Thursday, March 26th
4:45 pm: Expanding the Rights of Nature by Enabling Land to Own Itself
Co-hosted by Sacred Contract
Sacred Contract, an organization committed to re-imagining our relationship to land by restoring a sacred and culturally-aligned relationship between humans and the rest of nature, designed and then stewarded the process of a mountain in Colorado becoming the first in the world to transition from human ownership to “owning itself.” In this panel, board members of Sacred Contract will explain: how “land sovereignty” differs from traditional land conservation models; the role of majority Indigenous-led Land Guardian councils; and how the “land that owns itself” concept could potentially radically enhance ecosystems’ protection against destructive extractive assaults. With: Jennifer Menke of Regenerative Earth; Cassandra Ferrera and Abi Huff of the Center for Ethical Land Transition; and Thomas Linzey, attorney with the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights.
March 26th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm
Panelists
Jennifer Menke
Founder and Executive Director | Regenerative Earth
Jennifer Menke, founder and Executive Director of Regenerative Earth and co-founder of Sacred Contract, is: a lecturer for the University of Colorado's Masters of Environment program; guest lecturer at the University of International Cooperation (UCI); and a facilitator for the Bio-leadership Fellowship. She has throughout her career used systems-mapping, facilitation, and strategic design to help local communities, Indigenous tribes, governments, foundations, businesses, and organizations develop and implement collaborative strategies to meet conservation targets, give rights to nature, enhance community wellbeing, and stimulate regenerative economies.
Cassandra Ferrera
Co-Founder | Center for Ethical Land Transition
Cassandra Ferrera, a co-founder (in 2021) of the non-profit Center for Ethical Land Transition dedicated to the “land justice” movement, i.e., the process of achieving repair, healing and justice rooted in sacred relationship with land, previously had 22 years’ experience as a real estate agent and consultant supporting groups in cooperative stewardship and land decommodification. She is a resident of the Landwell Community in Northern California.
Abi Huff
Operations and Reunion Program Co-Director | Center for Ethical Land Transition
Abi Huff is the Operations and Reunion Program Co-Director at the Center for Ethical Land Transition whose purpose is to support Black, Indigenous, and diasporic communities with pro-bono, solidarity-based land transition facilitation.
Thomas Linzey
Senior Legal Counsel | Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights
Thomas Linzey, Senior Legal Counsel for the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights, widely recognized as the founder of the contemporary community rights movement, drafted the very first “rights of nature” law in the world (in Pennsylvania in 2006), and consulted on the very first rights of nature constitutional provisions (in Ecuador). Linzey co-founded the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, sits on the Board of Advisors of the New Earth Foundation and is the author of several books, including: Be The Change: How to Get What You Want in Your Community and On Community Civil Disobedience in the Name of Sustainability. Linzey’s work has been featured widely, including in leading publications including the NY Times, Mother Jones and the Nation magazine.
Friday, March 27th
Tribal nations across Indian Country are transforming their legal systems and influencing the broader legal landscape by formally recognizing rivers as living relatives with inherent rights. This past year, the Colorado River and Rappahannock tribes advanced “Rights of Nature” laws to protect their waterways and reinforce their sovereignty, exemplifying a larger reinvigoration of Indigenous jurisprudence. This panel features leaders and water protectors who have been instrumental in landmark legal victories who will discuss: how these laws were crafted through community consultation and collaborative processes among elders, youth, scientists, and legal experts; share their ongoing efforts to empower tribes to advocate for their waterways as relatives; and ensure that rivers, fish, and ecosystems are acknowledged as kin with standing under the law. Hosted by attorney Samantha Skenandore (Ho-Chunk), leading national expert on Federal Indian Law. With: Anne Richardson, Rappahannock Tribe Chief; William E. Ray, Jr., Tribal Chairman, Klamath Tribes, Jasmine Smith, founder and Chair of NAIWA Daughters.
March 27th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm
Panelists
Samantha Skenandore
Leading Indigenous Rights Advocate and Attorney
Samantha Skenandore, a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation who previously served as a Tribal Attorney for the Ho-Chunk Nation’s Department of Justice and clerked for the United States Department of Justice, Indian Resources Section, is a founding partner of Skenandore Wilson LLP with 20+ years’ multi-jurisdictional legal experience working with tribal governments and enterprises to build governmental and economic infrastructures across Indian Country. She works in a wide range of legal domains, including: tribal and corporate governance, business transactions, economic development, real estate, cultural resources, water rights, labor issues, and representing clients before members of Congress, congressional committees and federal agencies. Samantha has also been integral to the Bioneers’ Indigeneity Program, helping develop a toolkit to help frame legal considerations for tribal nations to consider adoption of “Rights of Nature" laws.
Chief Anne Richardson
Chief | Rappahannock Tribe
Chief Anne Richardson, Chief of the Rappahannock Tribe since 1998, is a 4th generation chief in her family and the first woman to lead a tribe in Virginia since the 1700s. She has a long legacy of community leadership and service and has been instrumental in building her people’s institutions and infrastructure, including working tirelessly to purchase some of the tribe’s ancestral lands along the river that bears their name, developing a “Master Plan for the Return to the River,” a groundbreaking sovereignty and conservation initiative. Among her many achievements Chief Richardson founded the Indigenous Conservation Council for the Chesapeake Bay and serves or has served on a number of state, regional and federal advisory committees and boards.
William E. Ray, Jr
Tribal Chairman | Klamath Tribes
William E. Ray, Jr., Tribal Chairman of The Klamath Tribes (Treaty of 1864), had a 42-year-long career in the USDA Forest Service (retiring in 2020), serving in a wide range of positions, including as an: Archaeologist, District Ranger, Forest Manager, Area Manager, EEO Specialist, Tribal Government Relations, and Wildland Firefighter. Ray was also elected by the Elders of the 48 Tribal First Nations of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians to serve as Co-Chair of its Cultural Affairs Committee from 1982 to 1994, and he has served on a number of boards and committees for the state of Oregon. He also founded and directs the non-profit Rainbow Youth Golf Education Program.
Jasmine Smith
Founder and Chair | NAIWA Daughters
Jasmine Smith, a citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee, is the founder and Chair of NAIWA Daughters, a youth-led nonprofit dedicated to empowering Indigenous young women in activism, leadership, and community engagement. Grounded in her cultural heritage and lived experience, Jasmine leads NAIWA Daughters in amplifying Indigenous voices and addressing racial and social injustices. Through her leadership, the organization has reached local, regional, national, and international platforms, advancing conversations around equity, inclusion, and Indigenous representation.
