Register for “Water Guardians: East to West” on Oct. 4, 2023
September 7, 2023
We invite you to attend the online event “Water Guardians: East to West” on October 4th at 7:00 PM EST.
We are connected through our Waters, and if Water is threatened, the repercussions will be felt around the world. Activists from across Turtle Island (what is now known as North America) will join together to discuss the past, present, and future of Water. The speakers will address how communities can navigate the current Climate Crisis, while at the same time building networks of solidarity. In addition, they will delve into the complexities of the Rights of Nature movement and the necessity of advocating for the rights of the more-than-human world.
The speakers include Crystal Cavalier-Keck (Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation), a land and water defender who is fighting the Mountain Valley Pipeline/ Southgate Extension; Kahté:raks Quinney Goodleaf (Kanien’kehá:ka/Mohawk and Nehiyaw, from Kahnawake) a St. Lawrence River water protector; and Jack Fiander (Yakama Nation/Ojibwe), the Legal Counsel for the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe who sued the city of Seattle for violating the rights of Salmon.
To learn more about the event and speakers, visit this link.
Blake Lavia (they/them or all pronouns) is a multimedia artist and community organizer, currently living in the Kaniatarowanénhne / St. Lawrence River Valley, at the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains, Haudenosaunee Territory. Through their work with the environmental storytelling group Talking Wings, Blake Lavia has organized numerous conferences, curated in person and virtual art exhibitions, and produced visual storytelling pieces that spotlight Water and Earth Guardians. Their art practice dances between filmmaking, writing, photography, animation, and mixed media illustration, and spotlights structural violence, cultural memory, and our current climate crises. Blake Lavia is also the President of Talking Rivers, INC., an organization that is using art and education to unite communities and bring about an ecocentric reality for the region and the world. Instagram: @panopticsnow – @blakeartillustration. Websites: talking-wings.art & blakelavia.com
Tzintzun Aguilar-Izzo (they, elle) is an environmental artist and movement weaver, who is currently working to spotlight stories of regenerative solutions to the climate crises in the North Country, Haudenosaunee Territory. As part of Talking Wings, they have collaborated with Blake Lavia on several art and community-centered environmental projects, such as the “North Country Art, Land and Environment Summit” and “Confluence: A Tapestry of Rivers and their Guardians.” Also, Tzintzun is one of the Directors of Talking Rivers, INC., where they are working on promoting “Rights of Nature” for the North Country rivers. Instagram: @talkingwings. Websites: nocoenvironment.org & tzintzuni.com
