Centre of Canadian Studies

Description

This event will take place online - register on Eventbrite

First Nations activist Delee Nikal (Wet’suwet’en) has travelled with a number of Coast Salish land defenders to Glasgow to participate in the activities of COP26. In this special event, they will share their reflections on why global climate action must account for the ongoing role of colonialism, and the devastating impact this has for Indigenous women across Canada. Nikal and her companions have long campaigned to raise awareness of the links between resource extraction and violence against Indigenous women and girls, leading an action at COP26 for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). As a land defender, Nikal has been at the forefront of protests against the Coastal GasLink Pipeline in British Columbia.

This discussion between Nikal and others will consider the responsibility of the settler colonial state in Canada in these connected crises, and explore how Indigenous communities are attempting to bring about change. Finally, the speakers will share their reflections on participating in COP26 as Indigenous delegates in Glasgow.

Speaker Biography

Delee Nikal is a member of Witset Nation, a community belonging to the Wet’suwet’en band of five nations in northern British Columbia. Delee’s activism includes using her gift of speaking for missing and murdered Aboriginal women, and protecting traditional hunting and fishing practices. She was the first woman elected to a national position in her local union and the only woman in a workplace that builds and maintains timber-trestle rail bridges.

Event information

This event is hosted by the University of Edinburgh and has been made possible with the support of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, and the Centre for the Study of Modern & Contemporary History.