy.
Follow Archana Soreng on twitter and instagram,
Instagram: @archana.soreng
Twitter: @archanasoreng
Anthony Tamez-Pochel
Photo from Lornett Vestal
Anthony Tamez-Pochel is a First Nations Cree and Sicangu Lakota youth who lives in the Chicagoland area. He co-founded the Chi-Nations Youth Council with the purpose of creating safe spaces for Native youth that amplifies the power of the education, artistic expression, and activism. An ongoing project of the group has been to connect all Chicago residents to the land on which they live. Anthony also created the First Nations Garden, an urban green space that offers a place for indigenous peoples to build relationships with the land and each other. The garden offers a way for Native Americans in urban spaces to have more equitable access to their land and traditional knowledge.
Follow Anthony on Instagram and Twitter @anthonypochel.
Xiuhtezcatl Martinez
Xiuhtezcatl Roske-Martinez is an environmental activist and musician with strong ties to his Aztec-Mexica heritage. Xiuhtezcatl spoke at his first climate event when he was just six years old. He has become a leading voice within the work for environmental justice, climate action, and indigenous rights. He served as the executive director of Earth Guardians, a worldwide and youth-led environmental justice organization. Xiuhtezcatl eventually served as one of 21 plaintiffs within the Julianna v. United States lawsuit, in which the US government was accused of failing to take appropriate action on climate change. He also initiated the Martinez v. Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission as part of a series of relevant state-led lawsuits. Xiuhtezcatl's speeches and music have continued to garner international attention. Perhaps his most well known presentation was to the UN General Assembly at the age of 15, where he emphasized the urgency of climate action in English, Spanish and Nahuatl.
Follow Xiuhtezcatl on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @xiuhtezcatl.
Jasilyn Charger
Photo from Rae Louise Breaux.
Jasilyn Charger is a 23 year old Land Defender, MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women), activist, and community organizer from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota. Jasilyn has co-founded multiple indigenous-led organizations such as the International Indigenous Youth Council, The One Mind Movement, as well as the 7th Defenders. She has been a frontline Land Defender and Water Protector for over six years in opposition of various pipeline projects that threatened indigenous communities. Jasilyn was one of the original youth who helped inspire the large-scale movement to stand with the community of the Standing Rock Reservation in their efforts to prevent an encroaching pipeline. At the moment, she is working with the Women Warriors Society to address the pressing issue of Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women through local projects in her community.
Follow Jasilyn on Instagram and Twitter @jasilyncharger.
Quannah ChasingHorse
Photo from Keri Oberly
Quannah ChasingHorse has ties to the Han Gwich'in of Alaska, and the Sicangu-Oglala Lakota of the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. Her family has been protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge through the Alaska Wilderness League for generations. Starting at the age of 17, she joined the International Gwich’in Youth Council to lobby against oil leasing in the refuge. She also supported the HR 11-46 bill that was intended to give permanent protection to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. ChasingHorse has gained recognition as a Land Protector, indigenous rights advocate, climate justice activist, and a model. After years of aspiring to represent indigenous peoples in the modeling industry, she was hired to model for a Calvin Klein youth campaign. She has become known for promoting sustainable indigenous brands and celebrating indigenous fashion in her work.
Follow Quannah on Twitter and Instagram,
Twitter: @qchassinghorse
Instagram: @quannah.rose
Carson Kiburo
Carson Kiburo is an advocate for indigenous peoples rights, human rights, and land protection from Kenya. He co-founded the youth-led organization Jamii Asilia Centre, which is focused on empowering young indigenous leaders in Kenya. The Jamii Asilia Centre works to ensure that indigenous people are able to participate in multi-stakeholder forums when their rights could be impacted. He serves as a delegate to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples. Currently, he is the also serving as the co-chair for the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus. Recently, his book “Global Indigenous Youth: Through Their Eyes,” has become the first to spotlight global issues from the perspective of indigenous youth.
Follow Carson on Twitter and Instagram,
Twitter: @kiburo
Instagram: @ckiburo
Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen
Photo from Marzena Skubatz
Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen is a Norwegian Saami musician and activist from a Northern Saami community in Finnmark. Isaksen has been a strong leader within Saami-led movements against development projects that threaten traditional lands and communities. Most recently, she helped organize demonstrations against a mining project in her native province of Finnmark that posed high risks to local ecosystems and traditional reindeer herds. From 2015 to 2018, Ella was a major leader within Norway’s leading youth-led environmental organization, Youth and Nature (Natur og Ungdom). Recently, Isaksen has refocused her attention on inspiring change through her music. As a musician who blends pop music with traditional joik, Ella is simultaneously working to revive Saami practices as well as convey timely messages for fellow young changemakers.
Follow Ella on instagram,
Instagram: @ellamariehi
Josefa Cariño Tauli
Photo from Josefa Cariño
Josefa Cariño Tauli (Sefa) is a prominent advocate for the recognition of indigenous peoples’ rights and knowledge systems, especially when it comes to the participation of indigenous youth. She is a Ibaloi-Kankanaey Igorot indigenous youth from the Cordillera, Philippines. Sefa serves as a member and leader of the Steering Committee and Policy Co-coordinator of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN)– an international platform for youth involvement in the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. She is actively involved in global policy-making around the promotion of biodiversity and indigenous knowledge. In addition, she is the current Co-chair for the group known as “Youth for Territories of Life”.
Follow Josefa on Twitter,
Twitter: @GYBN_CBD
