Indigenous Forum – Spirit and Science Meets the Sea: Indigenous Knowledge and Action to Protect Our Ocean Relatives
Human activities, primarily overfishing, pollution, and climate change are causing unprecedented damage to marine ecosystems, leading to massive biodiversity loss and the destruction of habitats, problems that cannot be solved by Western science and policy alone. Indigenous knowledge rooted in generations of observation and relationship with marine species is critical to the defense and regeneration of the oceans that we all depend upon. In this panel, we will hear from three Indigenous leaders fighting to protect keystone marine species from the foundation to the apex of the food web. Topics include the cultural and spiritual foundations of Indigenous-led movements, ways that Indigenous and Western sciences are being applied in tandem, and the creation of ocean policies rooted in Indigenous principles. Attendees will come away equipped with ways they can support these efforts as well as renewed inspiration to restore and repair Mother Earth. Moderated by Alexis Bunten (Yupu’ik/Unangan), Co-Director of the Bioneers Indigeneity Program. With: Shane Weeks (Shinnecock), co-founder and Director of Education and Research at the Metoac Indigenous Collective; Raynell Morris (Lummi), Children of the Setting Sun Outreach Producer; and Louise Brady (Tlingit), founder and director of the Herring Protectors.
Berkeley Ballroom, Residence Inn
March 27th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm
Panelists
Louise Brady
Founder and Director
Herring Protectors
Louise Brady (Kh’asheech Tláa), a member of the Sitka Tribe of Alaska, previously served as the tribe’s Director of Social Services and Tribal Court Administrator. She is the founder and Director of the Herring Protectors, a grassroots movement led by Indigenous women that uses the original teachings of the Kiks.ádi women’s ceremony and collective organizing to stand up to legacies of colonization and genocide that have led to the devastation of the yaaw (herring). She also serves on the Advisory Board of Native Movement; has co-produced and directed two award-winning films; and was the recipient of a 2022 – 2023 NDN Changemaker Fellowship.
Shane Weeks
Co-Founder and Director of Research and Education
Metoac Indigenous Collective
Shane Weeks, a proud member of the Shinnecock Nation, located in Southampton, New York, represents his people in a number of capacities, as an author, traditional singer and dancer, cultural consultant, artist, and member of several local boards and committees. The owner of Ohke Creations, a candle and jewelry business, he is also co-founder and Director of Research and Education at the Metoac Indigenous Collective, an intertribal organization focused on cultural preservation, and was a recipient of a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. As an artist, Shane works in many different mediums and collaborates with Indigenous communities from around the world.
Raynell Morris
Events and Gatherings Producer
Children of the Setting Sun Productions
Raynell Morris, a Lhaq’temish matriarch and enrolled Lummi tribal member, is the Events and Gatherings Producer at Children of the Setting Sun Productions and a board member of the Friends of Toki. A former Vice-President of the Sacred Lands Conservancy and Associate Director of Intergovernmental Affairs under President Clinton, Raynell was the first Native American staffer appointed to the White House. She also served as Chief of Staff for the Chairman of the Lummi Nation, and, as Director of Lummi Nation’s Sovereignty and Treaty Protection Office, she was a key strategist in the successful campaign to block a proposal to build North America’s largest coal port terminal on Lhaq’temish (Lummi) sacred ground.
Alexis Bunten
