Founded in 2008, the Native-led Indigenous Forum at Bioneers is designed as a sovereign space for Indigenous People to bring their vision and message to Native and non-Native allies and to connect. Each year the Indigenous Forum works to amplify Indigenous voices, build networks and movements and enhance cross-cultural dialogue, learning, cultural sensitivity and informed action. The event is a core part of the Bioneers Conference, bringing together Indigenous activists, scientists, elders, youth, culture-bearers and scholars to share their knowledge and frontline solutions in dialogue with a dynamic, multicultural audience.
We invite you to join us in Berkeley for an incredible lineup of leaders making up the 2025 Indigenous Forum at Bioneers. You can find special programming for Native Youth Leadership Program here.
A film by Sarah Sharkey Pearce and Simon Schneider
Resident Orca tells the unfolding story of a captive whale’s fight for survival and freedom. After decades of failed attempts to bring her home, an unlikely partnership between Indigenous matriarchs, a billionaire philanthropist, killer whale experts, and the aquarium’s new owner take on the impossible task of freeing Lolita, captured 53 years ago as a baby, only to spend the rest of her life performing in the smallest killer whale tank in North American. When Lolita falls ill under troubling circumstances, her advocates are faced with a painful question: is it too late to save her?
Come join us for a screening of this powerful testimony about what it means to honor all of our relations. After the screening, we will have a Q&A period with Raynell Morris, enrolled Lummi tribal citizen and renowned activist who played a key role in bringing home the southern resident orca (Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut) from the Miami Seaquarium.
There is a $10 screening fee, which you can select when you register.
Tekatsi:tsia’kwa Katsi Cook (Wolf Clan member of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation), an Onkwehonweh traditional midwife, lifelong advocate of Indigenous midwifery and Native women’s health throughout the life-cycle (drawing from the longhouse traditionalist teaching that “woman Is the first environment”), is Executive Director of the Spirit Aligned Leadership Program. Her work over many decades has spanned a range of worlds and disciplines at the intersections of environmental reproductive health and justice, research, and policy. Katsi’s groundbreaking environmental research of Mohawk mother’s milk revealed the intergenerational impact of industrial chemicals on the health of her community, and she is a major figure in a movement of matrilineal awareness and “rematriation” in Native life.
Welcome to the Indigenous Forum | 2:00 pm
Welcome to the Indigenous Forum Featuring Indigeneity Program Director, Cara Romero, and Honoring Oren Lyons
Featuring: Oren Lyons, José Barreiro, and Baratunde Thurston
About this Panel
Haudenosaunee Chief, Oren Lyons (Joagquisho), and Taino Elder, José Barreiro (Hatuey), in a conversation moderated by Baratunde Thurston, will discuss the Indigenous roots of American democracy, the legacy of Haudenosaunee diplomacy, and the global resurgence of indigeneity and its first principles of self-governance. This won’t merely be a look back, but a look forward. In a moment of severe climate and democracy crises, those who hold wisdom about how to live together and with the natural world are being sought out more than ever. Rarely have voices as powerful as Lyons and Barreiro been in public conversation, and never under today’s circumstances. With urgency, perspective, and dashes of humor and hope, this session is sure to provoke and inspire.
Featuring: Britt Gondolfi, Raynell Morris, and Juliette Jackson, JD
About this Panel
A transformative movement is emerging at the intersection of Tribal Sovereignty and the Rights of Nature, as Indigenous Nations lead efforts to recognize the inherent rights of fish, aquatic mammals, and the ecosystems they inhabit. This panel explores how Tribal Nations are adopting Rights of Nature policies in a centuries-long effort to protect marine life and the ecosystems essential to all beings. This panel highlights the visionary leadership of Indigenous leaders who have spearheaded innovative laws and grassroots movements to integrate Indigenous values into Western legal systems. Their work serves as a global call to action, urging a reimagining of legal frameworks that honor Indigenous wisdom and foster a world where the rights of nature and human rights are interconnected and respected. Moderated by Britt Gondolfi. With: Raynell Morris (Lummi Nation), and Juliette Jackson, JD (Klamath).
