Honoring Indigenous Voices: Presentations by Oren Lyons, Casey Camp and Corrina Gould
Since its inception, Bioneers has highlighted Indigenous approaches and solutions. For this year’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we invite you to view three visionary presentations shared at the 2024 Bioneers Conference by Wisdom Keepers Oren Lyons, Casey Camp and Corrina Gould. We also share an excerpt from Waorani leader, mother and climate activist Nemonte Nenquimo’s new book “We Will Be Jaguars.” Each of these leaders has fought tirelessly to protect their ancestral homelands — from the urban Bay Area to the Amazon Rainforest. As we commemorate Indigenous Peoples' Day today, we encourage you to explore these powerful stories and insights. Each piece offers a chance to deepen your understanding of Indigenous wisdom and the ongoing efforts to safeguard the planet for future generations. Visit us online to access a wealth of indigeneity content that inspires action, connects communities, and honors the knowledge that has guided humanity for centuries.
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Oren Lyons | To Survive, We Must Transform Our Values
We can all see the Earth is heating up, that polar ice and glaciers are melting, and that increasing fires, floods and droughts are evidencing the unraveling of our climate. Our societies are also showing signs of coming apart. But world-renowned Native American Rights leader Oren R. Lyons, Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation, is here to tell us that we can’t give up. We have profound responsibilities to coming generations, and time is of the essence. If we want to prevent climate catastrophe and achieve real peace, we will have to dig deep to transform the contemporary societal values underlying the existential crises we are facing. Lyons’ many noteworthy achievements include helping establish the U.N.’s Working Group on Indigenous Populations and authoring or co-authoring the influential texts “Wilderness in Native American Culture” and “Exiled in the Land of the Free: Democracy, Indian Nations and the U.S. Constitution.”
Casey Camp-Horinek | Walking the Red Road — It’s Elemental
Casey Camp-Horinek, a member of the Ponca Nation of Oklahoma and a major figure in the “Rights of Nature” movement, delves deeply into how many Indigenous peoples view the human relationship to the natural world and what their ancestral wisdom teaches about how to harmoniously interact with nature’s fundamental components of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. A respected, beloved and impactful longtime activist on behalf of Indigenous rights and women’s leadership, Camp-Horinek, explores how these sophisticated traditional Indigenous land, water and fire stewardship strategies, many of which are now being “rediscovered” by contemporary managers, have much to teach us as we grapple with the climate crisis.
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Corrina Gould | Rematriation: Indigenous Women’s Work to Recover, Remember and Heal
Corrina Gould, Tribal Chair of the Confederated Villages of the Lisjan Nation and lead organizer for the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, says she is often asked to do land acknowledgments. She says when she does these acknowledgments, as part of the tribe or the trust, it’s about building reciprocity. “It has to come with action items. It cannot just be words that we say.” Gould, a longtime activist for First People’s rights and the protection of land and waters, focuses on the practice of “Rematriation,” which involves reclaiming land and sacred sites to help rebuild traditional cultures and heal the deep wounds inflicted by colonization and genocide. Gould shares the story of the historic effort to return the Ohlone Shellmound and Village Site to Indigenous stewardship and discusses how we can work together in reciprocity to do the work that our ancestors and future generations are calling us to do.
We Will Fight Again: Defending Waorani Territory in the Face of Renewed Oil Threats
In this excerpt from her new book, “We Will Be Jaguars,” Waorani leader, mother, and climate activist Nemonte Nenquimo writes that her favorite days as a child were those when, instead of setting off for school, she and her siblings would go into the woods with their dad. Those days, they always returned to the village with good things: baskets of fruits, game meat, palm leaves to make hammocks, cords of bitter lianas for hunting poisons. But their trek into the forest was cut short the day an oil helicopter landed in their village. Instead of bringing good things back, they returned to find something waiting for them. As co-founder of the Indigenous-led nonprofit organization Ceibo Alliance, Nenquimo later fought against the incursion of oil companies into Waorani territory. In 2019, the Ceibo Alliance succeeded in winning a court ruling to protect half a million acres and set a precedent to protect millions more. But now that same ruling is being threatened, and the alliance will have to fight again.
Waorani Leader Nemonte Nenquimo shows evidence of crude oil contamination after an oil spill affecting waterways in the northern Ecuadorian Amazon. Photo Sophie Pinchetti / Amazon Frontlines
Upcoming Bioneers Learning Courses
We’re excited to announce that our new season of Bioneers Learning is online, and registration is open! You can register for our first-ever self-paced courses, along with courses covering topics such as the Rights of Nature movement, regenerative herbalism, and sacred activism.
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3moI have watched all three videos. I created a post for the video of Oren Lyons' message. He taught me something history books and classes don't teach the American children. I'm 76 years old and now know the truth about how America came to be. In view of this year's presidential election, I felt it prudent to share the video to give people, especially those who are politically bent/verbal, that what has come of this country is not what was intended. I'm very supportive of Bioneers, what you stand for, and the work you do!