It is a great honor for Bioneers to welcome to our main stage for the first time one of the most illustrious cultural figures on this continent, the 23rd (and three-term!) Poet Laureate of the United States (2019-22), the first ever Native American author in that role. A winner of countless prestigious awards (including, most recently, a National Humanities Medal) and author of ten books of poetry, plays, children’s books and two memoirs, as well as the editor of three groundbreaking anthologies of Native literature, Joy Harjo is also a highly accomplished musician and performer. A resident of the Muscogee Nation Reservation in Oklahoma, she was also selected in 2022 to be the first Artist-in-Residence at the new Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa.
Opening the Indigenous Forum | 3:00 pm
Greyhawk (Houma, Choctaw) Storyteller from New Orleans, Louisiana
Art in many forms is both a spiritual practice and survival skill for Indigenous peoples. Often described as a healing journey, Native people work through art practices to reconnect to ancestors and traditional knowledge, recover from intergenerational trauma, and find ways to support family and build economy in suppressed reservation living standards. In this intimate conversation, Joy Harjo and Cara Romero will discuss the creative process, inspirations and the importance of art and “artivism” in healing and resistance for Native peoples.
Featuring: Nazshonnii Brown-Almaweri, Paloma Flores, and Ernie Albers
About this Panel
As the nation learns about land-back and rematriation, Native communities continue to provide space for Indigenous and all communities to thrive, be resilient, and share knowledge. Health centers, agencies, educational programs, and cultural centers have been at the center of Native communities, particularly for Intertribal populations in major cities. Dating back to the ‘50s, elders, aunties, and uncles recognized the needs of their communities and responded accordingly by establishing Friendship houses and Resource centers. The next generation is now making a stronger call to decolonize and re-indigenize place. Join us for this panel to learn how Indigenous communities dream, create, and establish place. Moderated by Nazshonnii Brown-Almaweri. With: Paloma Flores; Ernie Albers.
Featuring: Paloma Flores (Moderator), Jade Begay, other presenters TBA
About this Panel
As Native peoples, we have always told our stories to pass on knowledge of where we came from, our relationships with other beings, and how to live. Now we are at a time when more and more Native creators are representing ourselves within independent and mainstream media to critical acclaim. In addition to reaching broader inter-tribal audiences than ever before, we are also sharing our cultures and perspectives with non-Natives. These media have powerful impacts. By evoking emotional connections, these productions inspire viewers to take action in social and environmental justice movements. In this panel, we’ll hear from leaders in the industry who have paved the way for the surge of Indigenous media in our news, films and television. They will share: their journeys to breaking through gatekeepers in these industries; how they are supporting up and coming media makers; and their visions for the futures of Indigenous storytelling. Moderated by Paloma Flores. Panelists TBA.
Featuring: Aja Conrad, Elizabeth Paige, Jordan S. Reyes, Ali Meders-Knightand, and Alexis Bunten (Moderator)
About this Panel
In this session, California Indian leaders will share success stories of collaborations implementing traditional values and practices to restore land and water, including the revitalization of fire management, plant knowledge and regenerative harvesting. Panelists will also share practical guidance on forming innovative partnerships, setting mutually beneficial goals, and maintaining long-term, effective relationships. Moderated by Alexis Bunten. With: Aja Conrad (Karuk); Elizabeth Paige (Cahuilla); Ali Meders-Knight (Mechoopda); Jordan Reyes, Tribal EcoRestoration.
This film by Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, a stunning tribute to the resilience of Native people and their way of life, won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and nominated for a 2025 Oscar Award in the category of “Best Feature Length Documentary”, then garnered over a dozen prestigious awards and has now been nominated for an Oscar! It digs deep into groundbreaking investigations into abuse and death at an Indian residential school and follows community members as they seek to break cycles of intergenerational trauma by bearing witness to painful, long-ignored truths and the love that endures within their families despite the revelation of genocide.
There will be a 30-minute Q+A period after the screening with the film’s directors, Darell Hillaire and Beth Pielert.
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